I attempted rubbing leaves of our native beautyberry shrub onto my arms to repel mosquitoes, and it labored. Which is sweet as a result of nothing else retains the buzzing bug-banes from carrying us away, at the very least not for lengthy.
Little bit of background: I used to be raised within the Delta when it was regular to journey bicycles behind “the fogging machine”- a truck-mounted sprayer spewing dense clouds of sweet-smelling vaporized DDT. As a result of my dad would tip the driving force a greenback to again as much as our yard and let it blow an additional couple of minutes, I’m so laced with it that it’s in all probability unlawful to cremate me in California as a result of my smoke is such an environmental hazard!
However that, and window screens, and continuously swaying on the porch swing have been about all we discovered to work on the time. Oh, and people kooky orange-glowing mosquito coils we purchased on the drive-in theater to maintain ‘skeeters out of the automobile. Invented in Japan simply over a century in the past, the coils (referred to as katori senk, or mosquito incense) are nonetheless broadly used worldwide, the place their pungent pyrethrin or citronella-infused smoke truly does a good job of decreasing bites.
And naturally we slathered on deet, picaradin, Pores and skin So Mushy, and different repellents, and these days we put on bracelets and grasp scorching blue-light bug zappers, Thermacells, insecticide misters, and controversial sugar-and-yeast traps (which most researchers and reviewers agree are principally helpful psychologically).
Aside from sporting lengthy sleeves and utilizing skin-applied repellents, none of them are really efficient for everybody, or for lengthy. Even the DDT fogging machine solely knocked them down for an evening or two; aside from for PR, the stuff some cities spray lately are virtually nugatory, being very gentle and sometimes utilized on the incorrect time of late afternoon or evening to be a lot use.
However there are three fascinating backyard approaches that, although they don’t work properly in any respect, are helpful to us as gardeners and make us look good to neighbors: Bat homes, purple martin gourds, and bug repelling crops.
I lastly hung a bat roost-house on my home. After years of getting dozens of the furry flyers drop at nightfall out of a louvered gable vent close to my home’s attic, I screened them out, apprehensive a few buildup of guano inflicting a multitude within the attic. I fixed the brand new picket roost up excessive, dealing with the south for winter heat, and hope the little winged mammals will discover it quickly.
And, like having a tower of gourd fowl homes, it indicators to everybody round that I’m doing my half to assist management mosquitoes.
Hassle is – and this was distressing to study even by this cynical outdated researcher – regardless of the avalanche of severely conflated articles on the contrary, all of that are memes based mostly on outdated, severely flawed and overblown reviews, researchers now broadly acknowledge that bats truly eat only a few mosquitoes, and purple martins don’t eat mosquitoes in any respect. They each go for larger, slower fare. Details, of us, not opinion.
And of all of the mosquito-repelling crops touted in all places you flip, not a single one has any impact in any way until you crush and rub the oily leaves onto pores and skin or garments.
There are many them: Oregano, lemon grass, mints, monarda, catnip, rosemary, marigold, verbena, garlic, basil, ageratum, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, scented geraniums, lantana…and even our stunning native magenta-purple fruited beautyberry shrub. Gotta rub them, not simply plant them.
My finest ‘skeeter answer? An inexpensive field fan that creates simply sufficient breeze to disperse mosquito-attracting breath and confuse the weak fliers. It really works at the very least in addition to all of the others put collectively.
Felder Dashing is a Mississippi writer, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Assume Radio. Electronic mail gardening inquiries to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.
