Mosquitoes - Lavender and Chamomile Essential Oils

From June through part of October, I am plagued by a newly introduced introduced mosquitoes, the Aedes Aegypti. It's not supposed to be up this far north in California, but it is. They love to hang around around entrance doors, your shoes. It's quiet, a day-time biter, and small. Just to pick something from the garden or take out garbage means putting on long pants, shirt, socks and shoes in 100*F or more weather.

Deet is a familiar product but it means a greasy Sanderson about the house. I tried a Sleep lotion from Bath & Body Works of chamomile and lavender, both of which are supposed to repelled the A. aegypti and it is surprisingly effective. However, they discontinued that lotion so I bought a Lavender & Vanilla lotion and Black Chamomile lotion to mix together. If anyone is into essential oils, you may want to use a basic lotion and add some lavender and chamomile essential oils to see if you make a nice smelling repellent.

If it works for you with your local species of vampire, provide us with feed back from your experiment.

Mosquitoes most often show up when it's been wetter than normal.

I bet you would have a heart attack if you saw the mosquitoes that eastern Massachusetts has!

Heck, I bet you would be running inside our house and slamming one of the doors, if you saw the mosquitoes we here in North Springfield, Vermont at times has!  They were bad in 2018 and bad in spring of 2019! This is why I don't like so many trees!

In one part of Massachusetts, on Cinco de Mayo, 2019, I rushed back in the automobile! I didn't want to get the eastern equine virus, which Massachusetts is notorious for!

RJ, I believe you. I've heard / read of huge, maddening North forest mosquitoes and flies.

We have always had mosquitoes but they were evening/shade and night time boogers. In 2016 I thought we had fleas as my lower legs and feet had bites during the day. The only mystery was the bites turned into 1/2" welts. Then they disappeared, only to return the next summer. Through a fluke, I saw a teeny mosquito on my ankle and found I had to really bend down to hear a buzz. A mosquito.

I can relate to this.  Last year was the first time we had the Asian mosquito and I dressed with long pants, long sleeve shirt, socks and plenty of the Repel product with lemon and Eucalyptus.  Ridiculous. It's was summer.  I went through my entire garden looking for any item that might hold 1/8 inch of standing water which they could use to lay their eggs.

This year is a repeat but my husband discovered that when he wears a sunscreen lotion, they don't bite him.  He works in our garage and they were biting him until he started applying lotion.

My hands are the only spot where they bite me because I keep washing off the lotion every time I wash my hands. Gloves come in handy once in a while.

These mosquitoes hang around shady areas.  My daughter who will not give up her summer shorts claims any lotion she uses repels them.

Roseinarosecity wrote:I can relate to this.  Last year was the first time we had the Asian mosquito and I dressed with long pants, long sleeve shirt, socks and plenty of the Repel product with lemon and Eucalyptus.  Ridiculous. It's was summer.  I went through my entire garden looking for any item that might hold 1/8 inch of standing water which they could use to lay their eggs.

This year is a repeat but my husband discovered that when he wears a sunscreen lotion, they don't bite him.  He works in our garage and they were biting him until he started applying lotion.

My hands are the only spot where they bite me because I keep washing off the lotion every time I wash my hands. Gloves come in handy once in a while.

These mosquitoes hang around shady areas.  My daughter who will not give up her summer shorts claims any lotion she uses repels them.

I bet you can't get away with just lotion in the eastern U.S.! Also the ones that look extra tiny, likely aren't even mosquitoes. We keep getting black flies, and fruit flies, LOL

DEET is the most trusted in eastern-U.S.A.!

Rose, They are both of the Aedes genus and they look so much alike!! Now that I know what they look like, I can see them following me around in the yard. Our southern latitude climate allows these tropical mosquitoes to survive once they make it here. Plus, they live just fine around humans instead of in the wild. They lay single eggs in something that has as little as 1 teaspoon of water or something that will get water. The eggs can survive in dry conditions for a year until it rains.

Camouflaging the human skin odor helps. When I worked up in the high Sierra Mountains, some folks used Skin So Soft from Avon. I and others used Deet. Now, I'm trying chamomile and lavender essential oils.

I just saw and killed a mosquito in the ground floor bathroom, on the left window curtain this morning!
I saw that trademark beak on it! Nooooo!

I make a blend of organic olive or almond oil base with various citrus, citronella, rosemary essential oils in it. Seems to help. Skeeters LOVE me if I'm not wearing anything....

AtlantaMarie wrote: Skeeters LOVE me if I'm not wearing anything....

They love me, too! I rather go love someone down in Perú with a piña colada!

RJARPCGP wrote:

AtlantaMarie wrote: Skeeters LOVE me if I'm not wearing anything....

They love me, too! I rather go love someone down in Perú with a piña colada!

I'll restrain myself from commenting on the nekkid gardener reference, but what about those electronic thingies? I read that they imitate the sound of a dragonfly, and that makes the skeeters scatter.

countrynaturals wrote:

I'll restrain myself from commenting on the nekkid gardener reference, but what about those electronic thingies? I read that they imitate the sound of a dragonfly, and that makes the skeeters scatter.

All electronic repellent things that I know of, just make a squealing sound, like a tiny security alarm.

AtlantaMarie wrote:I make a blend of organic olive or almond oil base with various citrus, citronella, rosemary essential oils in it.  Seems to help.  Skeeters LOVE me if I'm not wearing anything....

They love me, too!

Marie, could you post your recipe you mentioned?
R

Dang mosquitoes, go make love with someone who's not a human!

This thread!  Love it, and also hating....I don’t know what to say...we have been so wet here, I get bit regardless of the time of day...

I new bottles arrived and they are both 95% effective. Bath and Body Works Black Chamomile and B&B Lavender & Vanilla.

Roseinarosecity wrote:

AtlantaMarie wrote:I make a blend of organic olive or almond oil base with various citrus, citronella, rosemary essential oils in it.  Seems to help.  Skeeters LOVE me if I'm not wearing anything....

They love me, too!

Marie, could you post your recipe you mentioned?
R

Rose, there's really not much to it... Olive or almond oil in a bottle. Add rosemary, lavender, orange/lemon/citronella, whatever strikes your fancy that you've heard is mosquito-repellent in the quantity that smells good to you. (I use a mix.) Be sure it's not a spray bottle. That just gets clogged up...

Apply every couple of hours. Be aware that the sun could get you! You ARE putting oil on your skin, after all.

I've also heard of making it with witch hazel, which is what I will probably try next. I hate feeling all greasy, lol!

I hate that oily feeling, also. That's why I was so happy that the lotions, which seems to soak in, work.

Well, believe it or not, I'm looking forward to the forecasted hard freeze for the morning of October 20th!

I bet you are. Our stupid Aedes Aegypti is finally gone for the year.