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Gopher Gulch: Don’t let humidity bug you
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While each drop of precious water is appreciated, there’s a flip side to every coin. The flip side to high humidity is a bumper crop of mosquitoes big enough to pack off small pets. Mosquitoes are not only unpleasant, they’re dangerous, carrying diseases from canine heartworms to malaria. Since dozens of those mini-vampires chose to bleed me through my shirt on last week’s hike, I’m grateful to have a great immune system. Next time I’ll remember to slop repellent all over, not just on my face and hands. Spraying pesticides will never solve the problem, so here are some mosquito survival techniques that don’t entail dangerous chemicals. Remember, the pesticides that kill mosquitoes also kill dragonflies, and dead dragonflies don’t eat mosquitoes. Live ones, however, consume huge amounts of mosquitoes and their eggs. Swallows eat mosquitoes all day and bats eat them all night, while frogs do double duty, eating both fliers and floaters.
You don’t want to apply poisons to your children, so here are some
healthy alternatives. Mosquitoes avoid the scent of citrus, and my
favorite way to apply it is to put several drops of essential oil of
lemon grass — not fragrance oil — in an unscented lotion. It’s
inexpensive, non-toxic and can be applied as often as desired.
Lemon balm, a mint that grows easily here, is also a great repellent. If you’re outside, just crush some leaves then rub your hands through your hair and over your skin. Tuck a sprig in your hair, under your watch band, a buttonhole. This is great for little kids, who will happily crush and apply their own. It’s no accident that lemon balm is at its best and juiciest during mosquito season. Plants release their repellent oils only when their leaves are crushed, so plant it around door steps and porches, and run your hands through it on the way by. If some happens to get stepped on, great. For excellent protection that has no harmful chemicals, dump lemon balm leaves and some water into a blender, strain the goop, and put the liquid in a spray bottle, then spritz it around liberally. You can safely spray your children’s hair, clothes, skin, and it won’t hurt them a bit. They’ll even smell good. When it comes to eating insect repellent, garlic is my own personal favorite — 2 cloves a day. If you’re going the capsule route, you’ll need about 1500 mgs daily to repel the sanguinary little beasts. Or you could invest in Avon Skin So Soft, which is said to be a great repellent that doesn’t drive away vampires, family and co-workers. And if you do get bit? The absolute best stuff to take the itch out is Preparation-H. Honest! But little Benadryl pens work well and are easy to carry when hiking or camping. The truth is, we’re always going to have something to complain about, so try to maintain a sense of perspective. These are mosquitoes, not mountain lions. |
