Foraging Series - Keeping The Biting Bugs Off

It’s that time of the year along the lower coast.

MOSQUITO SEASON!

The mosquito hatch generally starts here in March. Early March if February was a mild month. It’s not a prolific hatch but they’re out and about doing what the blood suckers do. As the daytime and nighttime mercury readings rise so does the volume of mosquitoes. If we stayed out in the sun in the open we’d rarely notice them. Move to the shade to cool off and they swarm us. The biting boogers, in the cool of the evening, seem to find you no matter where you are.

The closer you are to the damps and bogs the more exacerbated the mosquito problem is … though one source that I read years ago mentioned that mosquitoes do not need standing water in their propagation process – any piece of damp earth, pile of damp leaves, or damp lawn is sufficient for the larvae to mature to fly their way to you.

They are … at the least … aggravating.

They can be a lot worse than aggravating considering the infectious diseases they are capable of carrying. Some of these diseases have been fairly well eliminated through vaccinations and other control means in this country. Others have a way of coming along that pose serious health threats. Like this Zika thing that has found its way here.

Several years ago, on my way to Point Clear to do a lawn for a lady, I picked up a fellow that was hitch hiking.

It was a really hot summer day and he looked like he needed some help. His foot powered locomotion was labored. He looked harmless enough so I pulled over and offered him a ride. He told me, on the short ride to his house, why he was in the physical shape he was in. It was on account of a mosquito bite. Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Mosquitoes, in less developed countries, pose a much larger health threat than they do here in the United States. Here, for the most part, they are an annoyance that creates a good case of the itches. The smart thing to do is to keep something handy that repels the little blood suckers.

I am not a fan of products containing DEET. I was when it came onto the market. DEET works. No doubt about it. Mosquitoes don’t like it. Ticks don’t like it. DEET, in fact, kills ticks. Then I saw first-hand what DEET does to synthetic materials and plastics … things like the wasted away steering wheel in a truck owned by a turkey hunting friend and that pair of snake boots of mine that were ruined. DEET is potent stuff. I’ll use DEET only if there is nothing else available.

REPEL makes a natural product that is effective against mosquitoes. Cheap dryer sheets rubbed on your exposed skin and clothes are effective. I’ve used Avon Skin So Soft as a remedy against them. I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of Sawyer’s Permethrin used to treat clothing as a mosquito deterrent. It does seem to work for repelling ticks. I’ve used it a couple of seasons in the hunting woods. The highly refined Permethrin supposedly attaches itself to the clothing and lasts for eight weeks and multiple launderings.

There are numerous recipes to be found with a Google search that allows a person to concoct their own natural repellents using essential oils. Ole Nessmuk had his own recipe that he included in his book. I’ve never cooked it up but have always wanted to sample it.

The smart thing … being prepared before we go out … is the best course to take. The smart thing, however, doesn’t always work out like it should.

What do we do then … short of building a smoky fire and staying in the smoke?

We use what’s available in our natural surroundings.

Wax Myrtle leaves, when crushed and rubbed on exposed skin, makes a fairly good mosquito repellent.

Wax Myrtle, also known as Southern Bayberry, grows in climate zones 7 through 11. It is abundant here where we are. Most of us see it every day and have no idea about what it is and what it will do for us. I’ve used it numerous times as a mosquito repellent.

This also happens to be a multi-use plant.

The Wax Myrtle berries can be harvested and boiled to extract the scented wax to use in candle making. Aroma therapy is always a good thing. I can’t help but to wonder about the effectiveness of these scented candles in regard to repelling mosquitoes. 

Looks like I’ll be harvesting Wax Myrtle berries this year and dabbling in candle making this winter.

The leaves of the Wax Myrtle can also be used as seasoning in place of bay leaves.

I’ve not cooked with it yet but do have a few leaves picked to do a culinary experiment with.

I would be curious to hear from folks that have experimented with the Northern Bayberry.

American Beautyberry is an effective natural mosquito repellent.

I find it to be quite a bit more effective than Wax Myrtle.

Simply crush the leaves and rub them on exposed skin.

I’ve read some articles on research being done on Beautyberry. It’s quite impressive. What has been discovered in the research is that three different elements in the plant combine to create a compound that not only effectively deters mosquitoes but also deters ticks. One article that I read a year or so ago stated that this compound is as effective as DEET in deterring ticks.

It will be a long time, if it ever comes along, before a product containing this finding discovered in folklore is marketed. There are A LOT of steps and finances involved in getting something like this approved. Knowing about this plant, and having done the experimental archaeology with it, means there is no waiting for approval.

The ripe magenta colored berries are also edible. Tasting them is still on my bucket list.

I need to make a statement here … something of a DISCLAIMER.

This statement applies to all that I have already written, will write, have shared in YouTube videos, and will share in video format.

Make sure that you can positively identify wild growing vegetation before you experiment with it. I assume no responsibility or liability for errors in your identification, judgment, or physical conditions that may result in any kind of allergic reaction.

Having said that, let me say this …

Don’t be afraid to do some experimental archaeology. Have fun with it. Take your time with it. Sample with small bites and build from there.

Knowledge is a powerful tool. Knowledge plus experience is always a powerful team.

Foraging The Coastal Plain Region - Introduction

My outdoor involvement, whether teaching skills classes or simply getting out there to piddle and wander, has been quite limited over the past six months.

Personal priorities came into play. 

Nothing over the course of these months has been more important than helping Shirli through two knee replacement surgeries. The first one was back in November. A week ago she had the second replacement done. Those new knees, as drawn out and painful as the process is, are an important step in our progress in the direction we are traveling toward some important goals.

Foremost, in our goals, is for her to be able to get back out doing the outdoors stuff that she loves to do … outdoor stuff that she and I have always enjoyed doing together as a team as a normal part of our lifestyle … stuff that two excruciating knees have kept her from for far too long now.

There’s quite a bit of personal reorientation going on as we prepare for our retirement adventure that includes a move inland away from the hustle and bustle that surrounds us here where we’ve spent the past dozen years.

I have made the statement before.

More than once.

It is a statement that bears repeating again.

I am not an authority on wild edibles. I have, however, made an intentional point … over the course of several years of time … of learning to recognize and utilize a fair number of the seasonal wild edibles that we have here in this Alabama coastal plain region that touches the Gulf of Mexico.

Now that I have taken the time and keystrokes to repeat myself, I can thus get on with what I am doing here in this blog article.

Ma Nature is a wonderful mother. She is a beautiful mother. She is a diverse mother. Her diversity provides absolutely everything that we need to sustain human life. She is, at the same time, a strict mother and will give us a good spanking if we don’t learn her lessons or fail to pay attention to her changing moods.

It has been, and continues to be, somewhat of a personal quest.

Partly because it is such an interesting personal study. Partly because it seems like the natural thing to do. Partly because of the peace of mind and personal assurance that comes with knowing I can supplement my diet with wild edibles on any given day or depend upon them as a resource in the event the need arises in some sort of dire situation.

It is … in the school of the woods … a quest that has no end. It is a quest replete with many points of arrival … many discoveries … many moments of personal confidence building.

One of the things I have not done … and something that this life-season Shirli and I are in affords me opportunity to do … is to prepare something of a syllabus cataloging and outlining these local wild edible and medicinal plants … those that are already familiarly tucked away in my gray matter mainframe and those yet waiting for familiarization … that are abundant in our area.

Some of these are native.

Some of these are naturalized.

Some were here all along. Others came from points elsewhere with the explorers, pilgrims, and planters. Some of them are peculiar to the area. Others have a range that exceeds our regional limitations.

The important thing, whether native or naturalized, is knowing them and knowing what to do with them.

 Tag along, if you'd like, as we explore what we have around us.