[gardeners] Re: mosquitos
asidv@fbg.net (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 14 Aug 1998 09:27:24 +0000
According to the sober-minded scientists, Deet is harmful to the
young, the middle-aged, the old, and the antique. It should be
used only if the mosquitos threaten to carry you off. Otherwise,
it should be avoided.
May I suggest sulfur? Buy a quarter pound or so from the druggist,
put into a clean sock, tie up the end, and before you go out beat
yourself about the limbs, etc. with the sock. Can't hurt you and the
mosquitos think you smell something awful. Of course, you tend to
want to avoid yourself, too, but you can't have everything!
Failing that, find a disgruntled recent bride and talk her out of her
wedding veil. Swathe yourself from head to toe in her bridal tulle
and move very, very slowly as you perambulate on your garden stroll.
Failing that, seal all windows and doors with flour-and-water paste,
and stay indoors. (This presupposes you have carefully extracted all
mosquitos from your homestead before you sealed it up.)
Actually, the easiest thing is to get rid of all standing water. This
solution is possible in some areas, but impractical in Louisiana and
Florida; those unfortunate states are only sponges of soil floating
on liquid.
You *could* move? Is that an option? Or should we just learn to be
tolerant of our brothers the mosquitos -- and accept them for what
they are -- and . . . . . Oh well, you know the rest of that speech.
Pat (who is scratching as she types; here the problem is the chigger)