Bug repellent.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: repellant
From: traiteusse.aol.com (TRAITEUSSE)
Date: 29 Jan 1997 01:47:59 GMT

> please someone help me: mail me and tell me which herb can be use as insect repellant

I use a pint of witch hazel base, adding a few drops of these oils-citronella (more than the others), pennyroyal, eucalyptus, peppermint and camphor. You shake it up really well to emulsify a bit and lather it on. We live on the edge of the Atchafalya swamp area and know what bugs are, but while this doesn't beat commercial products, it's pretty good. It's not quite as greasy as an oil base, the oils are diluted enough to apply to skin, and the peppermint oil helps take the itch out of any bites already there. We found the citronella candles didn't do squat when we got our massive mosquito invasions this year. They sang campfire songs around them. T.