When you use sprays such as orange oil or cedarcide, how do you spray to kill mosquitos? Do you spray the shrubs and grass in hope that it will get on the mosquitos or do they land on the residue and it kills them? Should I just mist the area and it falls on the mosquito and kills it? I do not feel like I am doing any damage.

The cedar, garlic, and citronella sparys act as a repellant. The orange oil sprays will kill them on contact. The orange oil will also kill beneficials, too.

Posted: Mon 30Aug2004 9:41am by Jim Vance:

Please everyone, just try this-----get a clean 12oz. pump spray plastic bottle, fill it 1/3 full of vanilla extract (not imitation) and the rest of the way with water. Spray it on you and be amazed----no mosquitoes, flies, gnats, or anything will bother you for at least an hour, and you will smell good to. It's not "oily" and dries quickly. Oh, and it's very inexpensive, the bottle will last for a long time. Just try it!!!

To this I add the following:

To make it last, one could apply a thin layer of coconut oil or something similar on their skin before applying the spray.

A caller recently suggested:
VANILLA MOSQUITO REPELLANT
8 oz. water, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp orange oil. Spray on liberally.

I use one part peppermint essential oil to 3 parts rubbing alcohol and it works quite well. You must cover clothing and all exposed skin as possible, but please use common sense; do avoid the eyes and mucous membranes, as it will be most unpleasant and probably harmful if it gets in your eyes.

Thanks for the tips Nadine.

Posted: Mon 30Aug2004 9:41am by Jim Vance:

Please everyone, just try this-----get a clean 12oz. pump spray plastic bottle, fill it 1/3 full of vanilla extract (not imitation) and the rest of the way with water. Spray it on you and be amazed----no mosquitoes, flies, gnats, or anything will bother you for at least an hour, and you will smell good to. It's not "oily" and dries quickly. Oh, and it's very inexpensive, the bottle will last for a long time. Just try it!!!

A caller recently suggested:
VANILLA MOSQUITO REPELLANT
8 oz. water, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp orange oil. Spray on liberally.

If my math is correct, Jim's recipe uses 4oz of vanilla compared to the other formulation's 2tsp. I have tried the 2tsp formulation and it did absolutely nothing to repel mosquitos. I would like to know if anyone else has tried the 4oz formulation and if they got results before I try it and end up wasting a lot of vanilla.

If my local supermarket has this vanilla extract- not imitation, I will be trying this tonight.

I'd also like to experiment with cinnamon oil if anyone knows where I can get some.

I just thought I'd add that I tried it yesterday when mowing the lawn and I didn't get a single bite!

I didn't have a spray bottle but I mixed a 1 part v.e. to 2 parts water solution and applied it to my legs and arms with a small piece of paper towel.

The stuff is expensive $7.99 for generic supermarket brand and $1 more for McCormick's in a 2 ounce bottle. I mixed only a small amount like a cap full and still had enough left over so I wrapped the dixie cup in foil and put it in the fridge.

I don't know if mowing the lawn was a fair trial because I was constantly moving around and that's not when you get bitten but I was doing it for 2 hours or so and at one point I had a mosquito fly at my face but left my arms and legs bite free.

I get bit when mowing the lawn. Especially vulnerable you are because of the emission of CO 2 from your body. (A little Yoda-speak for you). <g>

A little update, it takes me about 3 days to mow the lawn and I tried the vanilla oil for 2 days plus washed 2 cars at night with it. The only time I got bit was while washing the cars and it was in a spot where I didn't apply the solution or where it may have been rinsed off.

On the third day, I only had about an hour and a half of mowing left so I got lazy and decided to make sunday the control group. I got bitten so badly, it was terrible. Huge welts all over. Not to mention, I've been sick since Sunday night and I'm starting to wonder if it's malaria. Mosquitos to blame?

That was real brave of you to do a control episode. Now, don't do that again. Hope you get better soon. Next time you get bit, try comfrey.

Another thing I have yet to test (for bug bites) is now available. I will let you know soon what it is and how it works. I am going to Florida tomorrow and will surely put it to test there.

Ummm. You might want to edit your travel plans.

In case you haven't heard...Hurricane Jeanne is going to destroy my already freshly destroyed town and it's going to rain down mosquitos.

Please remind me to research comfrey when I get my power back in a couple weeks.

And by the way, I did even more experimentation the night before last when I had to do something outside at night. I was outside for about 5 minutes, was starting to get eaten alive, and I ran back inside, mixed up the vanilla juice, wiped it on, went back out for another 20 minutes or so and there were no more mosquitos on my body.

I made it through Hurricane Jeanne! Being in the eye is soooo creepy calm.

Total Organics makes a great itch relief product called "Pro-Relief". I am amazed at how well it works. The website is: www.totalorganicsinc.com.

During high winds, mosquitoes are not a problem. But when the winds did subside, I used a mixture of equal parts: Orange TKO, vanilla extract and water. Not one bite.

I know I have always been especially attractive to mosquitoes - first one to get bit, bites swell big time, etc. So it's especially awful that our back yard is so innudated with them - even now that it has cooled off. Would like to understand why. We do not have standing water. We do have lots of foliage in a fairly confined space. Is that it?