how do i keep the bugs away naturally?

[Bladen]

tics and mosquitoes are what im worried about most.

thanks for the ideas.

[Bibow]

Tie a fresh green spruce branch to your head.Then tuck two smaller pieces in your socks. sure it looks funny but it works.

[canid]

smoke, smoke and more smoke.

the essential oils of a lot of plants can help as well. eucalyptus, cinnamon, citronella, rosemary, cedar, clove, probably redwood, and probably quite a lot of others.

[hunter63]

smoke, smoke and more smoke.

the essential oils of a lot of plants can help as well. eucalyptus, cinnamon, citronella, rosemary, cedar, clove, probably redwood, and probably quite a lot of others.

I always wondered what the heck essential oil were?
Always see it advertised on soaps, shampoos, etc
Is it essential these plants have it?

The other one I always wondered about was "Shay butter"
What the heck is a "shay"?

BTW it seems the longer you are out in the bush, cooking by fire, not really bathing real regular, that the bugs seem to not bother you as much, or maybe you just get use to it?

I know that aftershave will attract gnats and such, saw them on a turkey hunting buddy, had to wear his head net just for the bugs........tried to tell him, "lay off the foo foo juice", but nooooooo.....

[canid]

essential oils are volatile aromatic oils extracted or distilled from plants.

shea butter is a solid plant fat extract from the seeds of a tree.

[owl_girl]

smoke, smoke and more smoke.

the essential oils of a lot of plants can help as well. eucalyptus, cinnamon, citronella, rosemary, cedar, clove, probably redwood, and probably quite a lot of others.

you read my mind.
i use smoke and clove oil. ive heard catnip oil is better then deet. ive also heard gobs of vitamin b complex works awesome. my mom was camping and the mosquitoes were so bad that she couldnt keep from breathing them in even as she was standing in the smoke when a ranger walks up without a bug on him and tells her to try lots of vitamin b complex. im not sure there is a way to keep away the ticks though.

[canid]

deet usually fails me. when all else fails, there's always permethrin.

never thought to try b complex. i know it keeps aways the shakes though.

[Camp10]

Might be a dumb question but what is clove oil and where do you get it?

[canid]

do you have those stores that sell strange produce and smell like incense? the kind where half the customers have dreadlocks and hemp clothes?

[Camp10]

do you have those stores that sell strange produce and smell like incense? the kind where half the customers have dreadlocks and hemp clothes?

Nope......Not in these parts

[Rick]

Yeah but we call it the Bhaarat Grocery. They play funny dang music, too.

[crashdive123]

Any pharmacy will carry it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_of_cloves

[canid]

you can also make your own from whole cloves via steam distillation.

if you use it, be sure to wash it off of your hands. ingested in significant levels, or chronically it can be toxic, causing respiratory distress and liver failure.

used carefully, it's pretty safe.

[Rick]

ingested in significant levels, or chronically it can be toxic

I knew those folks were up to no good. That blue dot on their forehead was a dead give away.

[owl_girl]

you can also make your own from whole cloves via steam distillation.

if you use it, be sure to wash it off of your hands. ingested in significant levels, or chronically it can be toxic, causing respiratory distress and liver failure.

used carefully, it's pretty safe.

but its used to flavor foods if its pure.

[Camp10]

So how do you apply it? Full strength or watered down?

[canid]

only in extremely small amounts [<1500 p.p.m (Bruneton, J 1995)]

a little bit goes a looooong way.

camp: apply it via dropper to an article of clothing. it's pungent.

[Camp10]

Thanks Canid!

[owl_girl]

So how do you apply it? Full strength or watered down?

its a good idea to dilute it in another oil like olive oil. its very potent. they are strong smelling (smells like clove if its clove oil) and carry medical properties of the plant but some also carry toxicities usually mild, like lemon oil is photosensitive and will irritate your skin if exposed to light.

[canid]

that's a new one to me, and good to know. thanks.