Natural insect repellant

[SoloBoy]

I know there is allready a thread on repellant here http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=1054&highlight=INSECT+REPELLANT ,but nothing that mentions anything natural.Going to bonny Scotland this Friday and wondering if there are any plants or trees etc(pictures very helpfull) which will do the job.Any help/posts,much appreciated.

 

[gregorach]

I've said it before, I'll say it again - Bog Myrtle!

http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/plants/rsdbgplts/bogmyrtl.htm

Can't find a better image right now - bioimages.org.uk seems to be overloaded.

 

[Toddy]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=6107&highlight=myrtle


"Bog myrtle (Myrica Gale) works virtually anyway you can get hold of it...for *most* midgies. The ones at Cowal seem to be resistant this year according to the gossip
Fresh leaves rub between your hands and rub over. For an easier application, fresh or dried leaves I boil up into a 'tea' with Melissa and Mugwort, add witch hazel and a few drops of real turpentine and make it into wipes. It would be very wrong/illegal of me to recommed this remedy, but I can advise that it seems to work remarkably well when I've got it with me.
I use the bog myrtle to dye wool too and the scent lingers on the fibres and still seems to offer some immunity.....it's used to dye tartan and Harris tweed. If anyone can get hold of pure bog myrtle essential oil (used to be produced on Skye but the business folded) just mix six drops with two tablespoonsful of almond oil and rub on. Later in the year the tiny little seed cones can be gathered and simmered gently. Allow to cool and skim off the waxy surface, mix with candle wax and burn....nae midgies Burning branches on a fire helps too as does Mugwort.
Modern Herbals give all sorts of toxicity warnings for these plants, but midgies are a curse. My grandpa smoked bog myrtle, etc., in his pipe to get peace and he was in his late 90's when he died."


Unfortunately the branches are virtually leafless at this time of year, though you can still get some of the scent from the stems and any survivng cones though I can't get any of the waxy stuff from them.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[BorderReiver]

Toddy,have you written/considered writing a book?

If no/no please give it some thought and put me down for a signed copy. :You_Rock_

 

[SoloBoy]

Thanks guys :You_Rock_

 

[Fenlander]

I find Elder leaves either rubbed onto the skin or carried as a sprig work really well.

 

[Toddy]

I find Elder leaves either rubbed onto the skin or carried as a sprig work really well.

Now that's interesting, and they're out now up here too

Toddy...who's just had a cleg land on her arm in the garden, and got the blighter before it got me

 

[C_Claycomb]

Natural, but not still leafy I got some Neem tree repellant from Wilderness 1-2-1 (http://www.wilderness121.co.uk/AboutUs/ run by Rob). Took it to Scotland and it worked well.

Neem and pyrethrum are both natural and the plants are used as insect repellants, but the extracts are more potent and long lasting.

 

[Rod]

I find Elder leaves either rubbed onto the skin or carried as a sprig work really well.

Cheers Fenlander,

We don't see much bog myrtle in this neck of the woods

 

[bushtuckerman]

As far as i gather you won't find anything as effective as DEET. But in my family lavender oil has often been used (not neat!) to keep the midges off, trouble is you often get a few reject mozzies who are a touch masochistic anyway and couldn't care less what you scent yourself with.

 

[bushtuckerman]

Or is it Tea Tree? one or the other, or both. both are antiseptics so maybe they share other characteristics.

 

[jdlenton]

this site i found on google has a few interesting ideas

I also have a friend that cant use chemical insect repellents as the give here anaphylactic shocks and she swears by Citronella oil and a specific commercial brand of citronella based replant i think the same company do garden candles and table top candles this replant in them too we had a couple of the candles at a barbeque last summer and they were very effective.

James

 

[Ajali]

Yeah, i have heard that citronella will do the trick. That and it's relative lemongrass!

If i remember correctly, if you've eaten marjoram it's supposed to repel midges/mozzies etc.
Sorry, i don't have a link though - it's just something i remember reading a while back in a book about medicinal and edible plants

 

[joelbolden]

Here in the humid, and mosquito ridden, northeast US, I've found that Lemon Balm(melissa officinalis) works well for me. I've let it run wild on certain parts of my property; and its up and growing now. I like to gather a bunch and stuff them in a container and pour denatured alcohol over them. Put it in a dark place for about 3 weeks and then add a little witch hazel to it. I carry a small bottle of it when back in the barrens in the summer. The effect seems to last about 30 minutes before I have to re-apply it. Just rubbing the leaves on my face and hands works for a bit, but these mountain mosquitos are rough.

 

[boots12]

MARMITE works for me

 

[Ketchup]

MARMITE works for me

Internally or externally applied?

 

[falling rain]

A small 'smudge fire' of cramp ball fungus and damp moss will also keep the flying nasties away.

 

[demographic]

Citronella?

I remember reading in New Scientist that people who ate marmite were less bothered by them also as they secreted some form of vitamin B that the mossies were not dead keen on.

Some people might argue that the eating of marmite/Vegimite is worse than the being bitten by mossies anyway

 

[demographic]

MARMITE works for me

Ah yes, as I said