Female Focus
Going Out - Page 45
FF Serving the community since 1993
Mosquitoes why do they bite some and not others? by Mark Shearman
I used to complain about being punctured by mosquitoes, the itch was irritatingly painful and if scratched too much left a mark like you’d had a bout of smallpox. I’d say to my inamorata why do they only suck my blood? To which she replied: “They bite me all the time. I just don’t complain about it and resist the urge to scratch - you soft-lad.” That was in the days when the mossies were only active between dusk and down.
Spain’s most unwanted
Since the female tiger mosquito has become an ex-pat it is all day and night and those who usually managed to escape bites are fair game - even her-in-doors murmured the fact she is feeling the pain from these relentless blood suckers and why haven’t I come up with a solution to repel them yet! Heating a spoon and pressing it on the bite works, most of the time, dispersing the protein, the substance that courses the itching, but I want something that stops them from biting - a repellent rather than an after bite remedy.
I sit at the computer, pair of baggy hiking socks, thick jogging trousers and shirt buttoned up, sweating like a …..... Does this help? Yes and no. The mosquito finds a way to bite my face, neck, and what is even more annoying, my hands in front of me - how do they manage to get there unnoticed?
Ten percent of people naturally repel mosquitoes due to high levels of vitamin B1, also known as Thiamine. You can also take a 100 mg of vitamin B-1 daily - this is not guaranteed to work for everyone.
There are plenty of gels and creams available based on (DEET, or diethyltoluamide) or picaridin currently regarded as effective forms of protection, usually providing cover for between one and three hours in typical situations. The advice is that
children shouldn’t use repellents with DEET in them. Picaridin is a more appropriate choice for children. Keep insect repellents out of the eyes, and use them only on clothing or exposed skin, never on skin covered with clothing.
I had used, in the past, Aloe Vera body spray on my face and hands, which seemed to be effective but wore off after time and there it was - another itchy red mound.
I decided to make my own concoction with what I had in-doors based on what I had read that these insect do not like - garlic and lemon. I crushed some garlic into a glass, added some Aloe Vera after sun lotion, small amount of lemon and water. I let it marinate and poured it into a fine spray bottle.
So now I smell like a sunburned Frenchman on holiday and I have a craving for red wine, lemon chicken on a bed of crepes, but the mossies seemed to have been deterred.
Disclaimer: I have only been using it for a few weeks so if you decide to try my recipe and it turns out to ferment into some genetic changing substance and you wake up as a mutation with superpowers - don’t blame me. If your hands become twice the size as they were let me know because there may be a commercial market for it.
Mosquito Repellent – also works on fleas and ants without the use of garlic Ingredients:
½ litre of alcohol
100 gram of whole cloves 100 ml of baby oil – (almond, sesame, chamomile, lavender, fennel etc) Preparation: Marinate the cloves in alcohol four days. Stir regularly for 4 days add the oil and you are good to go. How to use: Rub a few drops into the arms and legs or any exposed flesh areas. It repels fleas on pets too.
Mark Shearman has been living on the Costa Blanca for 14 years his blog is Sherm Donor
http://shermdonor.blogspot.com.es/ where you can find his latest novel Flip Flop Flamenco.
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