HI! I am new to this board and have a question. We are going camping in a couple of weeks and our daughter will be turning 5 months. She is too young for insect repellent. I heard through a friend that tee tree oil worked well to prevent mosquito bites and was safe for baby. Is that true? There will surely be mosquitos where we go hiking...thank you for your input! Is there anything else that would work as well? I have some pure tt oil just in case... Thanks! Leigh

Citronella works well too...but not sure if it is something that a Homeopath would agree with..???
Any thoughts Great Kahuna??

Whatever you do if you decide to try it make sure it is VERY WELL diluted. You can get a terrible skin allergy from it if you use it pure!!

Hey - thay is interesting, indeed! Thanks for the info, RF!!

And also thanks to Ricky...that must be why - when we added Citronella drops to lotion one summer - I must've put too much, as it irritated our skin....bright red and burning! Hrmp! Well, it just goes to show how potent these things can be! (Although no MOSSIE came within a mile of us...but we were alll miserable that night!).

How about just burning those big tubs of Citronella candles - on the outer perimeter while you are camping? That works well for us.

Also - I know that Mossies are particularly attracted to those who are deficient in Vit B 6....
while in Africa in 98, we found that taking sublingual drops of B6 kept the Mossies away - promise! It worked for the whole family. (Mossies LOVE ME!!!!! And I'm usually eaten alive by them...this time NOT ONE BIT ME).

Anyhow, hope this helps.
Lisa

My 2 cents ....

Mosquitoes aren't actually repelled by citronella, but rather the human musk (to which skeeters are attracted) is camouflaged by the scent of citronella, making you literally invisible to them.
By the same token, a sheet of fabric softener rubbed all over your clothes acts in the same way.

Tea tree oil is very strong-smelling; is there any evidence that it can act as an antidote? I have a stick of tea-tree oil lip balm, but I'm leary of using it because of how strong the scent is.

RF

[This message has been edited by RF (edited 14 September 2000).]

I've gotta try the B12 drops, Lisa. Actually, my oldest & I are the ones that mosquitos usually feast on. Thank God we didn't have that many this summer...

RF

here goes my two cents; mosq. are attracted by thr sugar content in your blood. so this means no intake of sweets for both mother and baby , is the baby on breast milk if yes the mother can internally digest garlic to change the smell and flavor of the blood. the garlic will go through the breast milk int the baby, and biuld up the immune system for both mother and baby.
can always try STAPHY 6c. works also.
mother taking it and passing onto baby.

thank you for your responses. JVolkmen,what store did you see the repellent in? Was it a health food store? Virginia, she is breastfed...I will try the garlic. I need to look up all the products everyone talks about. Would Whole Foods folks know anything or should I find a homeopathic store? Thanks again...Leigh

Leah,

Go ahead and try the garlic, but be aware of your baby's reaction - as some don't agree with garlic....my first child couldn't tolerate it and was very fussy when I ate garlic while breastfeeding.
Lisa