@secretagentmango Said
It's mosquito season now, and I've been getting really bad bites the past week (I got one yesterday and the swelling peaked to about the radius of a grapefruit - it's gone down significantly now, but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm gonna ask about it just in case). I was reading through articles that say planting marigold, mint, basil, and lemongrass plants near entrances are great natural ways to control mosquitoes around your home, but I am a bit skeptical about it. Has anyone tried this, and how effective is it?
I heard a mix of lavender, thyme and a bit of cinnamon works great for warding off mosquitoes. Back when I was in high school, I went with my cousin to a Pow Wow that was going on in Squamish and one of the elders noticed I kept getting swarmed by mosquitoes, so he gave me a small, white mesh bag half-full of lavender, thyme, cinnamon and another plant (I can't remember what he said it was because he said it in his native tongue, but it looked a bit like catnip) and told me to rub it on my arms and legs, and then wear it around my neck for the rest of the day. It was really cool of him to teach me that. Unfortunately, I could never find the type of mesh he used to make the little bag (it was hand woven).
Still, rubbing/crushing lavender and thyme in your hands and then rubbing it on your arms and legs should work in a pinch. Oil from either works well too.
@bobbimay Said
another trick you may want to try is..
Garlic pills...not the odorless ones..they don't work ...every year my sisters and I go on a sisters only camping trip into the back woods of Colorado and about a week before we start taking the garlic pills and have very little problems with bugs....but then we all smell like garlic for weeks
This.
Garlic's a natural mosquito repellent, so even just consuming some would work great. Like if you were out camping and you guys want to make spaghetti and meatballs, you could do garlic in the sauce, the meatballs and even garlic bread grilled over the fire.
Or if you don't mind your feet smelling like garlic, rub two-three pieces of garlic on the soles of your feet for about a minute and then they shouldn't bother you because your body absorbs the rubbed garlic oil through your feet which is then absorbed into your bloodstream and transported through your body, which is why your breath will also smell like garlic for a bit.
Mosquitoes won't bother you at all because of the garlic in your blood.