"natural" insect repellents

“i tried searching for info on this, but didn't find much. besides, i'm sure you people have nothing better to do.
;-D

anyone have any luck using natural bug sprays? something like these are the type i mean...
sprays & stuff ”

“I’m naturally attractive.”

“I would like to know this as well since my youngest is sporting a major skin rash for the second summer in a row. A friend of hers shared her sunscreen/bug repellent with her at school and poof, allergic reaction. Need to find a non-allergic repellent.”

“He naturally delivers one liners, that must hike guy.”

“well, i guess it would be good to take must hike along, to keep the bugs away from everyone else. LOL!”

“dang, whoever wrote that has a bug up her butt, LOL! i'm a little more concerned about poisoning myself on a regular basis than i am about contracting West Nile, for some reason.
;-)

and anyway, does DEET (or anything else) keep away those annoying little gnats and stuff? i never get bitten by mosquitoes...it's the little tiny hovering things that annoy the heck out of me.”

“Just because something is "all natural" doesn't mean it won't poison you. Cobra venom is all natural. So is poison ivy.”

“note to self: do not rub cobra venom and poison ivy all over body.

hee hee! ;-)”

“DEET works on anything that uses your CO₂ trail to find you.”

“Heeheehee! I just thought, you know, since she seemed to have left that part out...

Anywho, I use the 100% DEET (it's not really 100% DEET, but it's pretty concentrated) and I don't usually have problems with gnats and no-see-ums either. I usually spray the top-side of my hat and the underside of my hat brim. That usually takes care of the face and head area without putting the nasty stuff directly on my face and head.”

“lyra - Come down to the Gulf Coast. The mosquitoes will be very happy to bite you. ;)”

“I put it on my hat too, but had problems once when rain soaked my hat and caused DEET to run into my eye. That stuff burns, man...

I have since waterproofed the hat.”

“Bite her? Man, they'll carry her (and the monkeys) away!”

“Hmmmmm....I've never had that happen...yet, lol.”

“i, unlike must hike, am naturally repellent to mosquitoes. yeah baby!!

well, i really don't want to get DEET, so i guess i'll just pick one of those "natural" things and try it.”

“Your hat is an OR, right? Probably water proof when you bought it. In my case, my cotton hat got completely soaked, so water was just passing through it and running down my face (and eyes). Some got on my lips too. For some reason, it numbed them. Weird.”

“Oh yeah, it'll numb your lips, mouth, toungue, and throat. Somebody accidentally sprayed it in my mouth once. Not pretty.”

“Oh, you're talking about mosquitoes. I attract them as well.”

“Tea Tree Oil works well - you could try soaps made with it - like Dr. Bronners (sp?) - or use the oil

I think I also remember seeing a Citronella Soap at some point”

“cool, i have some of that (tea tree oil) at home. STRONG stuff!”

“lyra, I take one B-100 per day and use Green Ban when out with the bugs. It works enough to keep me happy. Side effects: you pee bright yellow from the B-100 and you should wear sunscreen (should anyway!) with the Green Ban. =D
green ban
plus you smell like citronella, but it's better than DEET. I'd never use that stuff.

PS - I give my cat brewer's yeast to prevent fleas and that works 100%.”

“You can eat sulpher. But if you do, the bugs won't be the only things running for their lives.

You'll smell like a walking deviled egg fart”

“i use deet when Im hiking through sierra marshy areas...the skitters get so bad you cant stop even a second before forty land on you.

Once i forgot to bring it on a day hike and bam- i had over 40 bites just on one arm!”

“I don't know, lyra. After being attacked by suffocating clouds of mosquitos where I usually backpack I have no problem with bathing myself in DEET! It eats the letters off my T-shirts though.”

“sometimes nothing else will work”

“PS - I give my cat brewer's yeast to prevent fleas and that works 100%."
twigeater
10:45:14 AM
06/03/03

Lucky cat!”

“Twiggy has a drunk cat, what? LOL @ Aero! but for real, thanks, i'll check out Green Ban.

Indiana John, that's revolting :-)”

“wait, is that stuff made by Burt's Bees, Twiggy? under "Product Reviews" they talk like it is.”

“Didn't I read that bears are attracted to the smell of Citronella? I wonder about some of those other 'natural' products. I'd rather attract bugs than bears any day.”

“Twigeater, B-100 is something with 100 mg of most of the B vitamins? That can be harsh on your liver unless you work up to it. Taking them here and there is not good, everyday is better. Start with B-25, move up to B-50 and then on to B-100. Most vitamins and mineral supplements that are more than the RDA % are like that, safer if you work up to a higher dosage and take them daily, not sporadically.”

“aahhh, now here's a burning question about vitamins. if you take a supplement, does that mean that your body doesn't absorb the vitamins you might get naturally from fruit & veggies? like, if i took a multi-supplement in the morning, and juiced in the afternoon, would those afternoon vitamins just go right through me?”

“Green Ban is not made by Burt's Bees and my cat actually takes a pill made for cats. She eats them like treats.”

“Lyra, some vitamins are water soluble meaning that most of them go right through you anyway. Most vitamin afficionados recommend that you take small doses twice a day rather than a big one once a day, under the idea that you will absorb more. I prefer to take the water soluble ones in the evening, and the vit A,E during the day.

But I don't have an answer for your specific question.”

“I can't use DEET. A Headnet and a long sleeve shirt usually suffice.”

“hmmm, i should get some individual vitamins, instead of a multi.”

“It's a slippery slope, lyra, be careful. Next thing you know, you've got a $100/day vitamin habit, and you're always hanging out at the health food store, looking for the "next big thing"...”

“Some people say that you have to take the brand name vitamins because they absorb better, and then you can start that slippery slope a la bitpusher. I find that the grocery store brand works fine for me. Maybe the absorbtion difference isn't enough to justify the cost diff.”

“but bitpusher, that lifestyle just seems so glamorous! i don't have a problem, i DON'T!!! now get off my back.
;-D

i don't care about brand-name, i'd just rather they were organic.”

“I've heard that the organic mineral supplements were grown without chemicals.

;D

maybe”

“Ok, now that's funny!”

“Individual vitamins are better (imo) since some are ineffective when taken with others, plus you have more control over what you are and aren't ingesting.

My 2 cents - don't rely on tv or the minimum wage clerk at the health food store to "advise" you, but get a couple of good vitamin and herb books. I like Dr Weil, but have had Earl Mindell's books for years.”

“LMAO!! i know, i know...”

“If you want "more organic" eat your organic veggies. Better way to get what you need.”

“41 posts and not one 'fArtex' reference?”

“I joined a coop health food store, and go there on the days that the fresh produce comes in. That is the best arrangement yet. Also I can buy grains, flours, nuts and dried fruit in small quantities without paying a higher per unit cost.”

“That helps stumprider, but there's a lot more that effects our vitamin absorbtion than simply eating the right (or organic) foods.”

“i eat nothing but organic veggies! and lots of them. but some days i feel like i just need a little extra something, like B or iron.”

“Twigeater is right, your absorbtion can change with life circumstances, so that it is different from one year to the next. Also people don't always combine the right foods to enhance their absorption. For instance iron is absorbed better if you eat meat with orange juice or another vitamin C source, but in not absorbed well if eaten with milk or other food containing calcium.”

“Earl Mindell and Dr. Andrew Weil are great sources of info.”