Experiment: repel mosquitos, ants & fleas without chemic Saw this recipe the other day on facebook. Thought it was worth a try since we can't enjoy being outdoors once the sun starts to set because of the mosquitos. And the dog has fleas. Ingredients: 1/2 liter (2 cups) alcohol 1 pack cloves (100 gr or 3.5 oz)* 100ml (1/2 cup) baby oil or almond, chamomille, fennel, lavendar, aloe, etc *Whole cloves are EXPENSIVE! I paid $7 for 0.3 ounces! Yikes! The recipe didn't say whole or ground... I assumed whole... but I wasn't about to spend that kind of money on an experiment... so I used the whole cloves and then used ground cloves to make up the difference. I also only made a HALF batch. How to prepare: Put cloves in alcohol for 4 days, shake in the mornings and afternoon/evening. After the fourth day mix in the oil. It's ready to use. How to use: Put some drops on legs and arms. Ants will go from the kitchen if clove is used. Fleas won't come near your pets. Mosquitoes will not bite. Today is day four... and my concoction is ready to use tonight.
If it doesn't work we can still pop you in the oven and bake till done. However, if it does work whole cloves are available in larger quantities at discount stores like the ones named after the seasonal tree. Are you sure the recipe did not come from a cannibal? We await the outcome. Jerry
I'll wait to hear from you to see if it works or not. If it does then I hope it will repel the mighty Scottish midges too as I'm covered in bites after being in the garden.
Well... The sun is beginning to set. And this about the time I usually get chased in the house. Or use some of the commercial repellent spray. I had to laugh at myself... sitting there... waiting on a mosquito to show up! And they did. Since I didn't follow the recipe to the letter, my plan was to put more than a few drops here and there. So I basically painted "stripes" on the inside and outside of both of my legs. After just a few minutes... there they were... landing on my feet (where I hadn't applied any of the concoction). I put on some more. A few minutes... another one landed. Okay...this ain't working. But... I can't say that it wouldn't if I had used whole cloves only. If I ever see whole cloves at a reasonable price. I'll try again. (Hmmm... maybe this recipe was posted by the Clove Growers Association in an attempt to raise sales during the summer?) Wait... there's more... As I sat there feeling rather silly... I noticed some ants busying themselves across the slab of flagstone where my little table sits. So... I poured out a line of the stuff across it. None of the ants attempted to cross it. They ran back and forth on their respective sides... probably calling headquarters to report an obstruction across their highway. I did go ahead and put some on the dog. If it works to deter ants... maybe it works for fleas? If not, guess I don't have to worry about ants crawling on her. But I think the worst part to all of this... I now have a very serious craving for baked ham and sweet potato pie!
Bummer Cheryl, but maybe it'll work on those tiny annoying house ants we have coming in through the electrical outlet.
