July 23rd - I DO now - just killed it's BIG brother. Horse fly, drilled me with vengeance!  So what do I use to exterminate them?
Last week-end I was bitten by I don't know what!Â
Got bit on the ankle - through my socks! I now have a swollen foot, so can't get my wellies on. :(
Please, please, anyone - your advice for some "drop dead bug" repellant. Ordinary cintronella seems to have NO effect what so ever.
... now dot and carry one!
Having spent holidays for over 20 years in the Western Highlands of Scotland where the mosquitoes and the clegs are notorious, the best insect repellant I have found is AUTAN, which seems proof against most of the biters
As a seasoned camper and walker I found jungle formula quite effective against most insects.
Good luck and hope the foot recovers soon!
I take a vitamin - B1 or B12 (I think - if you go to Holland and Barratt or similar and ask they will tell you). I'm also a camper and walker and have found taking the vitamins that I don't get bitten - before I was a mega feast for every insect in a 50 mile radius! You need to take the tablets for a couple of weeks before they start working, and then apparently they cause your body emit a smell (which we cant smell) that the insects don't like. Worked brilliant for me - natural and harmless all round. :)
Cactus Juice seems to work for me against the Scottish Midge
And if I forget to put it on, chamomile tea used as a lotion does is goog for soothing the bite + stopping it itching + swelling too much.
Is there anything in that PREMTAL?
Checked now I'm at home and the vitamin is B1. HTH :)
Jungle formula liquid (i.e. not the spray) is very good. I used it when sleeping on the deck of a felucca on the Nile a few years ago (not having a mossie net). Ahhh, memories.... One of my fellow campers, who I lent the stuff to, commented that it was like wearing a force field - you could hear the mossies coming, but they veered off about six inches from you!
Love the idea of Jungle Formula Speedy!!! ;D
I'm off in search immediately for this and definitely need some anti- "B1" (bomber) tablets.
The flying critters on my lottie can be seen doing kamikaze dives straight at me. Ah well what it is to be such a tasty morsel, yuk yuk!
Thank you all - will let you know if it all works. Foot is better too, so its on with the wellies (raining like hell here) and best digging foot forward.
Sigh ... A girls work is never done!
Hi Diana,
        Regarding the Cactus juice remedy, I am not familiar with that one, and since there are many different types of Cactus you would need to let me know which one is used in the formula. ???
As regards the Chamomile tea, Chamomile has long been used to aleviate the itching caused by the stings and bites of insects. :)
As a youngster every spring I would come out in heatspots and my mother always used Chamomile lotion
to dab on the spots. This was unfortunately followed by
a spoonful of a sulphur and treacle mixture from the local herbalist(eeeeuch!!!!) >:but it worked a treat. ;D
I have for some years now used the Combat insect repelent spray because it works for me, but at the end of the day it is what works for you as an individual. :)
There is an old saying in homoeopathic medicine that:-
No two people react the same way to a given set of circumstances. I think this is true for life in general we are all as individual as snow flakes.
On my plot I grow Echinacea Angustifolia(Purple Cone Flower) and if I do get a bite or sting I break off a feaf, crush it and apply it to the sting or bite. I have found this to be the best remedy for aleviating the pain, itching and swelling.
                       PREMTAL
Thanks Premantal.
When I was a kid we used to get the calomine (not sure of spelling) lotion out - good when you put it on, but then dried to a white patch which was crusty + just as itchy as whatever you'd put it on in the first place :-\
The Cactus Juice repellant is just one I buy from the chemist. Has anyone tried Mozzy Off (available from CAT)?
Well I bought some B1 and if I smell like the tablets smell (to the insects that is) I shall be well pleased!!
Premtal, how interesting about the Echinacea, I have the tea in the house for colds, but I have never thought of using the plant like a doc-leaf.
Could you reccomend other flowers to grow on the lottie that help the well-being?
I also drink chamomile (with spearmint) tea on a daily basis but obviously taking it internally has absolutely NO effect on itching. Maybe I should just spill it instead!
Diana, I remember the crusty calamine too, by the gallon when I had sunburn!! Such sweet childhood memories ;D
Hi Flowerlady,
           My reason for having an allotment is to grow Chinese medicinal herbs for personal use.
I could write volumes on the efficacy of growing your own, but if I was told that I could only have 4 herbs the list would be as follows:-
Gynostemma Pentaphylum(Immortality Vine)
This perennial herb is almost unknown in this country, it is hardy to zone 8 and will survive with some protection.
In the rural areas of China it is more highly prized than Ginseng for the medicinal virtues it contains.
A tea is made from the leaf which is both antioxident and adaptogenic this is a rare and powerful combination for a medicinal plant.
A study in China showed that in the areas where it grows the local population had a much higher percentage of longevity than in areas where it was absent from the land.
Lycium Chinese(Chinese Wolfberry)
This perennial bush produces delicious red berries which have the highest beta-carotene content of any known plant, it also contains substantial amounts of vitamin B1, B2, C and E, it is hardy to zone 5 so no problem on survival.
It also contains antioxident flavinoids which protect the body tissues, plus 18 amino acids which are necessary to health and wellbeing of the body.
The berries also contain a multitude of trace minerals, it can be eaten raw, cooked in stews or baked in bread.
The Japanese can't get enough of this fruit since it was discovered that eating 30 grams a day causes you to lose weight.
Sorry must go now, I will post the final two herbs tomorrow night.
Â
                    PREMTAL :)
Hi Flowerlady,
            The final two plants are as follows:-
Hippophae Rhamnoides Turkestanica(Sea Buckthorn)
This bush/small tree can grow to a height of 15 to 18 feet can but can be trained due to the flexable nature of the branches. It is dioecious so you would require both male and female plants and is hardy to zone 3 so no problem on winter survival
the bush produces orange/red berries in september which are rich in vitamins A, C, E plus flavinoids and essential fatty acids.
It also contains 24 mineral compounds, 18 amino acids and many antioxidents. The fruit also contains 9% of an oil which benifits the heart, the leaves and small braches also produce an oil which is excellent for the treatment of burns.
This plant is the subject of much attention in the scientific community as a treatment for, and as a preventitive against cancer.
For me the berries are just a great addition to my fruit, fish and and allotment produce diet. ;D
Arcticum Lappa(Japanese Burdock)(Takinogawa Long)
This plant I class as a vegetable it is biannual sown in spring and harvested the following spring while still dormant. The cultivation requires soil of good tilth as the root can reach 18 to 20 inches long and height of 5 to 7 feet.
When harvesting try not to break the root as this will affect the storage life.
The root is delicious cooked and is an excellent blood cleanser.
I hope this information will be of some help to you, these plants are full of the health giving nutrition that makes you look forward to each seasons renewal of their bounty. :P
                          PREMTAL :)
According to my sister the SAS use Avon Skin so Soft - Woodland Fresh fragance - sounds bizarre but apparently works a treat - she used it in Sweden and whilst her friends scoffed - they got bitten and she did not ;D
Tis true about the Avon product :) My local stables use it in the spray form. They spray the stable wall with it and put it on the horse's mane or some part of the horse that it can't lick ;D I think the active ingredient is citronella. I put a squirt of it on the back of my dog's neck to keep flies et off him and to make him smell nice :)
This is great, I shall have to tell my sister-in-law, she has horses that are suffering at the moment.
I shall also go and get some for me this w/e :D
The B1 also seems to be working a treat, only had one bit since I posted this subject. :) :) :)
Hi Kepouros,
Mosquitoes In Scotland, that is a new one on me.
We certainly have vast areas where the common midge can get to plague proportions but I was not aware that we aslo had a mosquito problem. ???
PREMTAL
Flowerlady - glad the B1 is working! ;D
Any great suggestions for Horse flies? :-\
Not doing too well on the site, the digging is approaching the back of the plot where all the wild vegetation is :(
Does Jungle juice do them too?
Yes, but remember that it does need to be re-applied every few hours, especially if you're getting hot and sticky. I don't envy you horseflies - they have a vicious bite.
The Avon skin so soft woodland fragrance is supposed to repel horse flies which is why folks use it on their horses and on the stable walls :) Spray oil that is :)