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Have I mentioned how much I love summer?
Yes Jen, every week.
Well there's so much summer left and I'm happy as a chipmunk on a slice of watermelon... a songbird in a bird bath or... even... a mosquito on a fleshy arm...
Yeah. Mosquitos.
An integral part of the food chain. Also a plague.
A. Moses. Level. Plague.
ugh
Nothing like a lovely summer evening with a pleasant summer breeze to be chased indoors by these nasty, deft, cunning bloodsuckers. You would think by now I would have this all figured out but I don't; that I would be the master of mosquito solutions but I'm not. I'm trying.
Sprays: they work. I PERSONALLY don't appreciate the chemical exchange on an everyday, hour to hour basis. Even sprayed on clothes.
Repellent items: bracelets and stuff like that. They work too. I recently discovered cute stickers you can wear! Also full of chemicals and I would use if at an event outdoors; again sparingly and not a solution to my day to day mosquito problems.
Citronella candles and torches: work well, to an extent. Also::: chemicals. Billows and billows of fumes will be experienced if you use enough candles to actually be effective. So these really need to be strategically placed about in a way that is inoffensive and therefore handling about 15% of my problems.
BTW if candles are YOUR go to I have to tell you... Big Lots brand of citronella candles work like a BOSS for some reason... it must be the chemicals! They sell out pretty quick for the season... for a reason. They work.
so... what do?
Well now I'm on a personal journey, the quest, to find a solution that is effective and perfect. A bit of internet research has yielded these things::::
Plants:
yes... potted or garden plants. These have been listed as effective for warding off mosquitos.
Citronella (duh) marigold, mint, basil, catnip, lemon balm, pennyroyal, sage.
Sooo do I have to construct a throne of herbs and annuals every year for plants to work on an, at least, 60 - 70% effectiveness? idk
To be continued...
Essential Oils:
yes... these are chemicals. Harsh, abrasive but natural and even medicinal chemicals! These are chemicals I can deal with. When diluted properly can be safely applied to skin or burned in a diffuser. Dilutions are best, usually one ounce of carrier (olive oil, cream etc) to 2 drops essential oil. Or one drop to a small diffuser of water.
They are:::: Lavendar!!! (husband hates it) Tea Tree (ew) Peppermint (oooh) Citronella (this again) Lemon Eucalyptus (very nice, careful on skin) Sweet basil, Catnip Clary Sage
I'm interested in a mix of peppermint and lemon euc as an ointment. I'll try this one day and let you know. One day...
Misc:
Garlic. Yes garlic oil. Yes garlic plants but really... one. clove. of. garlic. eaten. raw. so. that. the. chemical. compounds. of. your. blood. are. altered. for. the. entire. evening.
Please for the sake of goodness warn your loved ones.
Bug zapper. I love our bug zapper. It's got a name; sparky. It does the job of ... hmmm maybe 30%. An ally. Helpful.
Standing water. Make roaming your grounds looking for those little pools of water in shovels, empty planters, chairs and all the many crevices on your property a part of your walking meditation! Boom, done.
Screens. Just, screens.
And burning sage. The smoke of burning bits of dried sage is antimicrobrial and also, apparently a good mosquito repellent. Also my husband hates this more than lavender.
And one day I will get the recipe right. I imagine there will be a couple of candles like over there, sparky, a nice refreshing lemony peppermint cream, lots of little plants still in their, plastic pots from the market and maybe a hint of garlic. I will submit my report,,, one of these days.
Have I mentioned how much I love summer?
Yes Jen, every week.
Well there's so much summer left and I'm happy as a chipmunk on a slice of watermelon... a songbird in a bird bath or... even... a mosquito on a fleshy arm...
Yeah. Mosquitos.
An integral part of the food chain. Also a plague.
A. Moses. Level. Plague.
ugh
Nothing like a lovely summer evening with a pleasant summer breeze to be chased indoors by these nasty, deft, cunning bloodsuckers. You would think by now I would have this all figured out but I don't; that I would be the master of mosquito solutions but I'm not. I'm trying.
Sprays: they work. I PERSONALLY don't appreciate the chemical exchange on an everyday, hour to hour basis. Even sprayed on clothes.
Repellent items: bracelets and stuff like that. They work too. I recently discovered cute stickers you can wear! Also full of chemicals and I would use if at an event outdoors; again sparingly and not a solution to my day to day mosquito problems.
Citronella candles and torches: work well, to an extent. Also::: chemicals. Billows and billows of fumes will be experienced if you use enough candles to actually be effective. So these really need to be strategically placed about in a way that is inoffensive and therefore handling about 15% of my problems.
BTW if candles are YOUR go to I have to tell you... Big Lots brand of citronella candles work like a BOSS for some reason... it must be the chemicals! They sell out pretty quick for the season... for a reason. They work.
so... what do?
Well now I'm on a personal journey, the quest, to find a solution that is effective and perfect. A bit of internet research has yielded these things::::
Plants:
yes... potted or garden plants. These have been listed as effective for warding off mosquitos.
Citronella (duh) marigold, mint, basil, catnip, lemon balm, pennyroyal, sage.
Sooo do I have to construct a throne of herbs and annuals every year for plants to work on an, at least, 60 - 70% effectiveness? idk
To be continued...
Essential Oils:
yes... these are chemicals. Harsh, abrasive but natural and even medicinal chemicals! These are chemicals I can deal with. When diluted properly can be safely applied to skin or burned in a diffuser. Dilutions are best, usually one ounce of carrier (olive oil, cream etc) to 2 drops essential oil. Or one drop to a small diffuser of water.
They are:::: Lavendar!!! (husband hates it) Tea Tree (ew) Peppermint (oooh) Citronella (this again) Lemon Eucalyptus (very nice, careful on skin) Sweet basil, Catnip Clary Sage
I'm interested in a mix of peppermint and lemon euc as an ointment. I'll try this one day and let you know. One day...
Misc:
Garlic. Yes garlic oil. Yes garlic plants but really... one. clove. of. garlic. eaten. raw. so. that. the. chemical. compounds. of. your. blood. are. altered. for. the. entire. evening.
Please for the sake of goodness warn your loved ones.
Bug zapper. I love our bug zapper. It's got a name; sparky. It does the job of ... hmmm maybe 30%. An ally. Helpful.
Standing water. Make roaming your grounds looking for those little pools of water in shovels, empty planters, chairs and all the many crevices on your property a part of your walking meditation! Boom, done.
Screens. Just, screens.
And burning sage. The smoke of burning bits of dried sage is antimicrobrial and also, apparently a good mosquito repellent. Also my husband hates this more than lavender.
And one day I will get the recipe right. I imagine there will be a couple of candles like over there, sparky, a nice refreshing lemony peppermint cream, lots of little plants still in their, plastic pots from the market and maybe a hint of garlic. I will submit my report,,, one of these days.