A couple years ago a reporter from a big city newspaper called me to get some information for an article on mosquito control. He also interviewed an academic bug expert, whose quote, "I wouldn’t go [Tamarack’s] route," ended the 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 enjoy our yards and parks she is a nuisance; to our city governments she is another pest and disease carrier to target with a vigorous "control" program. According to the tourist post cards she is the state bird of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and just about every other vacation state. To the manufacturers of Cutters and Off she’s the greatest thing since cockroaches. To many outdoor recreationists she’s a spoiler who clouds the sun and rivets the skin by day and relentlessly drones her nauseating whine at maddeningly close quarters by night. 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 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 — animal life form. Mosquitoes themselves are often resplendent with iridescent wings and red-striped legs.
Let us again turn to Native wisdom for another perspective: In the Hoop of Life all is sacred; Mosquito, as well, is a child of The Mother, and 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 B1 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 are nearly 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.
I learned to dwell respectfully with Mosquito from my mentor, She Who Talks With Loons, a Cree-Metis woman originally from Canada. It all began in the early summer about 27 years ago when two friends and I drove north to visit her at her little secluded A-frame cabin.
After a breakfast of her legendary Indian corn pancakes and maple syrup, my friends began hinting heavily that they’d like to have her show them some of the area’s wild edibles and medicinals.
Now Talks With Loons isn’t usually one to shy away from a walk in the woods, but she took a sideways glance at her company and thought the best of it. Not understanding her reluctance, I voiced my puzzlement.
Out of respect for me (or so I thought) she reconsidered and said it might be a good idea after all, but that we ought to bring a couple extra shirts along just in case the weather turned. It was early morning, but already turning warm and muggy, so I saw no reason for the extra shirts. However I said nothing, as I had learned to trust in her wisdom on such ethereal matters as Northwoods weather.
A few minutes down the trail I looked back to see how my uncommonly silent friends were doing. They were each wearing both their shirts, one in typical fashion and the other over the head turban-style. Obviously in a state of siege, they were trying hard not to show it. I was toughing it out; I thought I had an image to uphold. I’m sure Talks With Loons knew exactly what was going on, even though she hadn’t looked back to acknowledge it.
Before we set out she had us each rub some fir and cedar needles between our palms to extract the oil, then apply it to our exposed skin. This helped to some degree to repel our stabbing nemeses, but they still tormented us. Our eyes were squinched and our lips were pursed for fear of letting one of them in; Talks With Loons was lightly clad and in no apparent discomfort.
The inevitable, "How do you do it?" came at our first pause to look at some plants.
"Balance," was her nonchalant reply.
"What?!"
She said, quite seriously, "Go and ask the mosquitoes."
Out of respect (or confusion) there were no more questions on the subject for the duration of the walk. When she asked my stressed-looking friends if they’d like to head back, she offered to talk about it later, after the evening meal.
That afternoon we went swimming without Talks With Loons; my anxious friends riddled me with questions about who this woman is and how she does it. I did my best to convey my feeble understanding of what it had to take her years to grow into. I told them that being at peace with Mosquito is not so much a goal that can be worked for as it is one of the results, or gifts, that come with living in Balance with The Mother. In other words, it’s incidental to attunement. I speculated that her immunity probably was not seen by her as anything extraordinary, as it was her norm.
After the evening meal, Talks With Loons showed my friends a form of meditation that heightens sensory awareness, then took them to meet their teacher in the mossy-floored cedar bog behind her cabin.
They returned at dusk, quiet and radiant with knowing.
I haven’t seen my mentor for many years now, and I forget the names of my two friends. Yet I feel the spirit of Talks With Loons walking on within me, guiding me. I have continued my quest for balance with Mosquito and I’d like to share with you my progress thus far:
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 overlapping suggestions; select a combination which best fits your person and situation. They work synergistically; several together can be as effective as a synthetic deterrent.
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 and 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 out 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 increases farther back in line.
Diet
* Eat raw garlic. Its essence laces the breath and exudes from skin pores, masking your lunch call.
* Drink teas of local aromatic herbs. You’ll smell like you belong.
* 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.
* When planning outdoor activities, choose a cool over a hot day, a sunny over a cloudy day, a low-humidity over a high-humidity day.
For Your Yard
* Welcome dragonflies (and foster ponds — their breeding ground). Dragonflies 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. Old favorites like bats and purple martins include a couple percent of mosquitoes in their diets, too.
* Keep a section of yard open to sun and breeze.
When Camping
* 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 mosquito takes 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 exacerbate bite reaction; be sure to hydrate well before your outdoor excursion and also carry along adequate drinking water.
Perhaps the fact that I’m still alive and sane after years of outdoor living (without a commercial repellent) in Skeeter Country is some testament to the fact that this 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 is a spiritual and lifeway guide who runs the Teaching Drum Outdoor School in Three Lakes, Wisconsin, where he offers a course called Song of the Mosquito. He wrote the book Journey to the Ancestral Self and can be reached at 715-546-2944
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Skeeter Fact and Lore 1. Some mosquitoes will venture up to 50 miles for your blood. 2. The majority favor birds, some choose large mammals such as cows, one seeks only reptiles. 3. Aedes Vexans, our most common species, lives three to four weeks, can lay several 100-300 egg clutches in that time, and can emerge at the rate of four million a day from an acre of water (100 a day from a one-square-foot puddle). 4. They reproduce in still water — as little as a cupful can suffice — and can produce a new generation every 10 to 14 days. 5. The female needs a blood meal to produce eggs; both sexes otherwise sustain themselves on plant juices. 6. Eggs will survive up to six years if water is scarce. 7. Merely flying dehydrates them, so if you see one out, rest assured she is out to heist corpuscles. 8. Frequent rain (which triggers hatching) and cool weather (which conserves body moisture) make a banner mosquito season. 9. Arctic swarms can deliver nine thousand bites a minute, draining half a person’s blood in two hours. Each Mosquito gorges on one and one half times her weight in crimson fluid. 10. Mosquito-borne human diseases — encephalitis, yellow fever, and malaria — are virtually non-existent in our area. hiv is not known to be transmitted by mosquitoes, however, dog heartworm is. How to Make a Smudge Fire 1. Allow a small wood fire to burn down to coals (or use charcoal). 2. Smother with a thin but complete layer of green grass, conifer boughs, or leaves. 3. If smudge material dries and flares up, put out with an additional layer of material. Do not use water unless absolutely necessary. Precautions: * If using leaves be sure of their identity. Reactive plants such as poison ivy, oak and sumac produce reactive smokes. * With too thick a smudge layer some of the smoke will cool and condense on the outer smudge material rather than rising. |