What do limes and mosquitoes have in common?
Answer: Nothing – they hate each other...........want to know more? Ok, I'll tell you.
Living
in the tropics has many wonderful aspects and living in the tropics has
things that drive you crazy! For me, I HATE bugs and insects!
Actually, hate is not a strong enough word for how I feel about those
pesky, annoying and disgusting creatures. One that I truly hate is the
mosquito. Being in a humid climate for many months during the year, you
learn to live in harmony with these little buzzers. Yeah.....dream on!
The other night in bed I was awakened by something crawling on my arm. After Pete had loosened my fingernail grip from the ceiling, we saw a huge cockroach on the bed! Cockroaches here are about 1-1/2 inches long and they bite. I was not bitten thank goodness, and was ever so thankful that it was not a scorpion who decided to share our bed. Needless to say, all the covers were removed from the bed, checked in all the nooks and crannies around the bed and deemed it safe to go back to sleep- with the light on of course! Just as I was finally dozing off, I heard bzzzzzzzz in my ear! Geez, now the mosquitoes are here too! Being the mosquito magnet that I am, I flew down the stairs to the kitchen, cut a lime and rubbed it all over my head, arms, neck, legs and feet. I was NOT going to get a mosquito bite tonight!
If you are also a mosquito magnet, then you are well aware of that fact. I have tried so many 'guaranteed to work' sprays, candles, vitamins, and food (I have eaten so much garlic I can keep vampires at bay just with my breath), that I have lost count. I do not however, ever use chemical sprays.
The other night in bed I was awakened by something crawling on my arm. After Pete had loosened my fingernail grip from the ceiling, we saw a huge cockroach on the bed! Cockroaches here are about 1-1/2 inches long and they bite. I was not bitten thank goodness, and was ever so thankful that it was not a scorpion who decided to share our bed. Needless to say, all the covers were removed from the bed, checked in all the nooks and crannies around the bed and deemed it safe to go back to sleep- with the light on of course! Just as I was finally dozing off, I heard bzzzzzzzz in my ear! Geez, now the mosquitoes are here too! Being the mosquito magnet that I am, I flew down the stairs to the kitchen, cut a lime and rubbed it all over my head, arms, neck, legs and feet. I was NOT going to get a mosquito bite tonight!
In
the morning I did two things. First, to Pete's protests that it is
too early in the season, I put up the mosquito netting around our
bed. I need to get some sleep after all. Second, I blitzed three
whole limes in the blender with some water, strained it and put it
into my ever present spray bottle. I may smell like a citrus drink,
but I won't get any mosquito bites!
If you are also a mosquito magnet, then you are well aware of that fact. I have tried so many 'guaranteed to work' sprays, candles, vitamins, and food (I have eaten so much garlic I can keep vampires at bay just with my breath), that I have lost count. I do not however, ever use chemical sprays.
I
have resorted to mosquito netting in all the important areas of my
home. Surrounding the veranda, around my patio table and totally
encasing my bed, floor to ceiling!
My
poor husband just cringes each time I tell him I am going to the fabric
store. He knows I will come home with another 30 yards of netting and
enough Velcro to cover the city. Then, of course, it is his job to put
it up! After all, it is the least he can do for the 'mosquito magnet'.
Mosquito
season here takes off around June and lasts until May. There are
certain times of year that are not too bad, but why take chances?
About a month ago, I was visiting with Doña Carmen, a 93 year old friend I have come to adore.
She stands about 4' tall, weighs about 80 pounds and briskly walks the
5 blocks to her neighborhood grocery store every day. She is a wealth
of knowledge and always makes me laugh.
We
were sitting on her porch having tea and cake, which she still makes
from scratch, and the mosquitoes were particularly annoying that day. I
was batting them, squishing them, smacking them on my arms and legs,
one even bit me on the forehead! Darned mosquitoes! I had, however,
noticed that she was not being bothered by them. Some people just
don't have that attraction.
She
asked if I had rubbed my skin with lime before I came over. I starting
laughing and told her no that I had never rubbed limes on my skin. I
normally put my limes in food and drinks. Well, she looked at me like I
was from outer space, stomped into the kitchen, cut a lime in half and
ordered me to rub it all over my exposed skin. Being a polite guest, I
smiled and rubbed the lime all over my arms, legs and forehead. I had
lime pulp everywhere. Then I noticed something, I wasn't getting
buzzed anymore. Maybe there really was something to this. But
something had to be done about all that pulp hanging on me. I looked
like I had pustules ready to pop at any second.
Being
the skeptic that I am, I needed further testing. I came home, blitzed a
couple of limes in the blender. I had to add some water to make it
blitz well. Strained it through several layers of cheesecloth and put
it in a spray bottle. Sure smelled nice.
Every
time I went outside, no matter where I was going, I would spray myself
with the lime juice and rub it in. I always smelled fresh too.
I
tested this method for a month. During humidity ratings of 89% to 94%
we certainly had our share of mosquitoes. But, I did not get even one
bite in all that time! I thought maybe there was something about the
mosquitoes at this particular time of year, perhaps they weren't as
blood thirsty. As a test, I put the lime juice all over my arms, neck,
face, ears, and one leg, leaving the other one vulnerable. Sure enough,
the minute I walked outside, I got a bite on that one leg. I ran back
into the house and applied the lime juice to the naked leg and again I
was protected.
To summarize:
If you are a 'mosquito magnet', you know who you are, get yourselves 3
key limes, scrub them up, toss them in the blender with about a cup of
water and blitz away. Strain it through 6 layers of cheesecloth and
pour it into a spray bottle. I keep mine in the fridge because I don't
know what the shelf life is if I leave it on the counter.
The moral I guess to this story is, if you have an elderly friend or family member who gives
you 'insider tips', listen and be respectful even if you don't believe a
word, because they may just teach you something you didn't know!
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