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eftychia: Me in kilt and poofy shirt, facing away, playing acoustic guitar behind head (Default)
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Forwarned is Half an Octopus

posted by [personal profile] eftychia at 09:00am on 2003-08-01

Uh oh. An entry from [livejournal.com profile] cellio, who was just up at Cooper's Lake, included this tidbit:

Someone asked on a mailing list recently whether this is a "use the jackhammer to drive tent stakes" year or a "swarms of giant mosquitos" year; I can report that the mosquitos not only are giant but are wearing scuba gear. It's been a wet summer, at least recently.

Eat your garlic and brewer's yeast (makes you a wee bit less tasty to the bugs), and bring some ammonia to apply to the bites (reduces the itching) if you're coming to Pennsic, eh?

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There are 6 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] katrinb.livejournal.com at 09:57am on 2003-08-01
I suspect our household's philosophy that "garlic is a vegetable, and a staple one" will be even more strongly entrenched this year.
Come have dinner with us sometime...
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A tip!

posted by [identity profile] donnad.livejournal.com at 10:46am on 2003-08-01
Peppermint is a natural insect repellent... Start using Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap a few days before you head out there. Don't use anything with a floral or fruity fragrance, it'll only attract them more!

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Bug bites and scratches

posted by [identity profile] anniemal.livejournal.com at 01:13pm on 2003-08-01
Plantain. Plaintain, the broad-leaved kind. It doesn't fix everything, but it really does help. Pulp it as much as possible and load it into a bandage/poultice. It sounds flaky, but I've got a really long story that shows its usefulness empirically. Don't chew it. It's bitter. Unless you like bitter. Bonne chance, mes amis.
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(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] katrinb.livejournal.com at 01:23pm on 2003-08-01
Also cedarwood oil, if you don't like the smell of peppermint, will keep the buggies away...
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(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] callunav.livejournal.com at 08:58pm on 2003-08-01
Akycha makes an amazing bug repellant salve (easier to apply than a stick or lotion or liquid) containing essential oils of

cedar
pennyroyal
lavender
citronella

...damn, I'm forgetting what else. All I can say is, I used to put more faith in commercial repellents, but damn, if anything's going to work, that stuff does.

I never had any success with plantain on any kind of bug bite or sting. At all. Ever. Period. But I don't deny that other people seem to do somewhat better. Sometimes.

Ammonia can actually neutralize the bite if you get at it before you scratch, but unless it's stabilized, the effect is annoyingly temporary - ie, the bite disappears, and then returns a few hours later. Something like Afterbite contains ammonia stabilized with mink oil. If anyone knows of another product or home remedy that's just as effective, please speak up. I'm not excited about the use of mink anything.

Finally, if you want a topical anaesthetic to numb the bite, OTC remedies offer essentially two, menthol and benzocaine. I don't know much about menthol except that it produces that cooling sensation as well. Benzocaine is the active ingredient in most OTC/first aid products that claim to 'soothe' or 'numb' pain or itching (lanicane, solarcaine, etc.) Most of them have benzocaine at around 10-13%. The highest concentration I was able to find was a small bottle of liquid to be applied with a brush in the cap intended for relieving the pain of ingrown toenails, called 'Outgro.' It's 20% benzocaine. You can find it near all the wart and athlete's foot remedies.

Have I made a study of this? Oh....just a little....
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(no subject)

posted by [identity profile] donnad.livejournal.com at 05:07am on 2003-08-02
Benedryl anti-itch cream works well to stop the histamine reaction when it comes to bites too. And readily available at all drug and grocery stores.
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