Keep them skeeters away!!

“Who has the bead on some catnip oil??

"Then there are repellent plants. Chris Peterson, a U.S. Forest Service insecticide biologist, did a lab experiment in 2001 that showed catnip oil repels mosquitoes. Iowa State University, where Peterson was a doctoral student at the time, has since patented nepatalactone, the part of the oil that does the trick. So far, no one has licensed the patent.

Certain plants long have been reputed to repel mosquitoes. Citronella, an oil from a grass that grows in Sri Lanka and Java, is one of the best known.

Other botanical products recognized as pesticides by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency include cedar oil, cinnamon, cloves, lemongrass oil, mint, rosemary, soybean oil and thyme."

Dispells the garlic myth...
"There's no scientific evidence, for instance, that what you eat - be it bananas that sweeten your blood or garlic that stinks up your breath - makes your body any more or less alluring to mosquitoes, said Carlson, who has studied insect repellency for 35 years."


But it appears DEET is still top dog.

"In the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002, Fradin reported that repellents containing the man-made chemical DEET were superior in their long-lasting effects.

A formulation of 23.8 percent DEET lasted between three and six hours when tested on the arms of 15 volunteers.

The highest-ranking non-DEET product was a repellent made for children using 2 percent soybean oil. It lasted between 16 minutes and three hours.

Citronella was marginally effective, lasting from one minute to 30 minutes when not mixed with other repellent plant oils.

DEET, or N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide, is derived from toluene, a constituent of gasoline. It was developed by the USDA mosquito lab for the military and has been sold commercially for about 50 years.

DEET has a reputation as a risky repellent, because over the years there have been reports of users, especially children, suffering seizures and other neurological problems. But a variety of scientific reviews have concluded that problems occurred chiefly in people who ingested DEET or who slathered on too much or used exceptionally high concentrations.

Canadian scientists have found that DEET's effectiveness plateaus at 50 percent concentration.

Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends using DEET to protect against West Nile virus. The basis behind its recommendation is Fradin's 2002 study."

But there is hope....

"Fradin has found a soybean-oil repellent that works on him for two hours. Or he dresses to cover his skin."


Good read!

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/10129224p-11050010c.html”

“I've heard about the catnip oil. I think I have some of it around. I'll try it on the 35 or so varieties of skeeters in my yard right now.”

“Try some out and let us know! Though it seems as though maybe they are using a concentrate form, nepatalactone??”

“Nope, no more catnip oil. Guess I used it up on cat toys. :)”

“Back to the top!”

“Back to the top!”

“Well I guess you just get 100 kitties following you up the hill instead of a million mozzies.
Hopefully cougars won't like it.”

“Maybe that's why it keeps the mosquitoes away; they're too busy biting the cougars that are eating you.”

“LOL!! hey, whatever works, bitpusher :-D”

“I could spare my baby toes for the cause!”

“The best way to keep skeeters away is to hike in the winter (in a geographical area where the little bastards don't thrive all year).

--Sincerely, Dr. Chili”

“I hardly use DEET.”

“DEET or no, I got several mosquito bites last weekend and the biting black flies could have given a sheet what I had on my skin. I would love to try the "Buzz Off" line of clothing that Ex Officio makes, but it's pricey! $80 for a shirt!?!? Come on!”

“DEET works for me.”

“i heard that the stuff on the buzz off clothing washes out after a while, I think about 2 weeks???

You can buy this stuff that you can spray on your clothing. Lasts 2 weeks and you can buy it at good ol walmart.”

“I'll check it out.”

“Permanone.


It is sold under the Repel Label at WalMart. Yellow can with blue top, I think. In the sporting goods section.”

“100% DEET works well for skeeters. Not sure anything keeps flies away.”

“Permathyn as well. IN the gardening section.”

“My DEET bottle claims it repels biting black flies, but I think it didn't work.”

“DEET repels flies when first put on I think. But i really have yet to hear of anything that keeps them off. I would love to know if there is something out there.”

“I use that stuff with deet that's called "Outdoors" in the green bottle, and it works fine.

I have about 2,000 mosquitos in my backyard. I use tiki sticks with citronella in them and place them about 8 ft apart, and I sit in between them and that works.

My Chihuahua uses Advantix for fleas, ticks and mosquitos.”

“Some in-laws were talking about a canoe trip and they put a sheet of "Bounce" under their hat and the biting bugs left their head alone!

I'm abit skeptical, but they claim it works!

Anyone heard about this?

Oh BTW, I forgot to ask the proper scent.”

“Chicago, I've heard about bounce working, but I don't know if it's true. These things are scented, and mosquitos like scents.”

“I've heard about it also, and know a friend who has actually tried it. He claimed it worked pretty well.”

“When the skeeters are particularly bad, I put a Bounce sheet through the D ring on my dog's collar. The mosquitos usually congregte around his head, but not with the bounce sheet there. I got the tip from an old man walking in the woods looking at his newly purchased property. He had a Bounce sheet pinned to the front of his shirt and one on the back of his hat, draping over the back of his neck. He claimed they worked well.”

“I mix Catnip oil with DEET. A 1 oz. bottle goes a long way.

http://www.essentialoils.org/complete_eo_list.htm

If you have cats, it can cause problems though. It makes one of my cats very aggressive. She bites my leg and gives our other cat a bad time.”

“LOL!

Thanks for the link, Griz! I'll try not to apply it near our cat!

Interesting about the Bounce. Will have to give that a try as well!”

“There is a site called snopes.com. It deals with whether certain stories are true or false. If you go to the site, you can enter "bounce sheets" to get info on uses for bounce, but here is a direct link to if Bounce repels mosquitos, and it doesn't.

http://www.snopes.com/spoons/oldwives/skeeters.htm

It also mentions skin so soft.”

“I thought that citronella was working. I was sitting like usual between the two tiki citronella torches actually one foot away from one and still got bit. I think I didn't get bit the other nights because the air was moving around and moved the citronella smoke around near me. Tonight, the air was still.

Time to get out those Bounce sheets, lol.”

“I tried the Bounce sheets 10 years ago. Smelled so bad we had to burn it.

I use the Permathrin on my clothes. They're not bothering me. I dab a little Off! spray around my face with the headnet.

Take the Preparation H for the bites. It stops swelling and itching. But you have to dab it on before you scratch. Works for me.”

“lh, I don't care what snopes says. It put the Bounce sheet in the dog's collar and the mosquitos don't fly around his head. I'll keep putting a fresh bounce sheet in his collar everytime we go out for a walk when the mosquitos are bad.”