Natural insect repellents

[Western]

This was on my email page, thought some of you may find it interesting. Living in "rural America" can come with challenges and bugs seem to top the list when doing outdoor work. I am not what would be considered "100% Organic", but I would like to find a good median. I am going to try some Green light pesticide with Spinosad for the 1st time (thanks to Farmgirl19 for hooking me up locally:thumbsup

I have used beneficial nematodes and Diatomaceous earth for fleas and it worked great in my case!!

What things have you found for combating pest, with low impact on your environment????

Yahoo!

 

[dmccarty]

Borax is good for killing fleas and roaches. Granny always used borax tablets for roaches. When I lived in FLA I had a major flea problem and a couple of applications of borax in the carpet solved the problem. Previously I had used some insect spray bombs that worked pretty good because the chemical killed by the flea and eggs. The borax worked just as well, was cheaper, and only got on the carpet not everything else in the place.

The dog might get fleas now but at least they don't infest the house since we do not have carpet. I HATE carpet since it collects, dirt, dust and bugs. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[Western]

Dan, Thats good to know!! I got my butt reamed since I went to town in the house with the Diatomaceous earth:laughing: I also put 50#s in the yard after spraying the nematodes in.. 2 1/2 years later, we still find DT in the carpet......BUT no bugs

Does Borax contain DT I wonder?? hmmm:scratchchin:

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Catnip-The active ingredient, which causes unusual behavior in cats, is a volatile oil called nepetalactone, which can be found in the leaves & stem of the plant. It is also interesting to note that this essential oil was found in one study to be about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET, which is the active ingredient in most insect repellents.

Vitex-A new natural mosquito repellent was isolated from fresh leaves of Vitex rotundifolia. Its structure was elucidated by an extensive NMR spectral analysis to be a cyclopentene dialdehyde named rotundial. This compound possessed potent repelling activity against Aedes aegypti.

 

[/pine]

Wax Myrtle is a good repellent/inhibitor ...especially for fleas...

 

[PILOON]

A neighbor, now dead, was director for Union Carbide and held over 200 patents (assigned to firm).
When they researched for DEET they found elements that did the job but could not be patented.
The main repellant that worked was vitamin C.
Following his suggestions I would use effervescent C tablets nite B4 working with the bugs. It works!
Also squishing orange skins (full of C) and rubbing on the neck, face and arms keeps the critters away.
I have chain sawed in marshes in early spring with none bites from skitters or black flies!
A good smudge pot (smoke generator) also works.

 

[Western]

Vitamin C, now that is doable by almost anyone!! I will have to try that

 

[creekbend]

A neighbor, now dead, was director for Union Carbide and held over 200 patents (assigned to firm).
When they researched for DEET they found elements that did the job but could not be patented.
The main repellant that worked was vitamin C.
Following his suggestions I would use effervescent C tablets nite B4 working with the bugs. It works!
Also squishing orange skins (full of C) and rubbing on the neck, face and arms keeps the critters away.
I have chain sawed in marshes in early spring with none bites from skitters or black flies!
A good smudge pot (smoke generator) also works.

Thanks for the Heads Up.

 

[dmccarty]

Dan, Thats good to know!! I got my butt reamed since I went to town in the house with the Diatomaceous earth:laughing: I also put 50#s in the yard after spraying the nematodes in.. 2 1/2 years later, we still find DT in the carpet......BUT no bugs

Does Borax contain DT I wonder?? hmmm:scratchchin:

No DT that I know of in Borax. Wikipedia says,

Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.

I do know that one is supposed to use food grade DT for insect repellent. The non food grade is supposed to be very bad if inhaled.

Later,
Dan

 

[sld]

I've never had fleas but this is good info if I ever get them.