It's that time again...Summer...Mosquitoes!

[dolphin]

It's about that time folks --

               

So thought I'd send out this reminder!!!!

 

 

OK, mosquitoes..

Prepare to be repelled!!!!!

Use Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets...Best thing ever used in
Louisiana..just wipe on & go..Great for Babies


Bob, a fisherman, takes one vitamin B-1 tablet a day
April through October . He said it works. He was right.
Hasn't had a mosquito bite in 33 years. Try it.
Every one he has talked into trying it works on them.
Vitamin B-1( Thiamine Hydrochloride 100 mg.)


If you eat bananas,
The mosquitos like you, - something about the banana oil
As your body processes it.  
Stop eating bananas for the summer and the mosquitos
Will be much less interested.


This is going to floor you, but one of the best
Insect repellents someone found (who is in the woods
Every day), is Vick's Vaporub.


Plant marigolds around the yard, the flowers give off
A smell that bugs do not like,
So plant some in that garden also to help ward
Off bugs without using insecticides.


"Tough guy" Marines who spend a great deal of time
"camping out" say that the very best mosquito
Repellant you can use is
Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil mixed about
Half and half with alcohol.
 

One of the best natural insect repellents that I've discovered
Is made from the clear real vanilla. This is the pure Vanilla that is sold in Mexico. It works great for mosquitoes and ticks,
Don't know about other insects.

When all else fails--get a frog

[Gregg]

I had forgotten about that Skin so Soft trick. My mother used to sell Avon, and someone told her about that. We tried it, and it seemed to work as I recall. Her sister just recently sent me something with the "Bounce" tip listed. It's a timely topic....

[krissel]

Vick's Vaporub will repel a lot more than mosquitoes!  

All anyone has to do to avoid being bitten is invite me to their barbecue. I'll attract all the buggers.  


And I'm not giving up my bananas.  

[gunug]

The vanilla thing has worked pretty well for my scouts for awhile; just seems to attract flies!

[jcarter]

Deet works best, but I dont like to put it on the kids.
Here is what we do, first we have about an acre of land which has all our gardening stuff and whatever on it. So we go around and make sure that all standing water in a flower pot to one of our boats, inotherwords, get the standing water out of everything.  Then we go into the woods and look for standing water, you want to keep about 3 acres clear to keep them away from your house.
Next, we put a little vegatable oil in the catch basins and our laundry drywell.
Third, we get on the Cape Cod mosquito control list, and they come and 'service' all the swamps and ponds in our area(and there are many).
This usually takes care of most of the buggers unless right after a rain, we do have some buzzing around in the early morning or late evening.
I dont like the smell of deet, so I just put on a long sleeved very light shirt and long pants, Ive got some very very lightweight ones for this purpose, as I love to walk thru the swamp to the beach at sunset or daybreak.
We are windy here, so daytime is not really bad with mosquitoes.  The mosquito control guys gave my husband a zip loc bag of the stuff they put in the catchbasins and small ponds, and he goes around and does this if we get more bugs than usual.
Last resort, some of the neighbours closer to the fresh water swamps have bought the mosquito propane machines, and say they do work quite well.
Then there are the tiny flies we call Midgies, which are in the salt water swampy areas, they appear when the wind dies down.  They are bad at my brother's house, but they cannot fly in the wind very far, so they usually dont get here very often.
Hope this helps, it works for us.
Jane

[krissel]

Oh Jane, you just reminded me of a summer many, many years ago when my family spent a couple weeks on Cape Cod.

We rented a cottage in West Dennis and spent every day on the beach of course. That is, until one day when the flies or sand fleas got the best of me. I ended up in a doctor's office getting a shot to quell the allergic reaction.

I still remember my Dad driving me around afterward, sightseeing while the rest of the family was soaking up the sun on the beach and swimming. I also remember stopping for ice cream which I guess Dad thought would cheer me up.

It did.  

[jcarter]

Yes indeed, those little critters are far worse than mosquitos if the wind drops to close to zero.  Ive had to just plain jump overboard at the mooring where our little boat was in my brother's harbor.  They get in your ears and hair and the only solution was swim and run.
But luckily this side of the Cape, the wind is almost always blowing, thats why its so nice for sailing, and perhaps a few wind turbines.
Jane

[sandbox]

We grow Eucalyptus and Lemon Grass here, both found to be a useful deterrent to those pesky mosquitoes.
lemon eucalyptus http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/R...lentUpdates.htm

lemon grass http://journeytoforever.org/edu_homer.html

I still have a half case of US government issued Jungle Deet (those little green bottles) (the best repellent ever made) that I purchased in 1975. I bring one on road trips or excursions into the Everglades. They say it's going to kill ya but they don't say when.

[jcarter]

100% Deet, yes that is the best.  We used to use that in Belize at my husband's friends place.  Those bugs could carry you away and drain the blood supply all at once, they called them doctor-flies, I dont know what the real name was.  But those are worse than mosquitos and sand flies combined.
Google to the rescue, here they are,
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/yellow_fly.htm
They pack a punch!
Jane

[Gregg]

I was just reading about applying repellant with DEET and also sunscreen. Not a good idea. It reduces the effectivness of the repellant, and allows more of it to be absorbed by your skin.