Re: Natural way to kill/repel mosquitoes?

March 26, 2004

You can buy plants that you can place strategically around your doorways

and patio that smell like citronella. Check your local nursery for

them, geraniums are one plant they have made a citronella variety of.

As for your body, they make citronella body sprays that repel mosquitoes

and are non toxic.

Natural way to kill/repel mosquitoes?

Dear Native Nutritionists,

I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and entering

in as soon as they are opened.

Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's

house, or to effectively repel them?

Thanks for your help,

M.

--

_______________________________________________

Get your free email from http://www.iname.com

March 26, 2004

-Hi, I'm new to this group and haven't even read the book you are

discussing but I have a comment on the mosquito question. I read in

a book about raw vegan eating that the author's family went to an

area that was bad for mosquitoes but weren't bothered at all by

them. They felt that it was because their blood was not acidic due

to their diet and did not attract the mosquitoes at all. I was

wondering if anyone had heard of this idea.

Myrna

-- In , " "

<brother@I...> wrote:

> Dear Native Nutritionists,

>

> I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

entering in as soon as they are opened.

>

> Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's

house, or to effectively repel them?

>

> Thanks for your help,

>

> M.

> --

> _______________________________________________

> Get your free email from http://www.iname.com

March 27, 2004

> Dear Native Nutritionists,

>

> I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

entering in as soon as they are opened.

>

> Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's

house, or to effectively repel them?

>

> Thanks for your help,

>

> M.

I live in a swamp in central Arkansas where we have some of the

biggest citranella-loving mosquitos around. Mosquitos get really,

really bad in some areas and the City has a tank truck full of

pesticides that it drives around through neighborhoods spraying

something to kill all the mosquitos...whether you want to be

fumigated, or not.

Somehow, our neighborhood gets spared and this is how we deal with

the mosquitos.

1) Run really fast from the car to the house. This means eat extra

liver or whatever it takes to be able to get inside fast.

2) Keep the porch light off and turn on a light on the other side of

the yard to attract most of the mosquitos away from the door.

3) For the smarter mosquitos who weren't fooled by the decoy light

and end up inside despite efforts described in #1 and #2, leave the

lights off inside and turn on a bug zapper for about ten minutes.

My sister painted all her walls white with a super high gloss that's

washable. Mosquitos are attracted to the white wall and she gave her

kids fly swatters. When a bunch of mosquitos get in their house, the

kids run around with the fly swatters and kill all the mosquitos.

They love it and sometimes fight over who gets to kill the last

mosquito. Then she washes all the bug guts off the wall. Ah,

entertainment in Arknasas.

Some people use a light bulb over a bowl of water in a dark room.

Many people here prefer this over a bug zapper since it's not as

noisy.

In some country, the have house lizards. I can't remember what type

of lizard it is, but they have a bunch of these lizards in their

houses that eat all the bugs. I saw it on TV and it looked really

funny, two lizards on the wall and one on the ceiling in this really

nice living room that otherwise looked like something in a magazine.

House lizards may be a good option because you could eat some of the

lizards at the end of the summer.

Betsy

March 27, 2004

>> I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

>aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

>entering in as soon as they are opened.

Last year we bought one of those thingies that releases

CO2 then sucks in the mosquitos ... they are supposed

to work very well. They release CO2 so the mosquitos

think there is an animal around, then a vacuum slurps in

the mosquito into a little trap. They are pricy, but a big

one I think can wipe out all the mosquitos in a 5 acre

area. If you put one by your door, you will probably lose

the mosquitos. Or you might be able to build you own

low-cost version ... something like, oh, put a mouse outside

in a little cage surrounded by bug-zapper wire ... or better get

some pheremone attractant and put that inside a bug

zapper. Or since they get attracted to the CO2 coming

from your house, put the bug zapper outside a screened

" exit " from the house.

However, last year we didn't get many mosquitos, so

we didn't set it up. That is because I ALSO learned that

they don't actually have a large range ... that is, they

don't fly very far. So, if you have a lot of them in your

neighborhood, they are probably hatching in your

neighborhood. There were two spots in my yard

I knew they liked ... one is a stream that makes a little

boggy place, the other an old swimming pool. So

I drained the boggy place (increased the size of

the outlet for the stream) and we got pollywogs in

the little pool, and we got a lot fewer mosquitos. Since

the little beggers can breed in old tires, jars, buckets, etc.

it might be worthwhile searching for their homes.

If they are breeding in a pond or drainage ditch, it used

to be possible in California to get free " mosquito fish "

to put in the ditch., which eat the mosquito larvae. I don't

know if Tennessee has such a program, but adding

fish to standing water works nicely.

-- Heidi Jean

March 27, 2004

I have a theory that the person that attracts the most mosquitoes is

the person who has the most sugar in their diet. Since sugar

depresses your immune system, it seems to put your body into a state

where flies and mosquitoes think it's time to " get a piece of you. "

I saw something recently that said that aborigines in Australia,

commenting on the changes in their health since introduction of white

man's food, said they have more flies around their eyes and other

body openings.

Beyond that, I suggest trying Heidi's ideas (get rid of the standing

water that they breed in, or add fish or pollywogs to eat the

larvae), as well as adding indoor plants to consume some of the

carbon dioxide that's inside the house.

Oh, here's one more idea--something my dh came up with: leave a

little grape juice sitting in a cup, and suspend one of those rolled-

up fly strips over it, unrolled a bit. Of course, this is better for

catching fruit flies and noseeums. It's not pretty, but it's fairly

effective and doesn't introduce huge amounts of insecticides into the

house.

> Dear Native Nutritionists,

>

> I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

entering in as soon as they are opened.

>

> Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's

house, or to effectively repel them?

>

> Thanks for your help,

>

> M.

> --

> _______________________________________________

> Get your free email from http://www.iname.com

March 27, 2004

I think the sugar theory is a pretty good one. I eat very little sugar and

my wife doesn't eat the NT way. When we go fishing, we can be side by side

and the mosquitos eat her alive and pretty much stay away from me.

>I have a theory that the person that attracts the most mosquitoes is

>the person who has the most sugar in their diet. Since sugar

>depresses your immune system, it seems to put your body into a state

>where flies and mosquitoes think it's time to " get a piece of you. "

>

>I saw something recently that said that aborigines in Australia,

>commenting on the changes in their health since introduction of white

>man's food, said they have more flies around their eyes and other

>body openings.

>

>Beyond that, I suggest trying Heidi's ideas (get rid of the standing

>water that they breed in, or add fish or pollywogs to eat the

>larvae), as well as adding indoor plants to consume some of the

>carbon dioxide that's inside the house.

>

>Oh, here's one more idea--something my dh came up with: leave a

>little grape juice sitting in a cup, and suspend one of those rolled-

>up fly strips over it, unrolled a bit. Of course, this is better for

>catching fruit flies and noseeums. It's not pretty, but it's fairly

>effective and doesn't introduce huge amounts of insecticides into the

>house.

>

> > Dear Native Nutritionists,

> >

> > I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

>aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

>entering in as soon as they are opened.

> >

> > Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's

>house, or to effectively repel them?

> >

> > Thanks for your help,

> >

> > M.

> > --

> > _______________________________________________

> > Get your free email from <http://www.iname.com>http://www.iname.com

>

March 29, 2004

> I live in ville, FL, and the mosquitoes around here are

> aggressive, often lying in wait just outside one's doors, and

> entering in as soon as they are opened. Is there a safe, non-

> toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's house, or to

> effectively repel them? Thanks for your help.

,

Heidi's suggestion about getting rid of standing water is good.

Mosquitoes actually like small bits of water better than large,

apparently.

About a natural mosquito repellent:

CATNIP is one possibility -- " Researchers report that nepetalactone,

the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic

odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than

DEET — the compound used in most commercial insect repellents. While

they used so-called yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) — one of

several species of mosquitoes found in the United States —

says catnip should work against all types of mosquitoes. "

==> I have tried this, and it works, but because I was using

tincture instead of essential oil, I don't think it worked as well

as it should have. If we had a lot of mosquitoes, I would get

essential oil and mix it with some non-scented oil (jojoba,

maybe?). I found that I got NO bites where the catnip stuff

was .... but I did get bites where it wasn't. This probably means,

apply it everywhere that will be exposed?

************************

A TOMATO PRODUCT may be another possibility, one of these days --

" A substance produced by tomatoes repels mosquitoes and other

insects more effectively and is safer than DEET, the chemical most

commonly used in insect repellents, a North Carolina State

University scientist has discovered. Indeed, work by Dr.

Roe, Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at

NC State, showed that the natural compound found in tomatoes is so

effective at repelling insects that the university patented the

substance. The patent describes how the substance may be used to

repel insects. Roe and Insect Biotechnology Inc. officials believe

the substance, which Insect Biotechnology is calling IBI-246, has

the potential to replace DEET as the active ingredient in most

insect repellents. "

*************************

For keeping them away from your yard, and general surroundings, the

CO2 device that Heidi talked about apparently works well, but (as

she said) is very expensive.

There is something else which might work, and be cheaper. It's an

oil from a plant. Perhaps it is possible to buy it, as " essential

oil " from an herbal source. If so, then heating some in a warming

pan (outside, off in the distance) might draw the mosquitos away.

Here's part of the press release:

" Oil from the summer cypress, better known as the burning bush

because it blushes a deep red in autumn, contains a substance which,

when converted into a pheromone, can be used to lure mosquitoes to

their deaths.

" Researchers from Britain and Nigeria have turned oil from the

plant's seeds into a pheromone. This biological messenger, which is

odourless to humans, could lure female mosquitoes away from the

places where people live.

" A team from the Rothamsted site of the Institute of Arable Crops

Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, struck lucky when team leader

Pickett noticed that the burning bush makes a fatty acid

strikingly similar to the pheromone that attracts the mosquitoes

(Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, vol 47, p 3411).

" The pheromone is produced naturally when rafts of eggs are laid in

stagnant water by Culex quinquefasciatus. " It's a cue for female

mosquitoes, telling them that there's a safe place where they can

lay their eggs, " says Mike Birkett, a member of the Rothamsted team.

Pickett is confident that the pheromone attracts females of all

Culex species. "

March 29, 2004

We have catnip growing wild anywhere and everywhere around here, and I've

noticed very few mosquitoes, even though there's plenty of wetness and a

pond just down the hill from us. Perhaps just plant some catnip around your

house? Beware though, it may attract the neighborhood cats.

~ Fern

----- Original Message -----

From: " nnlegend "

About a natural mosquito repellent:

CATNIP is one possibility -- " Researchers report that nepetalactone,

the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic

odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than

DEET - the compound used in most commercial insect repellents. While

they used so-called yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) - one of

several species of mosquitoes found in the United States -

says catnip should work against all types of mosquitoes. "

==> I have tried this, and it works, but because I was using

tincture instead of essential oil, I don't think it worked as well

as it should have. If we had a lot of mosquitoes, I would get

essential oil and mix it with some non-scented oil (jojoba,

maybe?). I found that I got NO bites where the catnip stuff

was .... but I did get bites where it wasn't. This probably means,

apply it everywhere that will be exposed?

March 29, 2004

-

>Is there a safe, non-toxic way to kill all the mosquitoes in one's house,

>or to effectively repel them?

I'm not sure if this will be of any use, but you can buy little

donut-shaped things to drop into any pools of standing water in your area

-- they introduce natural bacteria into the water which prey on mosquito

larvae.

-

March 29, 2004

bats work pretty well, and chickens do too. in fact, ducks will do nicely

too! not only do they get rid of mosquitos, but pretty much everything else

too. say goodbye to your cricket problem!

-katja

At 10:46 AM 3/27/2004, you wrote:

>If they are breeding in a pond or drainage ditch, it used

>to be possible in California to get free " mosquito fish "