A few days ago I went for a lovely walk in the forest and amongst the flowers. It was blissful and gave me the zap of energy I needed. However, it wasn't the only thing that gave me a zap! While I was out walking I must have brushed up against something that had an active ant trail on it and I picked up a hitchhiker. I was none the wiser for some time until Blamo!
"OUTCH, what the hell was that?" At first I thought I had been stung by something through my jeans and I eagerly tried to swat away whatever it was from my derrière. I thought that was the end of it and the pain had somewhat subsided until...Blamo number 2!
"Oooh ouchie, ok, that's not on the outside" I proceeded to plunge my hand into the back of my pants and not knowing what it was that was attacking me, I knew I'd have to deal with being bitten or stung on the fingers too, but it was the only way to deal with this hidden foe. Now I don't know if you're anything like me, but I consider being bitten or stung on the ass as a blow below the belt - literally and figuratively. It's just not how these things should happen but when you're dealing with nature and her kids, well, these things and worse often do.
Luckily I was able to squish the little shit ant to smithereens without enduring any other bites.
Ants
As is outlined in Galen's brilliant post about where to not set up your camp which you can check out here, I'd like to add one more - look around at the critters already inhabiting the area. It's a smart move to see what kind of insects are around before you plonk down your home in the middle of an ant colony's feeding track or worse yet, disturb a hive of the buzzing kind.
Ok, so you've now checked it out and you're happy that you aren't going to be carried away and eaten by ants in your sleep. Excellent. Make sure to dispose of all food waste products far away from your camp as they are bound to bring in the scouts. But what about the other annoying insects? The vampiric ones are the worst.
Mosquitoes and Ticks.
If you have camped anywhere outdoors that is even remotely close to a water source, you're bound to have them and they can very quickly ruin a pleasant evening.
If you don't have the insect repellents commercially available, what do you do?
Use smoke for flying insects.
Creating smoke around your campsite will ward off a fair number of mosquitoes and biting flies. If you can make lanterns and safely place them around your camp, that's first prize.
Here are the best options for flying insects of the biting kind:
1: Green foliage on your embers and around your camp
This will make smoke as it has a high water content. If you can find trees that are natural insect repellents, all the better ie:
Green Pine needles, pine resin and pine cones
Green Eucalyptus leaves and branches
Mint leaves (eating mint will or placing fresh mint oil on your skin will also help)
Wild lavender leaves and flowers (placing fresh lavender around your camp will also help)
Wild garlic leaves and flowers (placing fresh wild garlic around your camp will also help)
2: Polypore : Birch and Willow Fungi
The fungus that grows on Birch and Willow trees has many uses including as an insect repellent when burnt using embers. It burns quite slowly so will last for a few hours. It also has medicinal qualities, can be used as a band-aid and once dried can even be used as a blade strop for sharpening your knife or axe.
The Birch Polypore species is Piptoporus betulinus and I'd invite members of the #fungifriday community to tell us more.
I'd be very careful about making sure you are burning the correct fungi, the last thing that you want is to be burning a toxic fungus and inhaling the fumes.
3: Formic Acid
Formic acid is created by ants and is often sprayed at enemies as a self defense mechanism. It has been observed and studied being used by monkeys and apes as a natural repellent to ticks and mosquitoes. You can collect this by wetting a cloth and laying it over an active ant nest which you slightly disturb. Wait 20 to 30 minutes, then collect your cloth, remove any ants from it and then use it on your skin to give you a formic acid insect repellent barrier. Formic acid is harmless to your skin but works well at warding off mosquitoes, biting flies and ticks.
4: Birch Tar or Oil
Birch oil or resin is an excellent natural insect repellent and has been used for centuries. You need to basically cook the oil out of Birch bark which is quite a process, but once you have the oil, you can use it on your skin and it will deter bugs.
5: When camping ~ keep your mosquito net closed at all times
If you are camping with a tent that has a mosquito net, it makes perfectly good sense to make use of it. Don't leave your tent open or you are bound to have mosquitoes sharing your living quarters with you. If you're roughing it, this unfortunately isn't an option and the previous ones will need to be relied on.
Have you used any of these techniques or methods of repelling insects before? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments.
Sources used:
Gwitch'in Social and Cultural Institute: Birch and Willow Fungus
Repellent efficacy of formic acid and the abdominal secretion of carpenter ants against ticks
Obtaining Birch oil from Birch bark
Uses for Birch Polypore Fungus
Image was taken by and belongs to me