Connect Simply

Photo by Nick Kulas

After a couple people in my local area came down with the West Nile Virus, and the mosquitoes still quite numerous, I asked a few places about avoiding the West Nile Virus.

At the Survival Podcast forum I got various statistics on various insect propellants and tests as to which was best from a military physician.

1st Permethrin treated clothes with DEET 30% on remaining exposed skin
2nd – Permethrin treated clothes
3rd – DEET 30%
4th – Picaridin (very close to DEET 30%)

Now I don’t mind using these while hiking in a chigger and tick infested area, but not wanting to put on repellant every time I walk into my yard. Still good to know what works and that there was no need to use more than 30% DEET.

Photo by BirdFreak.com

Bea Kunz came to the rescue, here is her answer from Ryze:

“As you know I’m outside more than inside during the parts of the year that the nasty feeders are fond of.

We don’t have a lot but enough to command action to keep them from breeding.

Some of the best ways to do this is; No standing water in containers that does not drain well and quickly.

Ponds and birdbath’s must be kept clean and have good filtration or circulation.

Build Bat houses on your property or in your yard.
Bats eat thousands of the insects every day.

Encourage toads, frogs and lizards on your property…also dine on the mosquitoe and the larva.

I use Essential oils for repellents and for after the bite if I happen to get one.

Thai lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a very effective repellent if it will grow in your area. It will also grow well in greenhouse settings or in a pot.

It contains an ingredient very similar to citronella oil, I use it in cooking and to keep the mosquitoe’s away…works better than citronella, safe and easy and clean to use.

Take one stalk of fresh lemon grass (grip it near the ground and give it a sharp sideways tug to break it off from the clump), peel off the outer leaves, snap off the grass blades behind the swollen stem at the base. Bend the stem between your fingers, loosening it, then rub it vigorously between your palms so that it breaks into a kind of fibrous juicy mass, and rub this over all exposed skin, covering thoroughly at least once. Pleasant on the skin and effective for me…100%…99% of the time.

Can also make a tincture that can be used as a spray.

Once you have a bit, and as soon as possible, wash with something cleansing, dry and rub with Chickweed cream, Tea Tree Oil or in my case I use the leaves from Lemon Balm to rub the bite, kills the nasties and stops the itch.

I’m sure Faye can enlighten us a lot about other oils for this purpose.

Most of the country has the extra large mosquitoe’s this year and not sure what they impart when they have you for dinner.

Another important reason for building and maintaining a strong immune system….we can’t always avoid being infected with something out of our control, but, if our immune system is strong it makes a huge difference how it impacts our health. ( lighten up on the sugar and processed foods…the biggest enemy of our immune system)

Have an OutReach October weekend~

Bea Kunz
EatWell-BeWell~
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com

Great info from two very diverse viewpoints, solid information on both sides. Yeah for crowd sourced answers! Now to tackle those blood suckers!

Lemon Grass by Cliff1066