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Hi, I live in Estonia and it´s summer now, so there´s a lot of mosquitoes.
I was wondering if anyone knows some plants that i could find in the woods of Estonia to make the mosquitoes leave me alone.
I was planning to go to be in the woods for a week but with the mosquitoes it would be horrible, because i´m not planning to bring a tent or anything... and also the place i´m going is near a river.
Sorry - not familiar with plants in your area.
Mint is a natural repellant.
But where does it grow, i do have some in my backyard but i doubt that i´ll find it in the middle of a forest.
Well i also might be wrong, thanks anyway...
I don't think we have any Estonia members other than you. You can read here and see what you find http://www.estonica.org/en/Nature/Flora_and_fauna/ Your best bet may be to check local resources - maybe colleges and universities.
im not sure where Estonia is even at but i do know that the Which Hazel plant grows all over the world. it has a effect on bugs. Just pick a bunch of leaves, while they are still green, and throw them on your fire, while standing in the smoke. It works and works great.
thanks everyone...
Hello southern neighbour. Im from Finland, so we should share some common plants. What I usually do is just put moist pieces of green moss in the fire. It creates a lot of smoke and does keep the bugs away, but just in the smoke.
Thankfully the mosquitoes aren’t too bad here ...... yet. Smoke is the thing I go for when they get real bad. The soot works when you smoke yourself enough. Chainsaw bar oil works when they get atrocious and you have no other recourse. :laugh:
Hi, assm0nk i live in sweden, and when im out in the bush, one thing that works rather good is Myrica Gale. I assume you have this shrub on the other side of the Baltic Sea also.
I just rub the leafs into the skin. You could also try burning some in the fire, to make smoke as several mentioned. Or make an ointment, by putting some leafs and steams into oil and leave for a few days in sunlight.
This works pretty good on the swedish mosquitos :-)
Another take might be to eat to repel. Some say raw garlic, and i have also heard that mosquitos don´t like alkaline blood. So check your calcium deposits, and alcalize your body! Lots of lemonjuice will do.
This one is also very common here and used as a repelent:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron_tomentosum
Though its a bit stronger than the Myrica, so beware.
I know any vegetable with a sulfur base (Garlic, onions, etc) is known to deter, not totally repel insects. Not knowing your region, I am sure there is a wild onion/garlic/leek somewhere in your country.
My best luck is with Allium family plants. Maybe research yarrow a bit or go to the Plants for a future database and search for your answer there.
Most members of the Asteraceae family contain pyrethrum which is a natural insecticide. As a matter of fact, chrysanthemum, the natural source of pyrethrum in many insecticides, is a member of the Asteraceae family. I regularly use Fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus as a natural insect repellent when in the forest. I am certain you should be able to locate a local member of this family.