SC - Insect repellants
Sara K. Tallarovic
electricfish at earthlink.net
Tue Sep 12 16:05:00 PDT 2000
Hello! I've been lurking on the list for a while now, gathering recipes
and cooking tips, and Q wanted to share a finding on the topic of biting
insects. I once happened upon a great combination of insect repelling oils
while camping in the AnTir woods (the Cascades of Oregon to be exact). I
had a small collection of essential oils that I had gotten for different
reasons...citronella oil (originally purchased both for mosquito repellant
and to repel my cats from things I didn't want them in), and also rosemary
oil and pennyroyal* oil, both for homemade hair conditioners. I tossed
them all into my camping bag since the labels had rubbed off and I didn't
have time to open each one to find the citronella. Our campsite had
mosquitos as well as biting flies (deer flies, maybe?) and those
excruciatingly annoying black flies that buzz around your head and drive
you mad. I dabbed a few drops of each oil on in sequence and suddenly I
was free of bugs of ALL kinds! The mosquitos were most likely repelled by
the citronella (which I put on first), but it was definitely the rosemary
and/or the pennyroyal* that seemed to best repel the flies (and they seemed
to work best together). The poor dog was trying to nap but was being
harassed relentlessly by black flies, so I gave him a dab of rosemary
between the ears and one near the tail and the next thing I knew he was
also bug free and happily napping. Other folks with me also tried it much
to their relief. If you are looking for herbal insect repellents, these 3
oils worked quite well combined, not to mention they smelled rather nice.
*A note of caution regarding pennyroyal oil: It is for external use
only! It is extremely dangerous to take the oil internally (I hear it can
kill you), so never use it anywhere that it could be consumed, and maybe
even be very careful about the amount used, lest it absorb in large
quantity through the skin. I wouldn't recommend using it on a pet or a
small child.
Cheers!
- -Shu'la
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