2006-09-12 10:47:21 · 4 answers · asked by jazzblades 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
I work for a company that tests insect repellents. We've tested many herb-based repellents over the years, and the best results have actually come from oil of eucalyptus and lemongrass. At a high concentration, reapplied often and generously, these may protect you from most bites for a couple hours or so. This is fine if you're just hanging out in your backyard, doing some gardening, and if the mosquito population isn't too high.
Buyer beware, though. There is unfortunately a contingent of untruthful vendors out there, that take advantage of the fact that EPA does not require registration (and thus efficacy testing) of herbal repellents--in other words, they are under no legal requirement to prove that they work as advertised. Thus you will get all manner of fraudulant claims out there--if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
If you are going to be doing anything really strenuous, or the mosquitoe population is really high, you are much better off just using an EPA-registered product. DEET is best, but if you don't prefer that, picaridan and IR3535 work as well. It's better safe than sorry, especially with the disease risk out there.
Hope this helps!
2006-09-13 07:00:11 · answer #1 · answered by entoaggie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A good herb to grow and use cooking as well as for insect repellant is Rosemary.
Break a small branch of Rosemary off the shrub and rub in onto your exposed skin. The bugs will leave you alone.
2006-09-12 10:54:09 · answer #2 · answered by Bluealt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lemon Balm and Lemon Basil will repel moquitos,marigolds repel ahpids from tomato plants...
2006-09-12 13:15:35 · answer #3 · answered by auntgnu62 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try tea tree oil and water spray on and let dry. you can find it at walmart in the vitamin section.
2006-09-12 10:53:19 · answer #4 · answered by really???? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋