The warm weather we have waited for so long is here! And as I sit in the back yard taking in the scenery suddenly I hear an annoying buzz followed by a bite! I always forget about the bugs! According to Adirondack-park.net An informal poll found that the five most annoying Adirondack bugs are the black fly, mosquito, deerfly, "no-see-um", and the housefly.

The main cures I have seen listed are to cover up completely, wear light colored clothing, or cover yourself with some type of netting. For most people this isn’t practical – except the light colored clothing – so here is the scoop on repellants.

I took a quick look at an article on DEET and found why it works........DEET disrupts the ability of biting insects to detect the source of carbon dioxide—the gas naturally given off by our skin and in our breath— which is what attracts mosquitoes and other insects to us. Insects aren’t killed—they just can’t locate their prey for a period of hours.

There is quite a bit of DEET controversy suggesting children, pregnant women and women in general have adverse health effects from the chemical – so here are some alternatives I have found in various bogs on the web.

Avon Skin-So-Soft
Cactus Juice
Ole Time Woodsman Fly Dope

Natural Repellents
These natural products will effectively repel mosquitoes, but they require more frequent reapplication (at least every 2 hours). As you can see, natural repellents tend to be volatile plant oils.

Citronella Oil
Lemon Eucalyptus Oil
Cinnamon Oil
Castor Oil
Rosemary Oil
Lemongrass Oil
Cedar Oil
Peppermint Oil
Clove Oil
Geranium Oil
Possibly Oils from Verbena, Pennyroyal, Lavender, Pine, Cajeput, Basil, Thyme, Allspice, Soybean, and Garlic

( I was rescently at a party where everyone who had eaten the garlic tip reported the mosquitos left them alone)

Another plant-derived substance, pyrethrum, is an insecticide. Pyrethrum comes from the flowers of the daisy Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium.

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa050503a.htm

Another home remedy is to put dryer sheets on your clothees or in your pony tail.

The most rescent cure I have heard is to spray listerine around your environment. I have not tried this one yet but will lt you know!

 

Why not put up a Bat House?

The main consideration of course is mosquito control. It is estimated that the average bat will consume 4,000 to 5,000 mosquitoes during a summer night, along with countless other insects, such as moths,black flies, etc.

If you already have a bluebird house, maybe your next house ought to be a bat house. Bat houses are a relatively new idea in the United States but have been placed in forests all over Europe since the 1930's. A bat house is a wooden box with layers of boards placed vertically inside to serve as nesting sites. In the summer these houses may be used by a single male bat, or a group of mothers with their young. Houses will not be used by bats in the winter.

When setting out a bat house don't place it in areas frequented by people, pets and especially small children. Bats will appreciate the seclusion and your chances of problems will be reduced.

Instructions for placing your bat house:

• Place the box in a tree or on a building 12 to 15 feet off the ground and sheltered, as much as possible, from the wind.
• Place the box in a southeast exposure. This will gather solar radiation and help warm the box.
  Attempt to locate within a few hundred feet of a water supply, such as a pond, lake, stream or marsh.
• If box is placed in a tree, try to locate near other trees but not in a forest.
• Clean and relocate box if it attracts wasps or hornets. Note - Boxes should not be cleaned if they are being used by bats. If you see droppings below the box feel certain they have moved in.

http://www.adirondackpine.com/bat.htm