"James" wrote:
Planting garlic is a myth. I grow 200 elephant garlic plus a few
hardneck garlic. Ticks and mosquitoes just love hiding around
the leaves. Of course eating garlic is different but it makes me
fart a lot. It doesn't stop mosquito from biting my butt.

g Okay, I'll go for that. But here's four plants effective against
misquitoes.

(1) Basil - I had a ton of basil planted last year and it seems helpful.
(2) Rosemary - I've got a rosemary plant out back as well, both
neighbors however have ponds, running water.
(3) Southernwood - I don't even know what this is at the moment
but if you've got some, it's reported to be effective against malaria
mosquitoes. I'm not a mosquito expert and this all comes from a
book written by Louise Riotte (1975 Garden Way Publishing).
(4) Wormwood - Again I'm not sure what this is, but perhaps you
know. This one, also, is reported to be helpful against "malaria"
mosquitoes.

I see mosquitoes occasionally, however I'm not bothered too much
by them.

Currently I seem plagued by some sort of gnats. They fly all over
everywhere and are very small (maybe a mm in size at most). Not
sure what they're called, but I've seen them in the past up north.
Guess that might mean I need to plant some more basil. Some of
the basil have gone to seed so I'll try that.

Hope this helps.

Jim Carlock
Post replies to the group.

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 03:00:01 GMT, "Jim Carlock"
wrote:

(1) Basil - I had a ton of basil planted last year and it seems helpful.

Ok, I have to take exception to this one. Basil loves this yard,
it sprouts up everywhere, just like a weed. I smell when I mow
the lawn, and I have to take a weed eater to the lemon basil
thickets that grow up behind the pepper garden. I'm 5' 8", and
that stuff reaches my chin if I let it run amok.

And I still have lots of mosquitoes.

(2) Rosemary - I've got a rosemary plant out back as well, both
neighbors however have ponds, running water.

I've never heard of using rosemary as a mosquito repellant. I
love the stuff, though, and have a couple of plants out front.

(3) Southernwood - I don't even know what this is at the moment
but if you've got some, it's reported to be effective against malaria
mosquitoes. I'm not a mosquito expert and this all comes from a
book written by Louise Riotte (1975 Garden Way Publishing).
(4) Wormwood - Again I'm not sure what this is, but perhaps you
know. This one, also, is reported to be helpful against "malaria"
mosquitoes.

These are both Artemesias, and are both considered to be herbs.
Artemisia is one of those genus that have about a gazillion
species and varieties that are used in horticulture.

Wormwood is _Artemisia absinthium_ and was used to flavor the
liqueur, absinthe. Now a days it's listed as too dangerous to
take internally.

I have Tangerine southernwood in the yard because it smells
divine. Southernwood is also known as Lad's Love, and it was
supposedly used in France to keep moths out of clothing.

Sweet Annie is another herbal Artemesia that is used for making
scented wreaths around here. It's an annual Artemesia, I think.

I really don't know that there is a plant that will repel
mosquitoes more than a few feet around it's perimeter. Keeping
potential breeding sites drained or full of mosquito dunks seems
like it would be more effective.

I see mosquitoes occasionally, however I'm not bothered too much
by them.

Have you ever been somewhere and the mosquitoes are just eating
one or two people in your group alive, but they're not bothering
you? I read an article not too long ago that said that mosquitoes
do seem to prefer some people over others. Maybe you're one of
those folks that mosquitoes don't like as much.


Penelope

--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"

"Penelope Periwinkle" wrote:
Have you ever been somewhere and the mosquitoes are just
eating one or two people in your group alive, but they're not
bothering you? I read an article not too long ago that said that
mosquitoes do seem to prefer some people over others. Maybe
you're one of those folks that mosquitoes don't like as much.

Hiya Penelope,

I think it really depends on several things.

When I've work up a really good sweat I tend to get attacked.
There's a different classification between a light sweat and a really
good sweat, though. And there's another classification to add to
my sweats as well. I tend to breat out into a very heavy sweat if
my blood glucose levels drop but I'm not so sure I get attacked
during those times. It's almost like the body produces two different
classes of sweat, where one sweat tends come out as a really stinky
sweat and the other sweat is just a natural reaction to cool the body
down some.

I don't know, but your suggestion got me analyzing some things
about why I sweat.

Perhaps there's a difference in the different types of basil? I've
planted purple, lemon and sweet basil at the same time last year
and its hard to really differentiate which basil provided the benefits.

Other things noted from this book:

The book identifies garlic-based oil as effective in killing mosquito
larva in ponds (as does derris root and tuba).

"The leaves of molasses grass and sassafras are mosquito repellents."
"American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) (aka squaw mint) not
to be confused with European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is a
natural insect repellent. A handful rubbed on the skin emits a pleasant
odor and repels mosquitoes and gnats."

There's mention of Shepherd's Purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris) seed
as well. There seems to be quite a few uses for this plant, whereby it
takes excess salts out of the environment and returns it to a form use-
ful to other plants.

Hope this helps.

Jim Carlock
Post replies to the group.

Jim Carlock wrote:


Other things noted from this book:

The book identifies garlic-based oil as effective in killing mosquito
larva in ponds (as does derris root and tuba).

"The leaves of molasses grass and sassafras are mosquito repellents."
"American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) (aka squaw mint) not
to be confused with European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is a
natural insect repellent. A handful rubbed on the skin emits a pleasant
odor and repels mosquitoes and gnats."

There's mention of Shepherd's Purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris) seed
as well. There seems to be quite a few uses for this plant, whereby it
takes excess salts out of the environment and returns it to a form use-
ful to other plants.

Jim, what's the name of the book?

Kate

"kate" asked:
Jim, what's the name of the book?

The book this info comes from ends up entitled:

Secrets of Companion Planting For Successful Gardening
by Louise Riotte
Published 1975 by Garden Way Publishing

Jim Carlock
Post replies to the group.

Jim Carlock wrote:
Other things noted from this book:

The book identifies garlic-based oil as effective in killing mosquito
larva in ponds (as does derris root and tuba).

"The leaves of molasses grass and sassafras are mosquito repellents."
"American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) (aka squaw mint) not
to be confused with European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is a
natural insect repellent. A handful rubbed on the skin emits a pleasant
odor and repels mosquitoes and gnats."

There's mention of Shepherd's Purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris) seed
as well. There seems to be quite a few uses for this plant, whereby it
takes excess salts out of the environment and returns it to a form use-
ful to other plants.

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:50:49 GMT, "Jim Carlock"
wrote:

"Penelope Periwinkle" wrote:


Perhaps there's a difference in the different types of basil? I've
planted purple, lemon and sweet basil at the same time last year
and its hard to really differentiate which basil provided the benefits.

Someone gave me a gift pack of basil from Cook's Garden last
year. I had about 8 kinds of basil growing in the yard, and I
think, what with the lemon and Italian types answering the call
of the wild, that I had more basil than you. Basil *loves* this
yard. I mean, it really, really, really loves this yard. It comes
up everywhere. The bumble bees and skippers love the basil, too,
so I find it hard to believe it has much insect repellant
activity.

I use the basil a lot, so my hands and arms often smell of basil,
and I still get bitten by mosquitoes, so I still think you
mistaken about the basil.

Other things noted from this book:

The book identifies garlic-based oil as effective in killing mosquito
larva in ponds (as does derris root and tuba).

There's a company that sells a garlic spray for the yard. They
say it smells bad for a short time, but it keeps the mosquitoes
away for...um, I can't remember. I never tried it because I was
afraid it would keep other insects away, too. I enjoy the
butterflies, ladybugs and such too much to risk repelling them.

"The leaves of molasses grass and sassafras are mosquito repellents."

I played with the sassafras plants in the woods around my
parents' house as a child, and I don't think it does much good as
a mosquito repellant. It's the roots that have that spicy scent.


Penelope

--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"

Penelope Periwinkle writes:
I really don't know that there is a plant that will repel
mosquitoes more than a few feet around it's perimeter.

My belief exactly. Female mossies require blood to produce their next
generation; it's expecting too much to think they could be diverted
from the overpowering instinct to breed merely by some harmless natural
plant odour. (DEET is not a natural odour; and apparently it's far from
harmless to humans with the directions for use warning against its use
for extended periods.)

Have you ever been somewhere and the mosquitoes are just eating
one or two people in your group alive, but they're not bothering
you? I read an article not too long ago that said that mosquitoes
do seem to prefer some people over others. Maybe you're one of
those folks that mosquitoes don't like as much.

For a moment there, I feared you were edging towards endorsing the
vitamin B myth. It's a wonder someone hasn't already joined this thread
espousing vit B, even though as a mozzie repellent it's been thoroughly
debunked.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)