Safety around creepy crawlies

Simply be prepared and you should be safe from the not-so-monstrous creepies that crawl in the night.

One of the first things to be aware of is the threat of malaria from infected mosquito bites but adequate preparation through starting on a course of medication before, during and after travel should suffice

Mosquitoes – unfortunately many safari parks are in malaria areas. Malarone, antibiotic doxycycline, chloroquine and mefloquine are the four most common medications prescribed against malaria. Chatting to your doctor beforehand will ensure that you get the right medication for both your family and the area to where you are travelling. To be extra safe, bring along  mozzie-repellent shampoos, soaps, lotions and sprays, especially for the kids.

Mosquito bite treatment and natural repellants in addition to medication include Brewer’s Yeast and garlic (the mosquito doesn’t like the smell apparently!) and anti itch lotion with aloe ver

It is also a good idea to invest in a mosquito net to ensure a restful night’s sleep, free from pesky mosquito and other insect bites

Snakes – generally shy creatures, it is unlikely that you will encounter a snake in the built up areas of your safari camp. If you do meet with one, back away quickly and quietly. Bites are usually more painful than fatal, but seek medical attention from a camp medic immediately, just to be safe.

A good idea would be to wear leather boots that go up to the knee… very difficult for a snake to bite through if you stood on one accidentally and caused it to react

Creepies – most game lodges supply nets and window coverings to keep the crawlies at bay, but it is still a good idea to check your shoes before squishing a sleeping scorpion. When going for bush walks, wear long trousers, boots and hiking socks to prevent picking up any hitchhikers.

Ticks – these icky little creatures are an unfortunate side-effect of being in the bush. All conditions that develop from a tick bite are treatable, but it is important to remove the offending bug as soon as possible. Conflicting techniques exist on how to remove a tick, but it is generally considered ill-advised to yank it, suffocate it, or drown it as the head buries itself even further. Rather use tweezers, grasp it at the head, right against your skin and pull straight up to remove the tick in its entirety.

Have you ‘ticked’ that one off the list?

Safety on a game drive

It is very easy to think that just because you are in a Land Rover with a guide and a gun, you are completely safe. Most game drives are relatively risk-free, but only as long as you do your bit and follow the rules.

Listen to your guide – guides are experienced in animal behaviour and will always have a good reason for asking you to do, or not do, something. Asking you to keep quiet could be to prevent an already agitated animal from charging, or disappearing and ruining your photos. Anything as quiet as the click of a camera could set an animal off, so listen if your guide asks you to hold off on a picture.

Keep your hands to yourself – Game drives traverse some pretty wild terrain and you just never know when a branch or a particularly spiky bush could suddenly appear. Keeping your hands and arms inside the vehicle ensures that you don’t get any nasty scratches. This also means that you should you be lucky enough to get close to an animal, you shouldn’t lean out and touch it. Wild animals could react viciously and injure you. Remember, if these animals become too used to humans it will be to their detriment if they later have the confidence to approach a hunter, farmer or built up area.

Stay sitting – any sudden movement could scare an animal, ruining your picture or even prompting an attack. Animals are used to the shape and size of safari game drive vehicles and standing could alter this shape and cause panic.

Safety on a self-drive safari

Common sense should ensure your safety on a self-drive exploration of a game reserve as most of the same rules apply as when you are on the road.

Stay inside the car - You wouldn’t hang out a window while driving in the city? Well, don’t do it while on safari. Keep all your body parts inside the car and never, ever, ever get out the vehicle at any time. If you get a flat tyre, call for help or flag down another car to get help for you. Even though the coast may seem to be clear, bending to change a tyre leaves you vulnerable to attack.

Keep to the speed limits – There are speed limits in any game park – obey them for your safety and the animals.

Don’t feed the animals – You should also not throw rubbish out your windows. Any left over food will naturally attract animals and can have detrimental effects on the environment. Teaching animals to rely on humans for food can turn them into scavengers that can’t fend for themselves and introduces foreign substances into their environment which all contribute to a negative shift in the eco-system.

Don’t be tempted to rev or hoot or flash your lights in an attempt to try and get the animal to do something more interesting. More interesting could end up in your car being charged. If an animal shows any sign of getting agitated, slowly start your car and move off. These signs could include a prolonged stare-off, erratic ear movement, pacing or even a mock charge.

Safety on a game walk or at a lookout point

There are designated places where you can walk in a game reserve or get out your car, but follow these guidelines:

No swimming – it gets hot out there, but a quick dip is not the answer. No matter how inviting the water, it could hide crocs and hippos – and they don’t like to share their pools. The bilharzias parasite is also present in some rivers and can cause bleeding and ulceration of the intestine and bladder.

No feeding the animals – A change in feeding patterns could mean that some animals do not migrate as they would normally do at a certain time of year, adversely affecting food supplies. Different animals that are taught to scavenge can also fight over one food supply that they would not normally share, resulting in injuries and harmful inter-species interactions. Most importantly, wild animals have specialised diets and you have no idea what effect a chocolate bar could have on their bodies.

No touching – do not approach an animal, touch it or call it – the response will not be one that you anticipated.

Do not stray – stay on the path, in the designated watch area or with your guide. Besides getting lost, you may trample endangered plant species or contribute to erosion.

About the author: GoTravel24.com is South Africa’s leading travel website. With information covering every aspect of travel, from honeymoon tips to upcoming events and affordable packages, GoTravel24 is really your one-stop travel shop.

Article Source: ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory

A Kenya Safari Holiday .

You need to sleep under treated mosquito netting, and the doors and windows should be screened against mosquitos. If you are lucky enough to have a fan or even airconditioning then even better, but just remember malaria prophylaxis 

Masai Mara Safari

And, we had a steward who made up our room during the day, and then when we were on our evening safari, would fix up our tent for the evening. Close all the curtains, take our mosquito nets down, switch the day bedlinens 

Close encounters of the Creature Kind

Ah but our foray with biting insects had only just begun: in the Tanzanian post-rainy-season tropics we entered the land of the Mosquito. The nightly routine, consisted of returning to base before dusk to cover up and apply vast quantities of DEET to any exposed skin before going anywhere. … Instead of reducing my terror of catching the disease (we’d met someone on Safari who’d had it on Malarone, the extremely expensive new drug I was on for extra protection in Africa

USB Mosquito Stick Keeps You Malaria-Free On A Laptop Safari

Using an ultrasonic force field, this USB stick vows to protect you from mosquitoes during all those times when you find yourself using a laptop

Technorati Tags: bite, bites, Chloroquine, drugs, infected, malaria, Mefloquine, mosquito, mosquitoes, natural, net, prevention, repellant, safari, safety, scorpion, snake, ticks

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At best, these flying ‘leeches’ are infuriating, drive you insane looking for them as you are trying to get the children off to bed and leave unsightly blotches all over your skin. At worst they are one of the biggest killers of humans to ‘grace’ the planet. There is a whole slew of diseases that can be caused by a mosquito bites, including:

* Malaria * Yellow Fever * Encephalitis * Dengue Fever

All delightful stuff I am sure you agree!

Mosquito facts

Today we are going to learn a little about what makes these things ‘tick’. My youngest girl asked me to ‘Google’ them today actually (the poor little thing is a lure for Mozzies unfortunately.) And most importantly what can you do to defend yourself from these disgusting little vampires!

Mozzie Biology

Mosquitoes are insects that have been cursing animals and more recently, humans for more than 30 million years. And it seems that, our little friends have been very busy evolving and honing their skills of finding people to bite. Mosquitoes have an impressive aray of sensors designed to track their prey, including:

Chemical sensors -

Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to an unbelievable 36 metres (100 feet) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. There are also certain chemicals in sweat that seem to attract mosquitoes (the lucky people who don’t sweat much don’t get nearly as many mosquito bites).

Visual sensors -

If you move around wearing clothing that contrasts with the background mosquitoes can see you, and and get a ‘target lock’ on you. Instinctually, anything moving is considered alive and therefore fair game to have it’s blood siphoned.

Heat sensors

Talk about overkill: Mosquitoes can also detect the heat warm-blooded mammals and birds give off very easily once they are in range.

With all these high-tech sensors these little ‘suckers’ (pun intended) sound more like something out of a Terminator movie and without protection we don’t really stand a chance.

Interestingly it is only the female mosquitoes that bite (what is is with females – I bet if we had a Father Nature instead things would be a lot different.) Not unlike human gold-diggers, the female lands on your skin and sticks her proboscis into you (the proboscis is very sharp and thin, so you may not feel it going in). Her saliva contains proteins (anticoagulants) that prevent your blood from clotting.

I bet you didn’t know this – Mosquitoes can actually explode!

Obviously if you notice her and try to squish her, she will fly away. Otherwise, she will remain until she has a full tummy – she has yet another sensor telling her when she is full and it is time to detach. I once had one land on me and when it was sucking away merrily I carefully pinched my skin tightly to her proboscis so that she couldn’t escape. While it left a nasty welt, I had a last laugh as she filled with blood and exploded

After she has bitten you, some saliva remains in the wound. The proteins from the saliva evoke an immune response from your body with the symptoms of the area swelling an being as itchy as h***. The swelling tends to subside quite quickly, but the itchiness will remain until your immune cells break down the proteins in the saliva.

HIV ‘Old Wives Tales’ Exposed

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS cannot survive inside a mosquito, and therefore thankfully cannot be transmitted from one person to another through mosquito bites.

How to Stop Getting Bitten By Mosquitoes

You can do a few things to reduce the number of mosquito bites that you get while enjoying the outdoors. First, wear clothing that covers most of your body, if temperatures permit – in saying that though I have been bitten through jeans before so nothing is fool-proof here.

Use Mosquito Repellent.

>  Natural mosquito repellant

You can go the route of using the ‘ol Japanese standby – the Katori Senko. You can find these bad boys in almost every drugstore in the land. They are green swirly incense sticks that contains some type of plant- based repellent that purports to keep mosquitoes (and any worthy suitors) at bay. While these might be effective for household use, I like to know what my kids and I are breathing and they are no help once you are outside.

When my girls and I are outside rather than spray ourselves with toxins that eventually work their way to building up in our internal organs I prefer more natural alternatives:

If you are interested in getting the best natural bug repellents, and natural supplement delivered right to your door while saving up to 70% on retail prices I urge you to run to iherb.Com and if you enter this code HAY138 you will get $5 off your first order (on top of the impressive discounts!)

>  Natural mosquito repellant

I have been ordering supplements from iherb.Com for over 5 years now from 3 different countries and I can tell you that their customer service is top notch, their prices unheard of, and shipping is quick and cheap. If you could even find these products in Japan you would likely pay well over full price, fork out money to get the train or fight traffic to get to the store. But with iherb.Com your stuff is only a few clicks and a few days away no matter where you live in Japan or the world.

P.S The best shipping option for Japan is to choose Yamato – they are the ones with the Black Cat on the side of their truck.

P.P.S Feel free to share this code HAY138 with anyone who has never ordered from iHerb before. They will save $5 on their first order as well and a truckload on anything they order from then onwards.

P.P.P.S Guys – believe me you will definitely want to know about the amazing ‘night-time’ benefits of Cordyceps that you can get from iherb too;-)

Author Haydn Stevenson provides you with Free Tips for a more stress-free, funand enriching life in Japan (including the secrets of how he creates income on 100% ‘auto-pilot’ while being a full-time solo dad.) For those starting out living in Japan or are just plain ‘curious’ http://japanfordummies.com shows you this wonderful country through the eyes of an ‘outsider’ who has bumped up against the Good, the Bad and Ugly.. and lived to tell the tale

Technorati Tags: bite, bites, facts, insects, mosquito, natural, remedies, remedy, repellant, treatment

After your lovely summer day, you will hopefully be left with wonderful memories. All too often, you’re left with a little more personal reminder of your fun in the sun:  mosquito bites . Mosquito bites are annoying, but typically not serious unless the mosquitoes are carrying a disease that can be transmitted to humans.

>>  Mosquito Bite Treatment. Click here

In the U.S., fortunately, this is rare. So most of the time, you are just dealing with a minor annoyance that can be handled with any number of home remedies for mosquito bites.

The irritation of a mosquito bite is due to a localized allergic reaction to the saliva of the mosquito. Not to put too fine a point on it, you are itching from bug spit. The mosquito has enzymes and chemicals in its saliva that keep your blood from clotting, making it easier for the mosquito to take your blood for its own nefarious purposes. You, however, do get the short end of that stick.

An Ounce of Prevention

The first and best course is to not get bit. The best home remedy for mosquito bites is to keep your home and lawn from becoming places where your local neighborhood mosquito will want to nest and breed. Avoid standing water, for example.

The next best thing is to use a repellent. There are a variety of repellents available, from sprays and lotions, to sunscreens that contain repellents, to sprays and candles for your yard. Some people prefer to avoid these chemicals and seek more natural ways to repel mosquitoes. Ingesting apple cider vinegar, garlic, or taking certain vitamins is said to help repel mosquitoes, but their effectiveness is marginal at best. So, if you are outside and it is summer, you might as well resign yourself to getting bit.

The Pound of Cure

So you’ve done your best to stay away from mosquitoes and make yourself a less appetizing snack. Still, you’ve got a mosquito bite or two.

>>  Mosquito Bite Treatment. Click here

Never fear; there are home remedies you can use to stop the incredibly insistent itching and sooth your skin. One old remedy your author has used is tobacco juice. Tobacco juice will deaden your skin and stop the itching. It will also cause a nasty stain and leave you explaining to your mom or wife just what you were doing with tobacco in the first place, but it does work.

Another traditional home remedy for mosquito bites is baking soda. Just make a paste of it with a bit of water, and put it on the swelling. Salt is another good substance to make a paste from, as well as meat tenderizer. All these have shown a lot of effectiveness. Apple cider vinegar and ammonia are other common substances that will stop the itch from mosquito bites right in their tracks. Toothpaste is a household product that will relieve that itch as well, though you might want to avoid any strongly flavored varieties.

Rawleigh Products was founded in the late 1800s to create a line of “Good Health Products” that possessed both strength and quality. Visit http://www.rawleigh-products.com or Call # 1-800-992-1089

Antihistamine

An over the counter antihistamine lotion or gel will reduce the swelling at the site of the bite, reducing the irritation. The histamine is the basic actor of the allergic response and anything that can reduce that will lessen the discomfort.

>>  Mosquito Bite Treatment. Click here

Do not, however, rule out emollient lotions. An ointment with a beeswax base that contains other nutrients like bee pollen will go a long way to soothe the localized irritation of a mosquito bite. Another natural product is also from the bee, propolis. It is a substance used by bees to seal and protect the hive. Its benefits are wide ranging and go well with the other supportive nutrients of several of these natural ointments.

Anyone with an active life will encounter mosquitoes and will invariable get bit from time to time. Home remedies for mosquito bites are a good thing to have readily available on hand as the summer goes along.

Author: Dustinkerry Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_834097_17.html http://www.rawleigh-products.com

Technorati Tags: allergic, antihistamine, bite, carrrying, disease, mosquito, prevention, protection, reaction, repellant, treatment

A complete guide for effective ways to control Mosquito bites…

>>  Mosquito bite treatment. Learn More

Mosquitoes have been in existence for more than 400 million years. The tropical climate is a very pleasant climate for the mosquitoes to survive. The female mosquitoes suck blood from your body for their food. The male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar. The female lays hundreds of eggs at a time. After hatching, the mosquito larva can grow to an adult within 10 days.

Mosquitoes are responsible for various diseases like malaria and dengue

If these diseases are not treated properly, they may become fatal. So it becomes essential to prevent these disease carriers from entering your living area. You can control mosquito bites either by restricting the entry of mosquitoes or by killing them.

Stagnant water with moderate summer temperature is favorable for female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Containers like used bottles, tins, flower pots, garbage cans that hold stagnant water are loved by mosquitoes. You have to ensure that you don’t have stagnant water around your dwelling.

Outdoor Protection
When you have ponds at your outdoor then surely the stagnant water will become a breeding place for mosquitoes. Also when your house is surrounded by thick bushy and marshy woods you have to find some means to control mosquitoes. You can breed mosquito fish, killifish, goldfish or guppies in your pond as they eat mosquito larvae. Frogs and toads are also enemies for mosquitoes.

Indoor Protection
Mosquitoes are present everywhere. You must protect yourself from them by either blocking them from entering your house or killing them as they enter. Many mosquito control products are available in the market and you can use any one of them for your convenience.

Mosquito Sprays
Various mosquito sprays are available in the market that poisons the air sufficient enough to kill the mosquitoes. When you spray these liquids then you can definitely kill all flying mosquitoes. These sprays obviously pollute the air and hence they are dangerous for us too. They don’t cause death of human beings but are dangerous especially for kids to inhale them.

>>   Mosquito bite treatment. Natural alternatives. Click here

Mosquito Repellent Ointment and Coils
Mosquito repellent ointments need to be applied to our parts of the body that are uncovered. They are sometimes greasy and not advisable for children. They effectively repel mosquitoes and hence you can escape from their bites. Coils are effective for use in outdoors. Many people use these coils indoor but they don’t kill mosquitoes.

Mosquito Racket Zappers

These rackets are very effective in killing mosquitoes that are flying around you to suck your blood. You have to wave your hands holding these racket zappers and any mosquito that comes in contact with the racket is killed as you press the button to activate the zapper. They use batteries that are rechargeable with some models and replaceable with others.

Electronic Mosquito Killers
These electronic mosquito killers operate in current. They attract the mosquitoes with their ultra violet bulbs and the mosquitoes will be killed as they approach the bulbs surrounded by low voltage grid. They can be used in places that have many mosquitoes.

Mosquito Nets
Mosquito nets are an effective means to protect your small living area. You can cover your bed with hanging nets to prevent mosquitoes from nearing you. These nets are very useful for covering beds where children sleep.

You can also install mosquito nets for your windows and doors to effectively block the entry of mosquitoes. These nets have small holes that are large enough to let the air in and small enough to let the mosquitoes stay out.

Whatever control measures you take you can only control the mosquitoes but you cannot stop their existence. But you must take measures to effectively control mosquitoes in your living area to protect yourself from dangerous diseases.

By Jayashree Pakhare

Here are a selection of posts with more information about mosquito bites which I hope you will find useful

Treatments For Kinds Of Insect Bites

A mosquito bite usually results in redness and minor local swelling around the mosquito bite site. Itching is also very common and tends to last longer than the swelling, which subsides after a few hours.

Treat Mosquito Bite Naturally – Natural Remedies For Mosquito Bite

Given below are some tested and reliable remedies to alleviate the inflammation, pain, and swelling generally, associated with mosquito bite. The usage of melaleuca oil to treat inflammations caused by mosquito bite 

Treatments For Mosquito Bite. What You Can Use At Home?

You can make ice wraps and apply them on the bites. This is one of the most effective mosquito bites treatment you can safely use at home. It helps bring down the swelling on affected skin. This eases irritation and the pain too.

Technorati Tags: bite, control, infection, mosquito, mosquitoes, prevent, preventing, protection, relief, stop, swelling, treatment

Don’t let the lowly mosquito spoil your camping holiday

Do you get pleasure from taking camping trips? If you are a camping fanatic then you’re evidently the sort of individual who enjoys the great outdoors and gets pleasure from running away from the day to day stresses of life in the city.

Because the idea is to hide away from civilization for a short time, the last thing you need is the hassle of something going terribly wrong during your camping trip. That’s why it’s worth preparing a camping checklist to help you keep in mind all the things you may need.
            >>   Find mosquito bite treatment here

At times it can be challenging to choose what to include on your list. After all, there is only so much space on hand so you should figure out what camping gear is critical and what is not. You may find it useful to look on the internet for camping checklists that other people have assembled. This might prompt you to recall a number of critical things that you could otherwise have forgotten to bring. Needless to say, there are non-essential items that other folks choose to bring that you could find entirely unnecessary. For example, lots of females might be distraught without their makeup bag whereas others would be content with only some soap and moisturizer.

There are several items that ought to be on every camping checklist. Here’s a starter list for you (which is in no way comprehensive):

• Food and a cooler to store the perishable things
• Camp stove, pots, and cooking utensils (including a sharp knife)
• Dishes and cutlery
• Clothes for a variety of weather conditions
• Personal hygiene items, toilet paper and a lantern
• Sleeping bags  and mosquito net
• First aid kit, including insect and mosquito repellant and anti itch cream

When you forget certain important items it might stop you from being able to perform many requirements like opening cans, cooking your food, staying warm, dealing with an injury or mosquito bite swelling and staying clean. If forgetting anything means you can’t manage to do something that is simple yet critical it can mess up your vacation. At the least you could have to locate a shop and waste money purchasing an article you forgot to bring with you. It is therefore important to be as detailed as you can when making your camping checklist.

You could wish to include some non-essential things on your checklist. These are the kind of items that are vital to you, however other individuals might do without them rather easily. Your trip isn’t ruined when you forget to bring the non essentials, yet remembering them makes the situation better for you. It is completely up to you which non-essential things you include on your camping checklist. Just don t waste so much time considering the needless extras that you neglect to take something that truly is important. In the end a can opener is a great deal more important than makeup.

If you’re looking to buy some camping supplies before you leave on your next adventure, visit Camping Equipment Online.

Technorati Tags: bite, camping, checklist, cream, equipment, gear, holiday, mosquito, net, repellant, spray, treatment

But did you know that in the whole scheme of things the mosquito plays quite an important role.

This is what Outdoor Skills Expert, Tamarack Song has to say.

Song of the Mosquito: How to Live in Balance With This Honored Guardian of the Wild Places

No other animal in the Wilderness is more joked about, cursed or feared than Mosquito.  After all, she is known to spread disease, suck veins dry and drive otherwise sound people to delirium.  Yet there is another side …

A couple years ago a reporter from a big city newspaper called me to get some information for an article on Mosquito control and mosquito bite prevention.  He also interviewed an academic bug expert, whose quote, “I wouldn’t go (Tamarack’s) route,” ended the reporter’s resulting article.

Why are there such entrenched camps around how to relate with this fragile, weak-winged being we call Mosquito?  And what might we do to honor her as a fellow creature and occupy the same space as her?  Before we explore those questions let us find out just who this notorious and embattled six-legged is.

To many of us who live both in town and in the farther places, she is a nuisance; to city governments she is another pest and disease carrier to target with a vigorous “control” program.  Humorous postcards in just about every vacation region claim that she is the state bird.  To the manufacturers of Cutters and Off she’s the greatest thing since cockroaches.  To many wilderness trekkers she’s a spoiler who clouds the sun and rivets the skin by day, then by night relentlessly drones her nauseating whine at maddeningly close quarters.  To Native People she is honored sister and animal guide who heralds the coming of the Green Season.  She is a guardian of the farther places, helping assure that their beauties and mysteries be preserved for those who Walk in Balance.

But why Mosquitoes? Why not something more cute, or at least less hurtful?  Many of us who state that we love nature are referring to the noble, the inspiring, the photogenic.  Usually not Mosquitoes.  We have a cultural aversion to insects in general, and biting insects in particular.  Yet insects are the most numerous, varied — and some say the most beautiful — of animals.  Mosquitoes themselves are often resplendent looking; many have iridescent wings and some have other frills such as red-striped legs.

Let us again turn to Native wisdom for another perspective:  In the Hoop of Life all is sacred;  Mosquito is as well a child of  The Mother, thus no more or less important than are we.  Mosquito is as vital and noble and beautiful as Hawk or Grandfather Pine, so she is accorded the same respect and admiration.

She plays an important role in the food chain; her often abundant larvae are food to fish and invertebrates, and she is fare for Birds, Bats, and Dragonflies.

Still, when we are harangued by these pesky little blood siphons we can well find it hard not to develop an attitude and start swatting and spraying.  They can keep us indoors and put a damper on otherwise enjoyable outdoor activities.  So what do we do, especially those of us who wish to live more respectfully and responsibly?

We may try one of the naturally-based repellents which have come on the market in recent years; they may be citronella or citrus oil based.

Megadoses of vitamin B-1 appear to work for some; others favor garlic capsules.  The most curious repellents I have come across are Avon’s Skin-so-Soft and Bounce Fabric Softeners pinned to clothing.  None of the above, however, are near as effective as Cutters or Deep Woods Off.

Yet there is a natural approach as effective as those chemical stews, but it is so little known and hard to bottle that it can’t be bought.  It’s one we live.

The clues to that Balance lie in knowing Mosquito.  She is a fragile creature, a weak flyer sensitive to dryness and paranoid of tight places and anything oily.  She is much like us in the ways she is drawn to food–color, appearance, smell.  She can smell the carbon dioxide in our breath and the carbon dioxide and lactic acid that emanate from our skin;  she can see our silhouette, movements and the color of our clothing and can sense our body heat.

Some of us ring our dinner bell louder than others because we have a mouth watering combination of the above signals.  The key to DEET-free outdoor living is to eliminate or disguise as many of those signals as possible and to confound Mosquito over the rest.  The following list contains some suggestions which have overlapping effect; select a combination which best fits your person and situation.  They work synergistically; several together can be as effective as a synthetic deterrent.

Mosquito Bite Prevention:

Location

• Stay in the breeze. Mosquito can fly only eight m.p.h., so it doesn’t take much to waft her away.

• Create a breeze. A 50 yard dash will leave the swarm lost and confused.  Repeat as necessary.

• Choose a high sunny location.  Mosquito dehydrates easily, so seeks shade and low areas where the humidity is higher.  If all else fails, climb a tree or perch atop a rock.

Clothing

•   Wear long, loose-fitting garb to keep Mosquito from biting through to skin. Earth hues disguise us in the Woods; green is best, brown rates second. White masks your silhouette in       the open.  Blue is worst; Mosquito mistakes it for a flowering plant from which she draws sustaining juices. Red flags her in also, as well as other insects.  (Below-waist colors aren’t as       critical; Mosquito will bite regardless.)

•   Air out outdoor clothing so that it does not harbor attractive odors.

•   Drape a Fern frond, long hair or something similar over head and face. Mosquito doesn’t like close overhead shadows or feeling boxed in while feeding.

Movement

•   Go slowly, remain calm.  The more we sweat, breathe and agitate, the more Mosquitoes we will attract and from a farther distance.

•   Walk first in line.  The cumulative draw of a group of people is felt more the farther back in  line one is.

Diet

•   Eat raw garlic.  The essence laces breath and exudes from skin pores, masking your lunch call.

•   Eat foods and drink aromatic teas indigenous to your area..  You’ll then smell like  you belong.  (I learned this from the local Natives, who did it to camouflage for the hunt.)

•   Avoid stimulants and sugar.  They rev up the metabolism, which sends out louder invitations.

Skin Slatherings

•   Oil your skin.  Mosquitoes are obsessive about keeping their wings grease-free.

•   Apply an aromatic oil such as Cedar (or other conifer) or crushed orange peel, onion or garlic.  Give special attention to the warmest, leanest parts of your body — neck, armpits, ears, wrists — wherever blood vessels are close to the surface.

•   Teas of the above will work also, but lose effectiveness when they dry.  Sweat keeps them active.

•   Smoke skin, hair and clothing.  Make a small smudge fire (see box), hold clothing over smoke and work into hair.

•    Avoid scented personal care products and laundry detergents.  They are seductive perfume to Mosquito when activated by body heat.

Time

•   Choose midday or after dark to be out.  Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk.

•   Choose a cool over a hot day, a sunny over a cloudy day, a low-humidity over a high-humidity day.

For Your Camp

•   Welcome Dragonflies and foster ponds — their breeding ground.  They can consume their weight in Mosquitoes in a half hour, they’ll fly miles for the meal, and they can spot the buggers 50 feet away. Immature Mosquitos, called wrigglers, are water dwellers and the favorite food of Dragonfly larvae–also water dwellers. Old favorites like Bats and Purple Martins include an average of only a couple percent Mosquitoes in their diets.

•   Keep a section of yard open to sun and breeze.

When On the Trail

•   Follow the guidelines under Location in choosing your campsite.

•   Make a smudge fire to create a dense, cool, low-hanging smoke (see box).  When smoke hangs around, the Mosquitoes don’t.

•   Sit tight.  If the Mosquito population is light to moderate, those in your immediate vicinity will soon satiate themselves (or get massacred — your choice) and you’ll be left with just the occasional drifter to feed.

•   Brush them off. Our most common Mosquitoes take several seconds after landing to bite, so keepin’ them hoppin’ with a periodic sweep can be a temporary fix.

First Aid

A Mosquito bite itches and swells as the result of an allergic reaction to the anticoagulant in her saliva.  The most effective treatment I’ve found is to alternately compress and release the bite to cause the toxin to disperse.  This works for the bites of most other insects as well.

Dehydration may magnify bite reaction; be sure to hydrate well before hitting the  trail and also carry along adequate drinking water.

Perhaps the fact that I’m still alive and sane after years of outdoor living (without commercial repellant) in Skeeter Country is some testament to the fact that this mosquito bite prevention approach does work.  And yet I like a few Mosquitoes around; they help me to slow down and they bring me teachings that touch many areas of my life.  I am proud and honored to live in their domain and call them sister.

Tamarack Song has been a student and teacher of the traditional outdoor skills his whole life. He is an author and director of the celebrated Teaching Drum Outdoor School. We thank him for sharing his wisdom on mosquito bite prevention
by Tamarack Song

First published on Teaching Drum Outdoor School’s site.

Role Of Lemon In Treating Insect Bites

Summer is the time when people prefer to go for a retreat to cooler destinations. Clear skies and still weather conditions make it the ideal time.

Treatments For Mosquito Bite. What You Can Use At Home?

You can make ice wraps and apply them on the bites. This is one of the most effective mosquito bites treatment you can safely use at home. It helps bring down the swelling on affected skin. This eases irritation and the pain too.

Treatments For Kinds Of Insect Bites

A mosquito bite usually results in redness and minor local swelling around the mosquito bite site. Itching is also very common and tends to last longer than the swelling, which subsides after a few hours. 

Mosquito Bites and Remedies

Treating Mosquito Bites. Defense is the best from of treatment here. Take adequate precautions to ensure that you are not bitten by a mosquito. But if you have been bitten, then here are some home remedies that you can use

Aromatherapy Oil for Insect Bite Relief  Aromatherapy Massage

Essential Oil for Insect Bite Treatment. Though there are several remedies that can be used for relieving the itch and discomfort of a mosquito bite, essential oils work well too. In fact you can get instant relief from all the itching.

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Do you have any bushcraft skills? If you were to become lost in the wild do you have the skills necessary to erect a shelter, start a fire, locate some water and find some nutritious food? And would you know what is safe to eat? Would you know how to stop insect bites?

      >>   Find a natural mosquito bite prevention alternative here 

Living in our modern, convenience food world we have all lost touch with the sources of our food. Today, children grow up in cities and many have no idea where their food comes from. I once taught a young guy who didn’t know that burgers were made from beef. I don’t know what he thought they were made out of.

If you are lost in the wild, without bushcraft skills you might be surprised to find that there are no all night supermarkets. You really need to be able to identify what is safe to eat and what is potentially harmful. If you have ever seen Bear Grylls surviving in various inhospitable parts of the world he always catches and eats whatever he can find. Something you may have noticed is that Bear is never without his bushcraft knife, an essential survival tool.

Wild berries could be a valuable form of food and nutrition. Our ancestors would have gathered nuts, berries and grain when in season and either eaten these raw or prepared them in some way. But some berries can be deadly poisonous.

Yew berries are very poisonous causing many poisonings every year. They are bright scarlet in color, about 8 to 10mm in diameter with an indentation at the base. The berries look deceptively appetising leading many young children to eat then.

Deadly Nightshade is another berry that results in many visits to the emergency room each year. The clue is in the name, not in the appearance. This plant is also commonly known as Belladonna, producing sweet berries that can be irresistibly attractive to young children.

Insects can be a valuable source of energy, but many find the thought of eating them distasteful. Most insects are actually edible, but some taste better than others. Many species are actually very low in fat and high in protein.Crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms and wood grubs are all a safe bet. You will find that most insects taste better when barbecued and you can even grind them up to make an insect flour.

To stop them biting you can eat things rich in vitamin B, use lemon juice on your skin and clothes and use smoke as a natural insect screen. There are several types of plants that naturally repel mosquitoes so if they are around you can make use of them. Some of these are horsemint, marigolds, catnip and rosemary. You can also use lemon eucalyptus oil as a mosquito repellent.

Birds, rabbits and other small animals are all generally good to eat, but not so easy to catch. This is particularly true if you find yourself lost without a weapon. In these circumstances some form of trap will possibly provide the best chance of catching an animal.

You may be thinking that this will never happen to you and you will never be forced to eat grasshoppers for dinner. But this really could happen to you. All you have to do is stray from the main path through a forest, as I once did, and before you know it you are disoriented and lost. That’s when you’ll wish you’d paid more attention to Ray Mears Extreme Survival.

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Mosquitoes are quite an open and hardy adversary, having been around for just a few million years and having evolved to survive

Read on to know more about mosquito bites, home remedies for a bite and the diseases that spread through a bite…

Mosquitoes belong to the family of Culicidae. They have a pair of wings that are scaled, a pair of halteres, a very slender body and long legs. It is the female of most mosquito species that sucks blood from other animals and is the most deadly disease vector known to man.  Diseases spread by mosquitoes have been responsible for killing millions of people for thousands of years and continue to do so even today.

Mosquitoes Bites

The mosquitoes have been around for more than 30 million years and over the period of time they have honed their skills and have developed a number of sensors to track their prey. They are equipped with chemical sensors that can detect carbon dioxide and lactic acid at distances as far as 100 feet. Mammals and other living organisms produce these gases as part of normal breathing. Chemicals in the sweat too attract the mosquitoes. This is the reason that people who sweat less get bitten less by mosquitoes. Mosquitoes also have visual sensors and if they can spot a moving organism, they take their chances and zero in on the prey. Lastly, mosquitoes also have heat sensors which can help then sense a warm blooded mammal close by.

The female mosquito lands on the skin and inserts its proboscis into the skin. A proboscis is very sharp and extremely thin. This is the reason as why one does not normally feel it going in. The saliva of the female mosquito contains proteins in the form of anticoagulants that prevent the blood of the victim from clotting. With the help of the proboscis, the mosquito sucks in about 5 micro-liters of blood into its abdomen.

After the bite, some saliva of the mosquito remains on the wound. The proteins present in the saliva evoke an immune response in the body. The area that is bitten swells up and is called the wheal. The itch is the response that is provoked by the saliva. After some time, the swelling goes away but the bitten area will continue to itch until the immune cells of the body break down the saliva proteins.

Treating Mosquito Bites

Defense is the best from of treatment here. Take adequate precautions to ensure that you are not bitten by a mosquito. But if you have been bitten, then here are some home remedies that you can use to reduce the swelling and the itch:

• Wash the infected area with soap and water immediately after you have been bitten. Wipe the site clean and try to keep it dry until the irritation reduces. Remember not to scrub the skin. Soak the area and then pat dry it.
• Avoid scratching the bitten area. A mosquito bite normally heals in a couple of days but continuous scratching can delay the healing process.
• Make a sticky paste with baking soda and water and apply it over the bitten area.
• Apply an ice pack wrapped in a piece of cloth over the bitten area. This provides instant relief.
• Using calamine lotion or a tropical anesthetic that contains pramoxine helps relieve both the pain and itch.
• Apply Aloe Vera gel over the area that has been bitten by the mosquito. Aloe Vera also forms a protective layer which prevents the spread of infection.
• A very commonly used home remedy is to rub soap directly on the bite.

Diseases Spread by Mosquito Bites

Mosquitoes are the deadliest vector known to man and spread bacterial as well as viral diseases. Some of the most common diseases spread by a mosquito bite are:

• Malaria: is caused by a parasite that is spread by the Anopheles mosquito. The symptoms include fever, chills, headache and general malaise. Malaria is a fatal disease but can be treated with anti-malarial drugs.
• Yellow Fever: is spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The symptoms are similar to malaria and also include jaundice, nausea and vomiting. There is no treatment for yellow fever and only the symptoms can be treated. It is controlled by vaccination and mosquito control.
• Encephalitis: is caused by a virus that is spread by the Aedes mosquito. The symptoms include high fever, headache, confusion, stiff neck and sleepiness.
• Dengue Fever: is caused by a parasite that is spread by the Aedes Aegypti
• mosquito in the tropical region and by the Asian tiger in Asiatic regions. This disease produces a range of illness varying from viral flu to hemorrhagic fever.

By Ranjan Shandilya

Technorati Tags: bite, borne, diseases, home remedies, homemade mosquito bite cream, malaria, mosquito, treat, treating, what to put on mosquito bites

There may be a  link between mosquito borne diseases and recent global warming.

The rise of many emerging infectious diseases and other threats to human health depends in large part on the local climate.

Global warming, the progressive and gradual warming of the earth’s surface temperature, is the most worrisome effect of climate change. Each year, in a number of places across the world, drought and high temperatures negatively affect water supplies and crops.

In addition, high temperatures have increased the number of reported illnesses and deaths among humans. The recent outbreaks of West Nile Virus in North America are a preview of how climate change can drastically affect our well-being. Today, scientists and professionals in the medical field are particularly concerned with how climate change will affect the mosquito population and how it will subsequently give potential rise to a variety of dangerous infectious diseases.

Many mosquito borne diseases are sensitive to climate conditions.

According to studies, a rise in temperature is one of the most common factors contributing to the increase of mosquito borne diseases.

In the case of the West Nile Virus, outbreaks were attributed in large part to a combination of heat and drought followed by heavy rain. Unfortunately, and most alarming is the fact that, according to a panel on climate studies, this weather pattern is likely to occur more frequently with global warming.

It is predicted that global warming will increase the risk of infectious diseases, and most particularly those that are prevalent in warm areas of the world. The spreading of disease will be facilitated by mosquitoes and other insects as warmer temperatures will allow them to propagate in areas further north. What this means is that diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis, which are common in warm weather countries, will begin to invade countries that previously had no reason to be concerned with such health problems. Taking the West Nile Virus as an example, mosquitoes are not the only carriers of disease but so are birds.

Scientists around the world have been seriously contemplating the effects of global warming on mosquito borne diseases. Because mosquitoes tend to breed faster as temperatures get higher, scientists are attempting to beat the clock. Global warming is a reality today; hopefully, scientists will find a way to eliminate the problem of mosquito borne diseases before a large scale epidemic takes place.

For more information on mosquito borne diseases visit the All Mosquito Netting Info website.

By Anna DeGaborik

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Conventional medicines find Malaria difficult to treat as the parasites responsible become more resistant

About two decades ago it was thought that malaria had been eradicated from India. However, recently, there has been a resurgence of this disease.

Malaria spreads through a mosquito bite (female anopheles) and the common causative organisms in India is plasmodium vivax and p falciparum (malaria parasite). Malaria caused by this parasite does not always cause any permanent damage. It is characterized by fever every third day, followed by rigor or shivering and accompanied by headache and muscle pain. In some cases, there may be enlargement of the liver and spleen. The final diagnosis can be made by examining the blood for the presence of the parasite. Lately a resistant strain of plasmodium vivax and p falciparum has erupted in some areas of India. This has made the treatment more difficult since it is resistant to the usual anti-malarial drugs.

How Does the Disease Progress? The malarial parasite gets injected into the bloodstream by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito and reaches the liver where it multiplies. The baby parasites are released from the liver into the bloodstream, where they enter the red blood cells (RBCs) or return to the liver. Those which enter the RBCs, grow and further multiply. This leads to distension and bursting of RBCs and releasing the toxic metabolites of these multiplied parasites, resulting in rigour and fever. The released parasite may re-enter into other RBCs to repeat the cycle of growth and multliplication, causing another attack of rigonr and fever. This new cycle in RBCs takes about 48 hours and account for the occurrence of fever and rigour every third day. Those who enter the liver may be responsible for continuance of the disease; it takes about two weeks’ time to complete the multiplication cycle. The parasites can be attacked in the RBCs or in the liver.

Drugs that are generally used for malaria

Chloroquine

This is the drug of choice for benign tertian malaria which is usually caused by plasmodium vivax. The oral dose is 600 mg twice of chloroquine (base), followed after 6 hours by 300 mg, then 150mg twise daily, for the next two days. The other drug of this group is amodiaquine. However, some stains of P. falciparum are resistant to chloroquine. In such a situation, quinine is given intravenously. Chloroquine may cause nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. It can be given during pregnancy.

Mefloquine

It is used for treating an acute attack and curing malaria due to resistant strains of parasites. It should be kept reserved for only these patients of malaria, since its misuse may result in the development of mefloquine-resistant strains of the parasites. It is taken in a single dose of 1.5g.

Adverse Effects: Adverse effects of mefloquine are seen in about 1 % patients. These includes irritation in the stomach, fatigue, neurological symptoms in the form of headache, dizziness, visual disturbances, vertigo, tinnitus, insomnia, restlessness, anxiety psychosis, or seizures. It can produce heart-rate irregularities when given along with digoxin, anti-depressants and propranolol.

By: Franchis

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