Mosquito Begone

In Simple Mom’s blog advice and common sense tips for avoiding those pesky bites:
“Several gardeners assured me that planting marigolds, scented geraniums (rub the leaves on your skin too), rosemary, catnip, peppermint, spearmint, daisies, verbena, spike lavender (not the sweet French variety), basil, thyme, garlic, allspice, cedar, and lemon grass around the yard naturally repels insects. Decorating with eucalyptus is also rumored to be helpful. You can make your own insect-repelling sachets by drying the flowers and leaves from the above plants and placing them into small, hand-sewn cotton bags.”

It is also important to reduce their breeding grounds of stagnant water. Read on for some of her tips:

clipped from thesimplemom.wordpress.com

Mosquitoes identify their targets by sight, heat and smell. Avoid physically active movement (exercise, ball games, yard work, etc.) during peak mosquito hours to keep them from noticing you from a distance. Peak mosquito times tend to be right around dusk and dawn. Reduce outside lights in the evening hours (use yellow bulbs, if possible).

Mosquitoes are attracted to perspiration, heat, carbon dioxide, and lactic acid. All of these are produced after exercising, so avoid outdoor exercise during peak mosquito hours (at dawn and dusk). Our bodies also release lactic acid after eating certain foods, so avoiding outdoor dining during those hours is helpful, as well. Commonly believed mosquito-attracting foods include bananas (or other potassium-rich food items), and salty foods.

Comments

johanna_lea says

September 16, 2009 at 10:24 pm

mosquito repellent recipie-
well tested in the sticky south and guaranteed! safe for little kids, too.

12 oz. witch hazel ( eucalyptus if possible)plus essential oils:
20 drops tea tree
15 drops citronella
10 drops lavender
10 drops marigold (tagetes)
5 drops lemon or lemongrass

i water the bonsai early AM and dusk…i always cover my skin
before i go out. some kind of
tiny mosquito down here breeds in
mud! they are very fast movers,too.