Is there a food I can eat to make bugs love me less

Anne Miller wrote:

Alina Green wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:Irish spring is a brand name.

I found out by accident, if I lather up but don't wash the soap off, I get zero bug bits.

Do you slip and slide around when you sweat?!

Duh? A thin layer of soap foam dries and no one knows it is there.

I have never put it under my arms.

A thin layer around ankles and wrist is about all I need to keep the critters away.

r ranson wrote:Hopefully it's more garlic.

I cannot figure out why bugs are going after me with such intensity this summer.   Tried the basic solutions.   Now it's time to see if adjusting my diet will make a difference.

AHey there. So are they mosquitoes??? Type of insects would be helpful. But in case it is mosquitoes try either Downy dryer sheets. Just get like 3 and rub them over your exposed skin and I personally would rub unexposed as they can get you thru your clothes.  Also, take a few with you in a sandwich bag if it works. If that doesn't work take vanilla extract,water and mix it in a spray bottle. I know I know,it sounds like a set up but I promise you it isn't. I lived in Alaska for a long time and both methods work really well for me. And other family and friends. With the extract you can even add other natural aromas, just be careful as to which ones. I suggest either lavender or a light honeysuckle. ALL NATURAL THO.  And kudos for asking. Hope it helps. Be blessed.

r ranson wrote:I don't know if it’s simply getting away from the sugar and starch rich diet or the garlic,  but things are starting to improve.

Alina Green wrote:I've lathered soap/water on dry hands and let them dry before painting.  Makes them easy to wash later.

Interesting the way you use it for bugs!  I'm wondering what the predominant scent equivalents would be in the plant world...and guess that something made from infusions or essential oils would work too...

Just ankles and wrists, huh?  Not on your neck or face?  Do they not bite you there?

Eino Kenttä wrote:No idea if it works internally as well, but yarrow (Achillea millefolium) flowers rubbed on the skin does a quite decent job of keeping at least mosquitoes away. Has to be replenished occasionally though. I have heard of people using yarrow as a spice, and I've taken yarrow flower tea for colds, so might be worth trying internally. No idea whether whatever it is the bugs don't like remains intact and goes into the sweat, but well...

Tim Luden wrote:I believe in garlic for ticks. I’m Italian and from late teens to late 30’s went on 5-6 float/camping trips a season. Also would eat traditional (high garlic) Italian 6-7 times a week. Don’t know if it’s a factor but also drank and smoked a lot. All of my friends would constantly be burning ticks off each other every trip. The last couple years I hardly eat it anymore and just this year got my first tick.

Another thing I was thinking about is PH; drinking a lot of alkaline water vs not.

As far as mosquitoes, if you look at how an anti radar missile works, they behave similar. They fly upwind towards you chasing both your exhaled CO2 and your pheromones.

Flies, wasps, bees, things with compound eyes seem to be responsive to colors. If I wear baby blue mowing the back acres by the ponds I get terrorized. Fluorescent orange seems to trigger them as well. Any one with a salt gun (the best $40 I’ve ever spent) paint the orange tip of the gun black and you’ll notice they don’t fly off before you can get a bead on them near as much.

Ela La Salle wrote:

Tim Luden wrote:I believe in garlic for ticks. I’m Italian and from late teens to late 30’s went on 5-6 float/camping trips a season. Also would eat traditional (high garlic) Italian 6-7 times a week. Don’t know if it’s a factor but also drank and smoked a lot. All of my friends would constantly be burning ticks off each other every trip. The last couple years I hardly eat it anymore and just this year got my first tick.

Another thing I was thinking about is PH; drinking a lot of alkaline water vs not.

As far as mosquitoes, if you look at how an anti radar missile works, they behave similar. They fly upwind towards you chasing both your exhaled CO2 and your pheromones.

Flies, wasps, bees, things with compound eyes seem to be responsive to colors. If I wear baby blue mowing the back acres by the ponds I get terrorized. Fluorescent orange seems to trigger them as well. Any one with a salt gun (the best $40 I’ve ever spent) paint the orange tip of the gun black and you’ll notice they don’t fly off before you can get a bead on them near as much.

LOL. Well....I smoke and I drink, garlic notwithstanding. No effect.  Thankfully no ticks around here. Wasps & bees don't bother regardless of what I wear. I like all bugs except mosquitoes and  bad flies. I have to look up what the salt gun is LOL

I have observed that life will leave the hide of a cow that receive apple cider vinegar and iodine; also that flies will not bite cows when they are on the pasture, though flies will and do bite young cattle not receiving the apple cider vinegar and iodine.