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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Catnip Stronger Than DEET?

Catnip Stronger Than DEET?



Catnip "ten times stronger than DEET"?  

I see so many claims for "natural," alternative," "green," "organic," bug repellents that just don't work on mosquitoes!  Maybe they don't have many to begin with?  Maybe they have special mosquitoes?  lol  Maybe they want so badly for it to work well so they can claim they know a "natural alternative" that they go into it already deciding "it works great!"  I'd like a natural alternative to icky bug spray as much as the next person, but be realistic; and try these things out without deciding beforehand that they work so well.
 

I was skeptical but gave it a fair chance.  I whipped up a nice strong batch of Catnip repellent.  I was outside for almost exactly 2 hours and used up 3/4 of the spray bottle and was still getting eaten up by the mosquitoes.  I even had one try to bite my hand that was still wet from just spraying it.  I don't know where all these claims come from about just using this plant or that plant and how they work better than bug spray. 

I think the claim for the Catnip being ten times stronger than DEET is for Catnip oil; but if it's that much stronger, certainly, using freshly blended Catnip, made into a repellent (that people claim works great), should work at least as well as DEET.

The mosquitoes are so bad here this year, and the only way I get relief is by using bug spray with DEET.  I don't like spraying myself with chemicals, but it's better than getting eaten alive and being bit by insects that carry disease that can even kill you.  "..the lesser of two evils."  The only other alternative is to stay inside; and we have so few months with nice weather to get outside, that's no option for me!  :)
 
I see a lot of claims that even just having certain plants in your yard will repel mosquitoes too, like Peppermint, Catnip, etc., etc., yada, yada, yada.  If that's true, why are so many mosquitoes in my yard; and why are there mosquitoes chewing on my cat while he's chewing on the Catnip in and among the Peppermint plants?  Do I sound harsh?  Just tired of all the claims being thrown around.  :P