BreakTheChain.org
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Bug Off!Date Added: May 22, 2003
On the Internet, virtually anybody can be Martha Stewart or Heloise. Lists of alternatives to commercial products using stuff you've probably got lying around are numerous and very popular. But, where your health and that of your family is concerned, are you willing to rely on an anonymously authored e-mail chain letter for protection? Fw: Prepare to be repelled --- against mosquitoes!!!! Are you protected for the summer? It's just about mosquito time so I thought I would send this out to all of you who could be susceptible to West Nile Virus. OK, mosquitoes...prepare to be repelled!!!!! I think this is good information and am going to print out copies to have handy. jg Use Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets... Best thing ever used in Louisiana..just wipe on & go... Great for babies. Bob, a fisherman, takes one vitamin B-1 tablet a day April through October. He said it works. He was right. The odour the tablet gives out through your skin (YOU can not smell it) repels mosquitoes, black flies, and knat's. It does not work on stinging insects. He hasn't had a mosquito bite in 33 years. Try it. Every one he has talked into trying it works on them. Vitamin B-1( Thiamine Hydrochloride 100 mg.) NPR reports that if you eat bananas, the mosquitoes like you, something about the banana oil as your body processes it. Stop eating bananas for the summer and the mosquitoes will be much less interested. This is going to floor you, but one of the best insect repellents someone found (who is in the woods every day), is Vick's Vaporub. Plant marigolds around the yard, the flowers give off a smell that bugs do not like, so plant some in that garden also to help ward off bugs without using insecticides. "Tough guy" Marines who spend a great deal of time "camping out" say that the very best mosquito repellant you can use is Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil mixed about half and half with alcohol. Or mix your own: 20 drops Eucalyptus oil One of the best natural insect repellants is made from the clear real vanilla (not the grocery store vanilla extract which is mostly alcohol). This is the pure vanilla that is sold in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. It's cheap there if you know of someone that lives there or in the US close to the border. If not, health food stores usually carry it or can order it for you. Use half vanilla and half water, it works great for mosquitoes and ticks. Fight West Nile........pass this along to all your friends in skeeter land!!!!!!!!!!! The list above bears some similarities to an earlier chain touting the mosquito repelling properties of Lemon Fresh Joy or another chain listing several alternate uses for Bounce Dryer Sheets. The source of the advice above is not given, so we have no way of knowing to what degree the author(s) went to test these so-called tips. West Nile virus is carried by mosquitos and passed on to animals, birds and humans through the bug's bite. The virus causes a form of encephalitis that can be deadly to those whose immune systems are compromised, include the very old and the very young. Native to Africa, West Nile Virus was first seen in the U.S. in 2000. It spreads deeper into the country's interior every summer. The best way to avoid infection is to reduce your exposure to mosquitos. The only proven way to repel mosquitos is by applying an insect repellent containing DEET. DEET works by "confusing" the bug's nervous system to prevent it from detecting all of the normal bio-signals it relies upon to find prey. In essence, it makes you invisible to the bug. However, there is a persistent opinion in society that chemicals are bad (DEET does require special care when used on children) and that safer equivalents to any man-made substance can be found in nature. Most of the advice given above is unproven, and some could even increase your exposure to bug bites. Break this chain. References: Centers for Disease Control |