…and of course, wearing white or light-colored clothing (and long-sleeves, layered so the skin is that much farther out of reach of pesky proboscises… I wear a long-tailed sleeveless undershirt, under a short-sleeved white t-shirt over a long-sleeved white shirt; plus loose-fitting light tan pants) is effective as part of the strategy for being less ‘noticeable’ and ‘available’ to insects…
I understand that Ann is advocating for a France-produced product which makes a lot of sense.
I garden almost every day, these days, and have been testing a couple of organic insect repellents. I’m gardening for folks who are excellent gardeners but who need someone who can haul around the mulch and soil and who knows how to discern a weed from a bed plant (so not all brawn maybe but also some plant know-how). I work up a sweat and those mosquitoes, deer flies, black flies, gnats are a problem.
My clients have tons of knowledge and some have been gardening for 30 years or more. They know their insect repellents almost as well as they know their horticulture. One product that was avidly recommended, recently, was a lemongrass and eucalyptus blend essential oil, mixed 1:3 with two other oils (take your choice but she uses coconut oil and whatever else she finds in her cupboard). Another is something called Buggle.
But despite all of the estimable knowledge, the latest challenge, for me, is to find one that not only works but is sustainable… I guess by that I mean I’m now aware of how much plant material goes into making an essential oil. And so now it seems important not only to buy local (so when I get to France, I want to buy France-made) but to keep this sustainable idea in the back of my mind.
So it gets interesting to try to go beyond natural and/or organic products (e.g. essential oils) and, then, not only local (France-made) but also this third sort of ‘layer’: sustainable.
Meanwhile with all of this essential oil on me I seem to smell good (well, but my smelly socks…those are a whole 'nother thing). Even so, I’m working on changing my habit of slapping on the essential oil willy-nilly and now I’m trying to see how little I need, to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I’m finding a little lemon-eucalyptus in the ratio with the oils, maybe (1:4 or possibly 1:5) does go a long way… It’s so tempting though, just to go back to the old habit of dousing myself with the stuff. Simple easy remedies, home-made ones…
Just my two … centimes 