Did I dream it or was there really a thread......

I was lurking a couple of weeks ago and found a posting about a homemade mosquito repellent that a person accidentally discovered.

I left the thread up on my computer that night and you know the rest of the story, electricity interrupted and my computer closed down.

Since I’m allergic to insect bites, in the summer I wear several little battery operated packs that buzz. I don’t mind the sound but I get lots of odd looks therefore, I would love to try their repellent.

I would appreciate any assistance you are willing to give.

Judy


This message was edited Feb 1, 2007 1:31 PM

I kept looking until I found the posting. It's Dr Bronner's eucalyptus soap I sure hope it works for me. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/654903 Post #2773615

The Forum & Subject title: Organic Gardening: Rats and Peppermint

This is an interesting thread.

Judy

Oh, thanks for finding this and sharing! I just bought a little thing of Dr. Bronner's to try and got the one without eucalyptus. I'll grab it next time tho! I really don't care how strong I smell if it keeps mosquitoes away from me!

I want to try that with gophers, girl do I have a problem. I heard they don`t like castor beans so maybe castor oil too. I tried carburator cleaner but that is bad for the plants and soil and my well. thanks

hellnzn11

You may be on to something there. There is a recipe on the thread for cleaning with the with Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap but you wouldn't need the vinegar so it would be 2 gallons water to a squirt of the soap. You could pour the water at each entrance you find or if you really want to get tough, maybe pouring it along the top of the tunnel might to the trick.

Let us know.

Judy

Do you think that would work with moles? We have a major infestation, and I don't want to spend all my time fighting them this summer.

I'd say it was worth at least a try... if you decide to use it and see, please report back to us.

Judy

I most certainly will.

Judy, I read somewhere that the scented dryer sheets repel mosquitos. Very easy to carry a few in your pocket to rub on arms, legs, etc when needed. Will give it a try this year because I too am very sensitive to bug bites.
Liz

Liz,

I heard that also so I bought a big box of Snuggle, I think. I tucked them in my socks, waist, pinned to the front of my shirt etc but I couldn't stand the smell. Then back to the grocery, I looked like a fool snorting all the different brands of dryer sheets to see if there was one which was acceptable, there wasn't. My nose is offended by most artificial odors. lol lol

I hope it doesn't get offended by Dr Bronner's eucalyptus soap.

Judy

I've heard the dryer sheets repel those irritating gnats and golfers will often stuff one in their hats.

Rosemary has worked for me, I jsut snip off part of a branch and rub it on my arms and face. It's very stong though, sometimes will give me a headache.

Thanks Judy, I'll try the Dr B's soap.

I made up a batch of the Vinegar of the Four Thieves recipe that darius posted some time ago.(Frugal Living forum - June 2005) I left out the optional garlic. Works well for me. I keep some in a small spray container and apply before going outside. The protection can be renewed about every four hours. Slight vinegar/spicey smell, but not offensive to me.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2007 1:43 PM

I had not seen Darius posting but here is a link that gives the Vinegar of the Four Thieves recipe plus other IMPORTANT information. http://www.bulkherbstore.com/VFT

Judy

Judy, just out of curiosity, I was wondering how you heard about this website? This girl is from a family that really knows their stuff. The website is really nice. I'm glad to see that their name is getting known.

Google!!! I'm totally amazed at the ease of access to so much information. Of course you have to verify anything you read but that's alright. I can verify!!!

Judy

I made up a whole bunch of the Vinegar of the Four Thieves last year, intending to sell it in my DG store. Then Dave closed down the stores. Sigh. It's good stuff, and works well for insects.

I've used the eucalyptus soap as an insect repellent
for several years. Haven't been bitten by anything
for ages now.

I rub the DRY bar of soap on my hair and clothes
before I go outside, also on my dogs. They don't
care for it at all, but who's asking? Anyways, I don't
like the smell of eucalyptus but it all comes out in the
shower and in the washing machine. Also, I keep an
unwrapped bar near the back door on the windowsill.
Keeps bugs away from the door and from trying to
beat me into the house, the little geckos too.
Anyway, it works for me.

Mahnot - thanks for the input, great way to do it.

Darius - why not use the DG Classified Ads Forum to try to sell your batch.

Judy

This message was edited Feb 4, 2007 7:11 PM

This message was edited Feb 5, 2007 7:12 AM

The dryer sheets may make you itchy if you rub it on your skin - it did me, so go easy the first time if you try it.

With the cold that we are having right now, it may be a long while before I have any need to try these remedies!! LOL but the bugs will come eventually.

Oh, great idea Mahnot! I don't care for the smell either but I'm willing to endure it. There is something about me that attracts mosquitoes so I end up having to use DEET products because nothing else works. If it's early in the season I can use Off Botanicals but once summer hits it doesn't work.

Do you have any experience using it to repel chiggers? Chiggers don't bother me but my parents yard is full of them every year. Their mosquitoes love me to visit tho.

Never met a chigger, never hope to either. :o)
Don't know if it has anything to do with the soap or not.
Sorry, Konkreteblond, but I really can't say. Maybe somebody
else will know. It's worth a try, anyway. Maybe the soap would
work for you.

Another thing that really really helps with repelling bugs is
pinching a bit of rosemary and rubbing that on yourself when
you're outside. The mosquitoes really hate it.

I haven't been able to find Off Botanicals for about a year. I think they took it off the market.

I usually pin a sheet of Bounce to my hair when I go outside, but I'd never rub it onto my skin. I think rosemary can produce an allergic reaction also.

Zuzu, I'm sure that by the age lots of us are, we know
if we're allergic to rosemary or to lots of other things too.
Most things that grow in our gardens are either poisonous
or cause a rash of some sort to somebody. My daughter
takes a pinch and chews it to keep bugs away from her face.
Me, I don't like the taste so I just rub it on. To each his own.

I'm not allergic to anything except rich deserts - I break out
in fat all over.

That's hysterical. Thanks for that laugh.

I don't know about your first sentence, though. I'm fairly long in the tooth myself, but I keep discovering new allergies all the time. The latest is Verbena. I was weeding around it and developed an angry rash on my arm, just like the rash I started getting from Sweet Alyssum a few years ago.

Gee, Zuzu, I never heard of anybody being alleric to
either of those. Could it have been something else
that was growing near them, or maybe fertilizers in
the soil?

Isn't it strange how we're all so similar, and yet so
very different. I've read here on DG where some people
say that they can pull poison ivy without gloves on and it
doesn't bother them one whit. Go figure. Me - I'm not
taking any chances !

I don't think so, because it seems to be confined just to those two, but I am prone to many forms of contact dermatitis. I get rashes from any metal but 24k gold (that's a nickel allergy, I think), from any soap but Dove, from wool, from fabric sizing, from most cosmetics, etc., etc.

Believe it or not, I'm even allergic to my own hair. Not when it's on my head, but any stray hair that falls out and gets caught in my clothes will give me a rash. This is a sensitivity common to everyone in my family. When I first noticed it at the age of about 5, I told my sister I thought I might be allergic to my own hair. "Everyone is," she replied. Because of our family quirk, she assumed it was a universal reaction.

We feed the dog non odor garlic pills during the flea, tick and mosquito season, works well for keeping him clear of criters. I use a supplement that has garlic in it and it keeps the mosquitoes off as well. Worth a try.

Don

I tried taking Garlic last year but it didn't work. Maybe I didn't use it long enough tho? I need to be taking it every day anyway, so this is a good time to start again.

Zuzu, I had a problem last year finding the Off too but then I spotted it at Big Lots. It was normally like $7 a bottle and only $2 at BL! :) I guess that probably means they did discontinue it but if you have a BL you could stock up.

The more I thought about it last night I wasn't sure that I wanted to rub dry soap on myself. I think maybe I'll start with the liquid and make a spray out of it just to use when I go out.

konkreteblond,

"The more I thought about it last night I wasn't sure that I wanted to rub dry soap on myself. I think maybe I'll start with the liquid and make a spray out of it just to use when I go out. "

My thoughts exactly.

Judy

lol...I don't know tho, I'm just about willing to try anything when summer rolls around and I hear them buzzing around my ears!

Hey, I don't rub the soap all over me ! It's not like washing
with a soapy washcloth. I just run it over the shoulders of my
blouse, down the sleeves, and on my exposed arms. Then, I
rub a bit of it on my ankles or any exposed part of my legs.
Takes all of one minute to do, and it works for me. Like I said,
I haven't been bitten in years and years. Oh, yeah - I also rub
just a tad on my temples and once over the hair. Done !

I keep the bar of soap enclosed in a baggie so that it doesn't
dry out. Had the same bar about 8 years now. No extra cost. :o)
It works for me and it may not work for you. Of course, I'm so
mean that the bugs may just be scared to bite me - who knows !

Well in that case, maybe I don't need to get the soap, just get mean, er that should be meaner. lol lol

Judy

Start practicing in the mirror now, Judy. You don't have
much time. :o)

lol lol Cute come back. Wait until I tell my DH, I got to get mean.... er. I'm sure he will say "try the soap".

Judy

lol...believe me, I can start to get pretty mean when they start biting me! I think 8 years is a pretty good life for a bar of soap!! I just got back from the healthfood store (sale today) and picked up a small bottle of the Dr. B's with eucalyptus. I also go the one with peppermint to repel rats and hopefully mice. Not from me tho, the garden! ;)