Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jan 15, 2009, at 8:05 PM, Robert Walton wrote:

> Before I even get to the point of trying nail polish, I end up digging
> them out with my nails.

A touch of bleach and they are dead and the bite is disinfected.

I once had such a batch of bites that I was itching all over. I ran a  
tub of cool water, poured in a cup of bleach and bathed in it. Did the  
job.

The best thing is to keep grass and weeds mowed very short wherever  
you walk.
> I wonder what pioneers did. What were their reactions to all these new
> and inescapable bugs?

Mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, no-see-ums, they had them all. They  
suffered. I've seen old photos where the people had slathered mud all  
over their bodies in an effort for relief.

I wonder if they thought to do mud wrestling.