Mosquito Repellent

[Bronze]

I'm curious what sort of insect/mosquito repellent methods have been successful for you historical trekkers out there. Any suggestions on a good way to keep the bugs away? So far I've heard of the following:

Tobacco: Either smoke a pipe, or chew tobacco and rub your saliva on exposed skin.

Garlic: I guess if you eat enough it might ward off bugs. Or are you supposed to apply garlic juice to your skin or clothes?

Lemon Grass: Citronella comes from this so I guess rubbing the grass on your skin or maybe using essential oil would work.

Vinegar: It was suggested that consuming 3 tbsp a day will repel mosquitos.

Animal Fat: Seems like I've read that natives used to cover exposed skin with animal grease to ward off bugs. I don't see how this would work as it seems like it would achieve the opposite effect!

Any thoughts on the above methods, or new ideas? Thanks!

BRONZE
http://manandmule.com

[KarlK]

I covered numerous things in my old OTT article but I mostly rely on two items:
Smoke and cottonballs/cloth

Smoke,
Yes, I'll sit in it, have it cover me, smudge when possible, be as smoky as possible, anything to mask what your body emits, dirt and grease and dried sweat helps this way too.

Forget, grasses, citronella etc...and forget any secret plant from the woods

Cottonballs or cloth stuffed in my ears is the BEST preventative.....99.9% of the time it is not the biting but the insistant buzzing that drives ya nuts.

Go out expecting to get bit, bugs.... it's one reason I stay out of the woods as much as possible in July and August

KK

[Frenchie]

I take garlic tablets and vitamin B1 about 2 months before I go to BSA Summer camp. This seems to help with the the bugs. At night I spray on Burt's Bees All Natural Herbal Insect Repellent, before I go to bed. This , also seems to help. The Bert's Bees cost about $10.00 / 4oz pump spray bottle. I continue to take the garlic and B1 while I am still out and all summer long. I know that these things are not PC but sure seems to cut down on the bug bites
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[Traildog]

If you can take it eat a1/2 cake of yeast. It will come out through your skin and bugs don't like it.

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[Jacques]

Smoke helps some for me, but I have noticed that some people get bitten a lot more than others. I have read, but am not sure I believe, that it has something to do with blood type. All I know for sure is that I get bitten a lot more than most people no matter what I do. I also swell up from the bites until I look like Frankenstein's ugly brother.

[AxelP]

I must be a flavor ticks love... my buddys say that when I tromp the woods, they hear thousands of little tick voices crying "jump fellas, here come the mother ship!!
Axe

[Preach]

NOT period correct, but I have found the best for me is "Permanone" it's main ingredient is permethrin.

You spray it on your clothes, then let them dry. After that you can't smell it, and it lasts up to two weeks. So far (10 years or so I have been using it) it has not damaged any fabrics I have used it on. I have been in camps where other folks were constantly picking ticks off, and I had nary a bite.

(Sure it's not PC, but Lyme or RMSF are no fun).

IT is not available in all States, but it is here in Indiana.

Sold at the local wal-mart hereabouts.

_________________
"The frontier is occupied by a set of scoundrels who scarce know the Lord, and fear not the devil" --Richard Henderson

[Turning Bear]

Preach you make a good point, Lyme Disease, West Nile and the Eastern Equine Encephalitis are all being spread from ticks and skeeters. maybe the best thin is to make a little home-spun or buckskin bag to cover the Ben's 100.

[Frenchie]

For knats,(sp) and flies you can use vanilla, it can be immitation,(sp), this masks, I believe the salt that comes out of your sweat. I would recommend taking packets of Emergency C with you. It is a powder form, that will give vitamins and put elcetrolytes,(sp), back into your body, just pour it into some water and drink it.

Erick
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ROOR BONG

[Susan]

Pennyroyal works. This is an easy herb to put in your garden. When outside just get a few leaves/stems and lightly rub on exposed skin. Mosquitoes stay away. Don't know how this would work on a trek of several days. You could carry extra with you, but may not work as well when it dries out.

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In regards,
Susan

[J.D.]

I have had mixed, and usually not so good results with most repellents, including pennyroyal. For ticks and chiggers, Permanone is the one and only near 100% sure way to prevent bites. For mosquitoes, a fabric softener sheet placed near my head seems to keep 'em off, at night.

God bless,
J.D.

[Drake]

One of the things I have used overseas in the Horn of Africa as well as the Middle East for the incessant flies is eating a clove (not a bulb) of garlic a day. It works. That being said, in the U.S. you have to worry about encephalitis from mosquitoes and lyme disease. Carry the bugspray in a linen bag. I draw the authenticity line at contracting smallpox too (most people of the 18th c were pock marked).


Yours aye,

Edw. Drayke

[Black Hand]

Yarrow fronds, crushed and rubbed on the skin seems to work around here. Great for soothing the bites you already have.

[jmckenzie]

bear grease, which i mix with my pigment for paint works great. the natives used in then to keep away bugs, and it works today too. (it also works on militia reenactors as well, haha)

the only problem is that bear grease is kinda hard to come by. you cant buy it, so you have to get a dead bear and render it down.

it also helps to shower with unscented soap. this is hard to do on treks and at most events. this will remove the oils and pheromones your body produces. The blood type theory may have some truth to it, but it is more likely what pheromones your genes are telling your system to produce.

i can live with having bug spray at events, since i also have to have sun screen otherwise i dont have to apply any red paint on the second day of a event.

_________________
Jonathan McKenzie

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." - John Adams (1735 - 1826)