May 21, 2019 – Little secret – No-see-ums

         You know those pesky No-see-ums, Certopogonidae, flying insects that you can hardly see.  They are tiny and they do bite . . . they were hassling me yesterday.

         I read all kinds of ideas from magazines, newspapers, gardening books.  If it is a tip or trick and has been in any media format that I’ve had in my hands in the last 40 years . . . I’ve read it and sometimes I’ve filed it away in my grey cells.

         I am still laying brick pavers for my “million-dollar-looking” driveway.  Yesterday I felt like I spent more time swatting at the No-see-ums than laying brick.

         Last night in bed, I thought about those miserable bugs.  I am allergic to traditional bug spray – it sets me into an asthma attack, so I don’t use it.

         Last year, I bought a bottle of herbal insect repellant spray, [all natural oils] from a Farmer’s market that is a mixture of water, alcohol, lavender, lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils.  I used it sparingly because it too was a bit strong and I was afraid of an asthma attack.

         Just as I was falling off to sleep, I remembered a suggestion that you should spray your hat with insect repellant as an alternative as it is above where you breath in air.

         This morning I sprayed the top of my straw hat and let it dry while I was having my morning coffee.  Yesterday I was plagued with No-see-ums; today, not even one.

         Finally, a solution.  After a day of work, I gave my hat a sniff. I was surprised that I couldn’t smell the spray as it must have soaked into the straw enough that it doesn’t give off too much violate oil smell. I guess it’s just enough to keep the bugs at bay.  Even in the sun, in the heat of the day, my head sweating up the hatband – I was surprised I didn’t get a whiff of the spray.