Sorry Deb, I can't see that working (unless you try ingesting, appling the oil of, or stuffing your mattress with) as we have lots growing around here and the cats roll in it and still gave me a tick or twenty more. Deer ticks are so tiny you don't see them usually but darned if that red circle don't let you know they gotcha.
Now my Indian lore, Boy Scout leader, Indian flutist buddy swears by eating 6 Plantain (common Broadleaf in many lawns) seeds every day in the woods and he seems not to be bothered by flying bugs. Whether it helps with ticks I don't know and they aren't seeding yet anyway.
Citronella candles never seemed real effective but the ingredient is either in lemon balm (a mint?) or lemon grass. Lemon grass can be picked up at an Asian grocer and just stuck in the ground to grow. Lemon balm can be grown from cuttings or seed but mints don't always come true from seed.
Raw garlic and some other herbal types that pass through the sweat glands work by changing the odor of your sweat and mask CO2 on your breath. Fine for camping but I'd Google an herbal oil source for skin applied solutions. Be careful! Some of them are toxic if not used right.
Try a book by someone like Tom Brown (author of "Grandfather") who knows the stuff.
Also, some herbs are said to be fish attractants so don't apply...xxxx....to your flys. And no black walnut husks in streams (suffocates or poisons fish).
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Deborah Duran" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [VFB] Mosquito Repellents (That time of the year...)
Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 10:40:17 -0400
I wonder how effective it would be to plant catnip in the woods right behind
my house? I live in the middle of prime Lyme Disease territory. I've
already pulled two ticks off my oldest son this year and several off the dog
and he's an inside dog. It's bad... I bought the stuff for their clothes
but I don't like the idea of pesticides on them because they're so young. I
wouldn't mind spraying them with Catnip oil in water. At least the
neighborhood cats won't run from them anymore. :)
Do you think planting some would cut down on the number of ticks right
behind our house? I could mix a few plants in with the ferns.
Deb
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 8:46 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [VFB] Mosquito Repellents (That time of the year...)
Anybody tried Catnip oil?
Mosquito repellent!
Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET
CHICAGO, August 27, 2001 - Researchers report that nepetalactone, the
essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor, is
about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET - the
compound used in most commercial insect repellents.
The finding was reported today at the 222nd national meeting of the
American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, by the
same Iowa State University research group that two years ago discovered
that catnip also repels cockroaches.
Entomologist Chris Peterson, Ph.D., with Joel Coats, Ph.D., chair of the
university's entomology department, led the effort to test catnip's
ability to repel mosquitoes. Peterson, a former post-doctoral research
associate at the school, is now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service, Wood Products Insects Research Unit, in Starkville, Miss.
Peterson says nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than
DEET because it takes about one-tenth as much nepetalactone as DEET
to have the same effect. Most commercial insect repellents contain
about 5 percent to 25 percent DEET. Presumably, much less catnip oil
would be needed in a formulation to have the same level of
repellency as a DEET-based repellent.
Catnip is a perennial herb belonging to the mint family and grows
wild in most parts of the United States, although it also is
cultivated for commercial use. Catnip is native to Europe and was
introduced to this country in the late 18th century. It is primarily
known for the stimulating effect it has on cats, although some
people use the leaves in tea, as a meat tenderizer and even as a
folk treatment for fevers, colds, cramps and migraines.
(American Chemical Society original source.)
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