Mosquito Repellent

[maggiebee]

Wasn't sure where to post this - received from friend. (have put on animals & nature too)

HOME MADE MOSQUITO REPELLENT (ALSO FOR ANTS & FLEAS)
(And free from chemicals that poison the body)

Ingredients:

1/2 litre of alcohol
100 gram of whole cloves
100 ml of baby oil or similar (almond, sesame, chamomile, lavender, fennel etc)

Preparation:
Leave cloves to marinate in alcohol four days
Stir every morning and evening
After 4 days add the oil
It's now ready to use.

How to use:

Gently rub a few drops into the skin of the arms and legs.
Observe the mosquitoes fleeing the room.
Repels fleas on pets too.

[woofgang]

Have you actually tried this or has your friend tried this?

[Sparkles62]

Are you sure that the recipe is correct Maggie.

Re the 100ml of baby oil, or similair.......the almond or sesame would be ok as they are base oils, but you should NEVER use ANY of the natural oils as a base oil,
with very few exceptions they should NEVER be applied to the skin in their neat form, and must always be diluted.
The cost of 100ml of Lavender oil would also be prohibitive, it is generally sold in 10ml bottles and these generally cost between three and four pounds each.

I would certainly be very dubious of this recipe and would NOT reccomend using it. X

[LazyGun]

What "chemicals" are there in Mosquito repellent that "poison the body"?

Alcohol is a poison - what constitutes a poison is,as Paracelsus famously observed, the dose, and also the manner in which it is used.

This "natural" versus "chemical" debate irritates me. Everything you describe as "natural" has an active ingredient to it, and that active ingredient is a chemical... Water is a chemical, and you cannot get much more natural than that.....

[meglet]

Living in a warm climate I too would be keen to know if this works. I would imagine it would work as a short term "barrier" if anything.

I swear by DEET, but this does cross the placenta so I'm not keen to use it while pregnant. I remember using either Boots DEET wipes once and it took the varnish off my nails.

[maggiebee]

No I haven't tried it myself, but friend who camps out regularly in the UK and abroad and also keeps cats, swears by it. Was going to try it for camping on the west coast of Scotland later this year.

[gingejbee]

Lazygun: with you 100%. Everybody goes on about "chemicals" - don't they understand that EVERYTHING is made of them? Even us!

[netibiza]

Apparently a tumle dryer sheet in the pocket keeps them away.

[maggiebee]

Please don't shoot the messenger - not endorsing it in any way, just thought it was interesting. Pardon me for breathing!

[netibiza]

maggiebee, don't worry any tip will help someone, so it's fine.

[LazyGun]

@maggiebee

Sorry if I have offended you. It was not clear from your post- to me, at least- that this line "(And free from chemicals that poison the body) " was someone elses opinion that you were passing on, rather than your own opinion.

My irritation was aimed at the sentiment behind that statement, not the person posting it :)