Another one for the BOB: mosquito repellent

Mozzies seem a bit thick tonight, I am sitting here smelling like DEET and citronella. So I was thinking what it would be like if it was hot, humid, flooded and there were flies everywhere feeding on carcasses. I wonder what the insect population was like after Katrina?

Anyway, turns out that DEET is not good for you so I found a really good article on natural repellent here:
8 Natural Mosquito Repellents
Add witch hazel, lemon balm and marigold petals to the above list.

Super Strong Insect Repellent Recipe source

Fair warning: this stuff stinks when it is wet, though the smell disappears as it dries. It works incredibly well though, and this is the one I use when I’m going to be in the woods or in tick infested areas. It is based on a recipe that was supposedly used by thieves during the Black Plague to keep from getting sick. They used it internally and externally to avoid catching the disease and to keep the flies and other pests away. According to legend, it worked and they survived… but it definitely makes a great insect repellent these days! Its also very inexpensive to make and you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen!

Vinegar of the Four Thieves Insect Repellent Ingredients:

1 32 ounce bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TBSP each of dried Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme and Mint
At least quart size glass jar with airtight lid
How to Make the Vinegar of the Four Thieves Insect Repellent:

Put the vinegar and dried herbs into large glass jar.
Seal tightly and store on counter or place you will see it daily. Shake well each day for 2-3 weeks.
After 2-3 weeks, strain the herbs out and store in spray bottles or tincture bottles, preferably in fridge.
To use on skin, dilute to half with water in a spray bottle and use as needed.
Use whenever you need serious bug control!
[Note: This mixture is very strong and has antiviral and antibacterial properties. It can also be used as a tincture for any illness. For adults, dose is 1 TBSP in water several times a day,for kids over 2, dose is 1 tsp in water several times a day.

reply to post by Cinrad


Looks like a variant on thieves oil, nice advice. For a quicker repellent and one readily wildcrafted just about anywhere above the tropics, consider a simple tincture of Achillea millefolium (common Yarrow leaf and flower, macerated in 40%-95.5 % alcohol macerated for greater or lesser time based on ABV). The US military had a study I need t dig up showing it as 3-4x more effective than deet.

Yarrow is also high in Salycilates, diaphoretic (causes sweating) and stops bleeding. It has a long history on the battle field as well as in Appalachia for the flu.

reply to post by Cinrad


Cedar is also effective, and a Patchouli-Cedar oil dabbed on the pulse points works really well!!

Ugh. I LOATHE the tiny vampires!

Thank you so much for your post - I was just thinking how I needed to investigate this for my family this year.
I'll certainly go through the recipes and try them out!

peace,
AB

frankincense and myrrh

Good for me or not, I have Deep Woods Off in my BOB/GHB. I also have insect sting and bite relief in with the first aid kit.

Another trick (that actually works) is putting Bounty dryer sheets in your pockets. Smells better than DEET. I keep some in a Ziploc bag, so I can use them when the time comes. I first used them during paintball, and it worked pretty well.

I was thinking about rubbing mud all over my body, but it seems rubbing oil and/or grease is the better way.

There are a few more tips at the link below.

"Another bug repellant that is in common use by treeplanters in Northern Ontario (outside all day in one of the buggiest places on earth) is oil or grease. Applied to the skin it works wonders. Mosquitoes, blackflies and no see ums can't bite through it (it clogs their mouthparts) and in some cases they get stuck and drown.
A trick that is regularly employed is to reduce the amount of clothing you wear to the bare minimum so that the insects don't crowd your face (lots of exposed skin on your back for them to land on, only its protected with oil.) I used this method for 6 seasons and it was better than DEET!"

www.wildwoodsurvival.com...

Harvesting oil from natural plants:

www.fs.fed.us...

The solders used coal oil and cedar ashes. The Indians rubbed themselves with boiled sassafras. Their skin was so much tougher than that of a white man that it seldom mattered. They did something with leeches as well however I would need to look that up.

All these options have a finite supply. It's all about the nets.

Another infinite solution would be to cover all exposed skin with a think layer of mud or clay, however even though it may keep the bugs from biting they will may still be buzzing around you.

Lorienth
All these options have a finite supply. It's all about the nets.

edit on 4/10/2014 by Lorienth because: (no reason given)

The only viable option, really. I've been in places in Alaska that had such a thick concentration of mosquitos and no-see-ums that DEET only worked for about 10 minutes. Another issue is, even when the DEET is working, the little bastards still swarm your face, driving you utterly nuts. A wide brimmed hat with a net and biteproof clothing is the only way to go.

Another consideration is that it only takes a few hundred bites before you effectively reach an immunity. My bites don't itch after the first couple weeks of summer, making the buzzing and the swarming a larger annoyance than the biting. So yeah, DEET isn't that great.

Just want to say I've hiked the Appalachian Trail twice and on days when I had eaten a couple bananas mosquitos didn't seem to bother me. Just an observation, I can't verify the science of it.

The recipes and info are really great, and thanks for posting them. But if i'm packing a bag to help me survive the collapse of modern civilization, im just gonna take the recipes on a sheet of paper over preparing them in advance for a BOB. i mean if i need to use a BOB, im sure i wont be concerned with mosquito bites for quite awhile. maybe years after whatever is causing me to need to use the bag has happened. that would be a good time to be pulling out that lightweight piece of paper.