Welcome June with Bugs!

And there it is. The first day of June. 

Welcome those pesky gnats too. I don't welcome them but since they are part of our natural world here I learn to deal with them.

First off, stop using scented shampoos, deodorant, and lotions. Anything that smells nice is a bug attractant. I stopped using scented laundry soap and dryer sheets long time ago. 

Some of my secret anti - gnat and bug preps are as follows. Wash your face before going outside with the old Noxema face cream stuff. It stinks and smells like Eucalyptus. Gnats hate it. Brush your teeth and rinse with brown yucky mouthwash.

Gnats and bug love the smell of carbon dioxide, they are attracted to your breath when you exhale.

Think about carrying a tiny sample bottle of the stuff and rinsing your mouth as you hike.

I use a couple of different bug repellents. The cheapest is Absorbine Jr. it is down right nasty smelling! But put it on your hat and dab it all over. Just be aware that it will feel like it is heating up if you are working in the sun! 

Menthol is its main ingredient, you SO do not want to put this on your face or under your eyes as it will irritate them!

I used some the other day on the back of my neck. I felt it was on fire when I started to sweat and then realized that the product was simply doing what it was supposed to do. Warm things up.

Bugg. I had three different varieties of Bugg. The blue bottle is not available right now because one of their ingredients is not available. I use the green for gnats and it smells good too.

These are a bit more pricey than brand name bug spray like Off, but easy to carry in a cargo pants pocket and spritz as needed. 

Herbel Armor. This is an old bottle that came in a lotion. Caution, this stuff will even repel husbands. It stinks, but if you wish to keep bugs away? This works well. I use it sparingly and I do not share it. The cost for 8 oz of the stuff is pretty pricey. But, it does work well. I'll be picking some up at the local Food Co-op again this year. I see the 8 oz family size is about $20 on Amazon. Yikes! I should be able to purchase this for $8.99 in town.

Shop local when you can, right?

If all else fails, you can purchase like I have some essential oils and dribble some geranium oil, peppermint, and citronella on an old hat and kerchief.  The whole purpose of keeping those nasty bugs away is to cover your scent.

When it is really bad, I use Vicks Vapo Rub on my ears. Yuck. But the gnats and 'skeeters stay off. 

With skeeters, gnats, and flies, in the summer, I still enjoy getting out in the woods and shooting photos.

In the thick underbrush 'bug juice' is necessary.  

Part of the allure of winter is no bugs.  

Without Proper Prep, I wouldn't last on some days in the woods and be able to enjoy a nice hike.

On ticks. 

Well, I change my clothes when I get back home and hang out my woodsey clothes outside on the porch and do a check and wash up because I smell like Eucalyptus, Menthol and other strong scents. 

I also use some of these essential oils mixed with Witch Hazel for the mules. I have experimented over the years and found that homemade sprays work about as well as the expensive stuff. Which is to say.

Not very well.

Vinegar.

I AM a skeptic.  Really I am!  I was told by our neighbors that Roundup was bad and they ordered special weed killer vinegar over the internet and that it worked.

Pooh.

Then I read that you can use household vinegar to spray weeds. 

Um, okay...so I experimented.  I used household vinegar, table salt, soap, and a touch of mineral oil mixed it all together and went out to spray some of those pesky weeds like burdock and thistle.

In less than 30 minutes they looked very sickly.  In two hours they were brown.

Imagine my delight in finding that vinegar actually worked.

It didn't do as well in the shade, but still wilted the heck out of the burdock.  

I tried apple cider vinegar and regular vinegar.  

I used the mineral oil in the mix so that the solution would stick to the leaves better.

I also use either type of vinegar in my homemade 'horse' fly spray.  It doesn't do quite as well as the $22.00/quart of certain kinds of commercial fly spray, but it does knock those pesky flies down.

I used some left over white vinegar in one of my sinks that was looking kind of crummy.  I let it soak for about half an hour.

I drained it and wiped the sink spotless.  No comet cleanser used here. Just stupid vinegar and water.

Last night I soaked my poor feet in vinegar and water.

Why?  Mom the 80 yr old wonder lady told me too.  My feet were itchy from wearing my hot boots. They had a heat rash from sweating and I thought...well, why not? 

My feet felt like heaven.

The heat rash died and went away...

Two days ago I mixed vinegar and cool water and used it to ease the pain of Ariel's sunburn.

Yeah it worked.  

I'm not a chemical engineer, but I do know that vinegar has a 5% acidic value to it.  I'm sure that is what helps kill the weeds and cleaned the sink among other things.

I think when 'Googled' uses for vinegar, I was very surprised.  I didn't really think I could use it in so many ways.

One of the things I have been trying to do and I can thank my neighbors for that...is try to lessen the use of chemicals in cleaning and around the house.

I've found that there are so many things that I can use instead of harsh chemicals, and perhaps I won't make a dent in the world, but I surely am enjoying trying other things.

One exception to the vinegar weed killer is going to be poison ivy.  It grows generally in the shade and I purchased some special spray for it. Although, I think I will experiment and try some vinegar and salt on it just for kicks.

I'll take before and after photos to make a comparison.

PS~ for Equine enthusiasts, a wee bit of apple cider vinegar in your equine's grain per day and it will make a fur coat shine.  It has been said that it aids in repelling bugs also.  Not sure on that one, but I can say that it works on the coat!

Bug Solutions you've never thought of...

Today while working in the deep woods, I tried something different for those pesky little bugs.

I'd taken a shower this morning and because I'd gotten a little sunburn on my tummy, I used *Mom's* cure all for Sunburn.
Noxzema skin creme, the old kind.

I smeared the Noxzema on my arms, face, and legs liberally. Hubby wrinkled his nose and proclaimed:

*YOU STINK!*

and yes I did.
Of Eucalyptus and camphor menthol...hideous right?

Well absolutely not! First the odor brought me back to some very pleasant and wonderful childhood memories of being smeared with this cooling cream when I'd spent too much time in the sun...

...and second...

The bugs HATE me.

It really only made sense. For the past 3 yrs, I've been 'making' my own 'natural' bug spray for myself and the mules.
It costs me about .10 cents a quart versus up to $14.00 per quart in the store.

I've used Mentholatum Ointment on the mules' ears for a couple of years now, and you have to be very careful NOT to get it below their eyes.

I use the following to make my equine spray:
Eucalyptus and Lemongrass essential oils along with a few drops of Citronella oil, Peppermint oil, Rosemary, and Tree tea oil, combined in a few squirts of Noxzema, witch hazel, mineral oil, and a few drops of Dawn dish soap to hold it together.

My husband says the mules smell awful.
The bugs stay off my mules for about the same length of time as the $14/quart spray from the store does.


And for a simple stroll in the woods?
I just slather on the old Noxzema creme and wash up after my hike.

Who knew?

Another helpful hint.
Carry 1/2 mix of generic brown colored Listerine mouthwash with 1/2 water in a spritzer. This too works pretty well.