Does anyone know a natural tick & mosquito repellent ?

We are going to a cabin in the woods in a few weeks and I don't want ticks or mosquitoes, but I don't want to cover myself with chemicals either.

Wear long pants and long sleeves.

Tape your pants onto your shoes with duct tape.

Other than that, I can't think of anything. :shrug:

I'm a biting insect magnet. Head to toe coverage is the ONLY way to go. You can look stylish in lightwight cotton clothing along with the hat. Horseback riding clothing and gear supply catalogs and camping/hiking catalogs also sell anti-mosquito clothing (net outfits.).

Use Avon's Skin So Soft. It maybe does have a smell, but it seems to do all right with keeping bugs away.

Pennyroyal can make some people itch and it kinda stinks, too.



Laura

Thats kind of an urban myth. In fact its scented and that actually ATTRACTS mosquitos.
AFAIK, the only thing that is REALLY effective in keeping mosquitos and ticks away is DEET.
Sorry.

:shrug:

Kick ass.

Skin So Soft works pretty well in keeping black flies away.

Woodman's worked best, but they stopped making it because it was probably chock full of something that is no longer allowed - and it was really sticky and smelled awful.

Can't speak for mosquitoes, but it (SSS) does work for black flies.

but you'll have every cat in the vicinity sniffing your legs for a high!

AFAIC, that would be purr-fect!

By the way, valerian is like cocaine to cats without the bad side-effects (put a few drops of tincture in a cup of tea and pour some of that into a saucer for them.) Try it and see how it goes

I have a cat called Hamish who goes completely nutes for the stuff!

just stay out of their way for a few minutes while they go completely berserk! :rofl:

Makes a nice spray-on, natural-oils based one that seems to work fairly well for flying things, anyway.

You can search places like EMS or REI or Amazon for natural bug repellant and find highly-rated things that way, as well.

http://www.repel.com/ProductCategories/Insectrepellents/LemonEucalyptus/

I used it last summer with good results, but I'm not as attractive to mosquitoes as some are (or to human beings, apparently, but I digress).


Walgreen's carried it here last summer. Don't know where else you might find it.

link says they carry this. Thank you!

I'm not aware of any non-chemical repellent for mosquitoes that actually works. (Doesn't everything require chemicals of one sort or another?)

Just use some OFF® and take a shower before going to bed. I think they make a non-aerosol product, if that'll make you feel better.

My guy, Howard Garrett, a local organic gardening guru has a great site for all things natural. Here's a more complex recipe for a natural repellent: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1033, if that appeals to you more.

He's part of my weekly radio regimen and we visit his site for tons of answers to our organic questions.

HTH! :hi:

But you have to re-apply it all the time. If you forget, then they'll come for you.

As for ticks, you definitely need to get a friend to check you out at the end of a day's hike.

I do know a GREAT natural product for garden pests, fleas and bedbugs tho--it's called diatomaceous earth and is mostly used in pool filters. But you can get it at nursery--it's ground bone and comes in a big bag of dust that you sprinkle on your bed, your carpet or you plants. It acts like broken glass for crawlies and they split apart and die as they make their way over it.

It worked GREAT for me last summer when the sand fleas showed up. And you can even rub it on your dog as a natural repellent.

Cats are another story, since they lick their fur all the time.

It's the teensy exosleletons of diatoms, teensy ancient sea creatures.

Thanx for the correction!

at least according to the Canadians:

http://www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/english/highlights/rco-rhc-e.html


I spray my hat and my cuffs and shoes to avoid skin exposure to whatever repellent I'm using.


On edit : that little ultra sonic device that's supposed to repel mosquitoes because it sounds like a dragon fly? I tried it and ended up attracting more mosquitoes than the people I was sitting with!

An old boy-scout trick. If you can get it down, it really does work.

I heard it works pretty well, parrot semen might also work , although its not as effective

I don't WANNA know...

The Dingo pee is another question.

Are there Dingos in Florida?

Really? ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo

and so does vinegar.

My cousin used to put vinegar on her body (:puke:) when she was living in Greece because the mosquitos were so bad at one point, and she was pregnant and loathe to use bug spray. Her husband said it was like living with a salad :rofl:

Or garlic tabs from the pharmacy.
Yep it will work for Skeeters.

In the meantime, many military folk in the field use sulfur powder to repel bugs. It works better than any commercial product that I have ever tried. Go to your local pharmacy and ask for either sulfur powder or "flowers of sulfur". It is over the counter, but often is kept behind the counter. Put the powder in a large holed salt, pepper, or Parmesan cheese shaker. Military men will sometimes pour it into a sock and use it as a powder puff. One inexpensive bottle can last a family of four for more than a year. Put on as you would talcum powder. It will not stain or leave a sticky residue.

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every natural mosquito repellent email/suggestion they've ever been sent has been a failure/hoax/dangerous or of very-limited usefulness. They cite a U of F study testing a number of products and remedies which showed results of 302 minutes for Deep-Woods Off, a product containing DEET; no non-DEET product was even in the ballpark. Skin-So-Soft scored 9.6 minutes. Most didn't work at all.

Sorry...it seems that the only thing which repels mosquitos is DEET. Period. That is unless you want to douse yourself in SSS every 9 minutes.