permaculture

[Jocelyn Campbell <jocecampbell@gmail.com>]

Hi Cory,

Another option to Kevin's idea of the citronella geraniums is lemon balm.
Strong citronella smell and it works great! I've taken the fresh herb
camping and rubbed the leaves over exposed skin (there's no sting) and
little to no mosquito bites! Works far better than any chemical spray, IMHO,
and makes a lovely lemon flavor in cooking and teas, too! Also used
medicinally, especially for herpes simplex.

There is a strain of BT used for mosquito larvae, though I have no idea of
the cost of that, or the safety, or effectiveness.

Education and fish sound excellent.

Did anyone mention bats or bat houses? Not sure if the insect eating bats
are in Haiti. Around here, one bat eats upwards of 200 mosquitoes a night.

Best,

Jocelyn


On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 7:21 PM, Kevin Topek <ktopek@att.net> wrote:

> Cory,
>
> There is another option that is cheap. Citronella Geraniums smell like
> citronella oil. Keep the plants nearby. Pick a leaf, crumple it, put
> it in a shirt pocket. Every time you move it emits a scent. It works
> OK to keep the mosquitos away, but not great. My Mom always used to
> lather us in citronella oil when were outdoors. It stings, but it does
> work. Not sure of the toxicity, but it is probably not as toxic as DEET.
>
> Kevin Topek
>
>
>
> On May 6, 2010, at 9:12 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:
>
> > I will definitely do that for my team, and it is a good suggestion,
> > didn't think of incense (will take my smudge too). But I'm looking
> > for broadscale solutions for the camps as well, which will need to
> > be very, very cheap or free using local materials. Maybe they can
> > make incense with some local herbs or already do, worth checking
> > into...
> >
> > Cory
> >
> > --- On Thu, 5/6/10, Kevin Topek <ktopek@att.net> wrote:
> >
> >> From: Kevin Topek <ktopek@att.net>
> >> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Question re mosquitos
> >> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> >> Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 7:06 PM
> >> Cory,
> >>
> >> You can carry incense internationally. They also make small
> >> citronella
> >> mosquito coils with tins to burn them in that last for 10
> >> hours or
> >> more. A pack of 10 costs US $6.00 and they are very
> >> portable. A small
> >> amount of smoldering smoke is all you need! No need to cut
> >> rare
> >> Haitian wood.
> >>
> >> Kevin Topek
> >>
> >>
> >> On May 6, 2010, at 8:58 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:
> >>
> >>> Thanks Kevin - the smoke idea might not work so well
> >> in Haiti
> >>> because they are cutting down too many trees to create
> >> cooking
> >>> fires, we are pushing for high efficiency stoves which
> >> will just
> >>> increase the mosquito problem because there will be
> >> less smoke.  :-(
> >>>
> >>> Cory
> >>>
> >>> --- On Thu, 5/6/10, Kevin Topek <ktopek@att.net>
> >> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> From: Kevin Topek <ktopek@att.net>
> >>>> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Question re mosquitos
> >>>> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> >>>> Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6:50 PM
> >>>> Cory,
> >>>>
> >>>> Gambusia minnows are the main mosquito eating fish
> >> in
> >>>> tropical and
> >>>> semi-tropical ecosystems. They are usually native
> >> to those
> >>>> areas too.
> >>>> They eat the mosquito larvae en mass when the
> >> larvae reach
> >>>> 4-7 days
> >>>> old. I also suggest keeping a smoldering fire
> >> close at hand
> >>>> since
> >>>> mosquitos stay 20' away from smoke. Mosquito coils
> >> or
> >>>> incense are what
> >>>> we use here in coastal Texas. The smoke really
> >> works and is
> >>>> cheap,
> >>>> available and easy to employ. The ancient Mayans
> >> always had
> >>>> braziers
> >>>> burning to keep the mosquitos at bay.
> >>>>
> >>>> Kevin Topek
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On May 6, 2010, at 8:27 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> I'm going to Haiti in a couple of days and am
> >>>> interested in feedback
> >>>>> on control of mosquitos.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> This is a serious problem with the rainy
> >> season - some
> >>>> of the camps
> >>>>> are in flood plains, there is lots of standing
> >> water,
> >>>> garbage, etc,
> >>>>> intense breeding grounds for mosquitos. More
> >> so than
> >>>> usual because
> >>>>> of the human element and chaotic environment.
> >> What I
> >>>> would do is
> >>>>> direct the water to a man made pond or ponds
> >> that is
> >>>> stocked with
> >>>>> mosquito fish (or other predator) and some
> >> sort of
> >>>> ecosystem balance
> >>>>> of plants (whatever is possible with the
> >> existing
> >>>> resources). And do
> >>>>> an education campaign to eliminate careless
> >> standing
> >>>> water like
> >>>>> buckets or tires lying around (which may be
> >> being done
> >>>> by rescue
> >>>>> organizations already). Any other
> >> suggestions?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> c
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>
>
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