Skeeter Control!!!!!

“Here's a little something I ran across today...

"Home remedy myths are as persistent as the mosquitoes"

By Jan Jarvis

Some people wipe themselves down with Bounce fabric softener sheets before heading outdoors. Others swear by a little Vicks VapoRub.

People will try almost anything to keep those pesky mosquitoes from taking a bite out of them. They've gobbled bananas, tried Joy dishwashing detergent and rubbed on Listerine mouthwash.

The list of home remedies and natural products keeps growing as people seek alternatives to chemical pesticides. Some people are convinced these home remedies work, but solid research is harder to find.

Here's a sampling of common remedies:

Garlic: Eating garlic emits an odor that mosquitoes (not to mention humans) find offensive. But it's unclear how much garlic must be eaten to get the full effect. There has been at least one study on the use of garlic as a repellent, but the participants apparently didn't eat enough garlic to make a difference.

Catnip oil: It drives cats crazy, but does it do the same thing for mosquitoes? Researchers at Ohio State University found that catnip can repel mosquitoes 10 times more effectively than DEET. Other herbs in the mint family are believed to do a good job of repelling mosquitoes.

Vitamin B1: When taken three times a day, 25 milligrams to 50 milligrams of vitamin B1 is said to produce an odor that pregnant mosquitoes can't stand. It's odorless to humans, but it takes about two weeks to be effective. Not everyone is convinced that the vitamin is a major turnoff for mosquitoes. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found it had no effect.

Purple martins: Yes, this little bird does eat mosquitoes, but not enough to make much of a difference. In a 1918 study, the stomach contents of 205 purple martins were examined for mosquitoes and none was found. That's not enough evidence to convince some people who strongly believe that the birds do a good job of keeping the bugs away.

Clove oil: It works for headaches and apparently repels mosquitoes, too. Undiluted clove oil repels mosquitoes for up to two hours. The downside is undiluted clove oil may cause a skin rash. And it smells.

Source: National Institute of Health, Avoidmosquitobites.com, altmedicine.about.com, DrGreene.com.

JAN JARVIS, 817-390-7664

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(c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.”

“i used to take garlic pills and didnt have much trouble with skeetas now that i haven't been taking any they eat me up! i wondered about mint...”

“Divinity, am curious... the post states that there was a study on the use of Garlic, but how much to take was unclear...

I assume you were taking Garlic pills (health food store, I presume?), but if they worked for you, then the "dosage" must have been adequate... also, how long did it take before it was effective? A few days? A week?

That catnip thing's got me curious, too... never been near the stuff, so have no idea what to look for. Whatever the source, though, them skeeters in the sierras are pesky critters, and I'd prefer anything else to DEET!”

“Simply stay away from them - if feasable. I once read that a mosquito never travels more than 100 feet from where it's born. Keep on the high-aways and dryways and away from whence they hatch.

Don't exhale. I've noticed that if I stand still for a minute or so they (and gnats, no-see-ums, biting flies, etc) begin to swarm about. Why? They are attracted by carbon dioxide.”

“beer breath?”

“Sure - if you want to get arrested for HUI.”

“For me it would be 'hiking'; for skeeters it would be 'hovering'.”

“i'll be sure to pack a purple martin on my next backpacking trip.

i would be skeptical of most of this stuff. i would be pleased to fine something as effective as deet, but to date i have found nothing. i didn't try any of these, but when i was a kid my mom used 'skin so soft' swearing it worked... it did NOT work.”

“Obi....I took garlic for health purposes...I got it at Walmart & took about 3-4 a day...( I got the oil capsules)...not sure but I would assume ya need it in your system for awhile....and I used to carry skin so soft...seemed to help.....now I carry Deep woods Off spray...not healthy tho...I know...but I think the garlic helped!!!!!...call me silly....”

“yarrow.....sometimes if its bad I stop trailside to rub myself with yarrow. Seems to help somewhat.”

“did it help with the health issue? i thought it had some benefit for the heart... lower cholesterol perhaps?”

“The Winds were terrible for skeets. I was desperate (I seldom - if ever - carry juice).
"What, oh Lord, to do?!"
Eurekage! I had a vision. I found a stick similar in proportion to a framing hammer handle (16"). I cut about a dozen 20" lengths of parachute cord and taped them to the end of the handlestick. This contraption looked suspisciously like a product one might see advertised in the back pages of Submission magazine.

I called it the SuperSwat 2000.

I flailed it rhythmically to-and-fro as I walked along. My lower legs, my head, my arms - nowhere could the skeets find a safe haven. A near-my-head skeeter was a dead skeeter.

Sarabelle caught on quickly. If I gave the "stay" command, she would stop, tense-up a little, and squint her eyes.
"Swat!... got'im!" She would smile and wag as she went back to walking.

It was unbelievably effective.

As you know, rangers often share a tent while "in" (the backcountry). This is true even of mixed genders. The couple I soon encountered were just that - mixed gender. They looked at the SuperSwat 2000, then at each other, then the SuperSwat 2000.
The guy says "I'll give you 20 doll..."
"Make it 31 dollars and 57 cents" the girl interupted.
"And I'll throw in a bandana, a Nalgene, and this shovel" she continued as she lifted the $1200.00 federally-purchased tool for my closer study.
"We're not supposed..."
"Shut up, bi+ch!"
"Yes, my mistress".
"Sorry - make your own" I said, as Sarabelle smiled and wagged her way on down the trail, and I soon followed.
last edited: 7/20/09 4:42:42 AM”

“Mosquito species preferring to breed around the house, like the Asian Tiger Mosquito, have limited flight ranges of about 300 feet. Most species have flight ranges of 1-3 miles. Certain large pool breeders in the Midwest are often found up to 7 miles from known breeding spots. The undisputed champions, though, are the saltmarsh breeders - having been known to migrate up to 100 miles in exceptional circumstances, although 20 to 40 miles are much more common when hosts are scarce. When caught up in updrafts that direct them into winds high above the ground, mosquitoes can be carried great distances.”

“The skeeters in Glacier last week were pretty thick. Off "Deep Woods" towlettes were effective, but it seemed to wear off after a bit. We were camped near lakes and there were places where they were almost miserable adn other places where they weren't that bad. Luckily the campsites were pretty near the lake shores and the slightest breeze would be enough to keep the pests down.”

“makes you super tasty to them.. seriously.. lol”

“I've never heard of that, Offtrack. I take a vitamin with elevated B levels. I wonder if that's why I usually get swarmed.”

“I can park in my brothers back yard and get carried away by skeeters, or park 80 feet away in the front and keep the Mighty Mighty Tacoma's windows open 24/7. I haven't a skeeter incident this year.”