Bug Repellent & Anti-Itch Strategies?
This season seems buggier to me and I'm having a tough time finding strong enough repellents for horse flies ... a good yard spray to repel mosquitoes and keep them from reproducing ... good anti-itch lotion. My daughter thought the anti-itch Cutter's hurt ... Calling all Mom's what do your kids like
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Julie Millen on -
I read somewhere to put a piece of scotch tape over a fresh bite (after cleaning with rubbing alcohol) and it takes the sting right out. I tried it the other day and it worked! Keep the tape on as long as you can.
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Permalink Reply by Jodi Simpson on -
Rachel, your post reminded me of a method we used at the cottage when I was a kid. I had forgotten about it until now. Whenever any of us kids had a mosquito bite my aunt would always make an "X" on the bite with her fingernail and then spray it with perfume. It was effective insofar as the perfume made us feel grown up and exotic (after all, who wears perfume at the cottage?)--a distraction to the itching. The alcohol in the perfume probably relieved the itching, too, for a short while. We never used this method at our cottage--no perfume there--only at my aunt's. I wonder if she still does this with her great grandchildren? I'll have to ask them.
My daughter likes Gold Bond lotion on her bites. It doesn't sting and it seems to bring fast relief. The first time I ever used it was on a deerfly bite, and it worked immediately. I was sold.
Incidentally, mosquitos here in Northern Michigan don't begin to compare with the flying vampires at my cottage in Canada. Years ago when we didn't know any better Grandma would douse all of us in bug repellant every evening, but even clouds of toxic chemicals only went so far. Each night we all simply had to come indoors at mosquito time (dusk) because there was no way to avoid being eaten alive. All these years later this is still true. By ten or eleven o'clock generally it's safe to go outdoors again, but during the evening hours you risk being sucked dry.
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Permalink Reply by Jodi Simpson on
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I just remembered another mosquito repellant. I haven't tried this, so I can't vouch for its effectiveness, but my dad's a believer. Apparently the scent of dryer sheets repels mosquitos (I know it repels me. Yuck.). And I've heard that Bounce brand works best. The trick is to pin a sheet to your clothes. I imagine you could rub your clothes with the sheet if you didn't want to walk around with a rag hanging from your shirt. At any rate it's worth a try. Seems a lot more benign than chemical sprays.
I'd love to hear from anyone who tries this.
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Permalink Reply by Jodi Simpson on
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I just read about this homemade mosquito repellant online last night. The guy claims it's very effective, albeit strange. Here's the recipe: 2 teaspoons of fragrance (lavender oil from Bath and Body Works. Not sure what this is exactly.) and 3/4 cup of vodka. Mix it in a spray bottle and apply. He promises you won't smell like an alcoholic. I suppose if it doesn't keep the mosquitos at bay you could always pour it over ice and drink it. It's worth a try.
