Thursday 3 May 2012

How to protect yourself from bugs that bite!

Basically, it is easier to PREVENT bug bites than treat them!
mosquito
  • NO perfumes or scents; deodorant, make-up and hair spray as they contain scents.
  • Wear long sleeves, tuck sleeves into gloves, tuck pant legs into socks, wear a hat
  • Stay in open areas, stay in the wind!
  • Burn citronella candles, install electronics, or other products, intended to attract and/or kill bugs.
  • I am skeptical about that garlic spray...but some swear by it!
  • Smoke: a bonfire (not a good choice for many, especially with a fire ban!)
  • My friend, Nancy, swears by the Vitamin B12 arm patch.
  • Use a bug spray product if allergic to bug bites (some prefer DEET-based products)
  • Put oil on neck, hands and ankles (I use Skin-so-soft, from 
  • black fly
  • Avon).
  • Go outdoors midday, when the sun is hot. You need 10 min. of sun = 10,000 IUs of Vit. D/day, might as well enjoy it!
  • There are a variety of hats and bug gear— if you must work outdoors. 
  • Install bat boxes (they eat a ton of bugs), but as my video says, I didn't research it enough.
  • Check yourself after getting back into the house, put clothes in dryer for 10 minutes to kill them
  • Take tape or lint roller with you outside to collect stray ticks.
Lyme Disease, while rare, is highly preventable with the right precautions. The bacterium is carried by black-legged ticks, which bite you and suck blood over a period of hours.
Check for ticks. If you find one:
Carefully remove attached ticks using tweezers. Grasp the tick's head and mouth parts as close to the skin as possible and pull slowly until the tick is removed. Do not twist or rotate the tick and try not to squash or crush the tick during removal.
Don't you love Brian in his outfit? 
It is quite clever: cool and covers up.

deer fly patches, available at Lee Valley Tools



4 comments:

Paula said...

Timely reminder and some great tips. I've also heard that spritzing the area or yourself with Listerine works (I tried it last year, it does!)

Red said...

All good ideas. Mosquitoes are a real nuisance. Does your municipality do anything to combat mosquitoes? For years our city has put a compound on any body of still water no matter how large or small. In the city we are not bothered by mosquitoes.

Jenn Jilks said...

Listerine??!!
They don't do anything, Red. No point! We are surrounded by bogs and wetland!

Olga said...

Good reminders...they are predicting a bumper bug season because of the mild winter here in VT. Should be interesting since they are usually bad enough.