Wednesday, February 6, 2008

BUG REPELLANTS

"It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood." discoverymagazine.com Lest we not forget, only the females suck.
I've heard a form of torture practiced by some Canadian First Nations tribes, was to strip the enemy, tie him (probably not a her) down outdoors during bug season, and then let the mosquitoes have a go. So how long would it take for 1,2000,000 mosquitoes to feast? Twenty four hours in June?
Don't worry though about bugs. I don't want to scare you. When you wear a bug shirt you can laugh.
But it is very interesting to think of how people over the millenia protected themselves against bites. Fur traders and the courieurs des bois used bear grease on their skin to smother a critter (imagine sleeping under a canoe during bug season). Tree planters use olive oil to the same effect. Today, some use a combo of essential botanical oils, while others swear by deet. I swear by bug shirts, especially those made by the Original Bug Shirt Company in South River.
At least we don't have poisonous snakes. See you this spring!

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