13 TRICKS TO KEEP BUGS AWAY ON PICNICS

 

Ahhh, the joys of summertime picnics with friends and family! But sometimes, uninvited guests sneak into your outdoor feast (and we’re not talking about your strange neighbor or cousin). To keep insects from biting, stinging or annoying you – and just as importantly, to keep them away from your food – follow these 13 surefire, all-natural tips:

Plant rosemary
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
1. Turn your body into a bug repellant. By eating certain foods, you can repel many insects. For example, munch on a clove of garlic every day for three days before a picnic. As you sweat out the garlic odor, it repels many insects. You can also take 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar three times a day for three days before the picnic, too.

2. Use the power of produce. Rubbing a slice of onion over your skin can be a good way to keep away mosquitoes and other biting insects. Fresh orange or lemon peels also work. And another time-honored approach to keep gnats and mosquitoes at bay is to moisten a cloth or cotton ball with white vinegar and rub it over your exposed skin. All these work on your picnic table as well; wipe it with vinegar or onion, for example, and bugs will stay away.

3. Be vanilla. Turns out that bugs don’t like the smell of vanilla. Dilute 1 tablespoon vanilla extract with 1 cup water and wipe the mixture on your exposed skin (and if you wish, your picnic tablecloth) to discourage mosquitoes, blackflies, and ticks.

4. Spray some natural mint mouthwash. Insects do not like the smell of mint in any form. Transfer your favorite natural mint mouthwash into a spray container and spray it on yourself and the area around you while outdoors.

5. Plant garlic, mint, and rosemary. Naturally ward away bugs from your patio meals by planting these three plants in decorative pots or your outdoor garden. They’ll keep the bugs away, plus you can use them in your cooking.

6. Turn on a fan. Set up a portable fan facing your outdoor food and eating areas, and turn it on to a calm breeze while you serve and entertain. The wind from the fan will make it difficult for bugs to fly in and pester you and your guests.

7. Don’t wear heavy perfumes or scents. Stay away from wearing heavily scented shampoos, body sprays, perfumes, or deodorants while outdoors. The fragrances can attract bugs and the stings that follow.

8. Leave sticky sweets at home. Insects are particularly drawn to foods like melon, grapes, peaches, fruit juices, and soda – to them, they’re like flower nectar. They can easily detect these foods, and will be persistent in their pursuit. While they may be terrific summer foods, avoid them at outdoor meals, or keep in well-sealed containers that you open only when everyone is ready to have some.

9. Set up separate food tables for bugs. One clever bug-battling tactic is to put plates of sweet foods (things like watermelon rinds, overripe peaches, or a large bowl of colored sugar water) several meters away from your serving and eating areas, so the bugs feast separately from you and your guests. Keep your garbage cans far away as well, as bugs will flock to them for your leftovers.

10. Cover all drinks. Only serve drinks in covered cups or bottles, and drink through a straw. This is particularly important if your drink is sweetened. If you don’t have covered cups, use aluminum foil and poke a hole for a straw.

11. Light some candles. Smoke repels mosquitoes and flies. Tiki torches and citronella candles add ambiance to outdoor entertaining, anyway. Plus, they’re affordable, effective and have a pleasant scent.

12. Float your table. The best way to keep ants off your table is to put the feet in wide containers filled with water. Ants won’t be able to make it across the water to climb up.

13. Cover up with a colander. A simple wire-mesh colander can be used to keep bugs off dinner. If you are setting up a buffet-style meal, an upside-down colander over a plate of food protects it, while keeping the dish on display. You can also buy domed food covers or nylon netting

Did you know…

 

the most commonly used letter in the alphabet is E

the least used letter in the alphabet is Q

the 3 most common languages in the world are
Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English

dreamt is the only word that ends in mt

the names of all continents both start and end with the same letter

the first letters of the months July through to November spell JASON

if you try to say the alphabet without moving your lips or tongue every letter will sound the same

a cat has 32 muscles in each ear

Perth is Australia’s windiest city

Elvis’s middle name was Aron

the flag for Libya is unlike any other being a solid green color

goldfish can see both infrared and ultraviolet light

the smallest bones in the human body are found in your ear

cats spend 66% of their life asleep

Switzerland eats the most chocolate equating to 10 kilos per person per year

money is the number one thing that couples argue about
macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs

when lightning strikes it can reach up to 30,000 degrees celsius (54,000 degrees fahrenheit)

spiders are arachnids and not insects

each time you see a full moon you always see the same side

stewardesses is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand

there is no such thing as a naturally blue food

honey is the only natural food which never goes off

M&M’s chocolate stands for the initials for its inventors Mars and Murrie

you burn more calories eating celery than it contains (the more you eat the thinner you become)

the only continent with no active volcanoes is Australia

the longest street in the world is Yonge street in Toronto Canada measuring 1,896 km (1,178 miles)

about 90% of the worlds population kisses

Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine

in every episode of Seinfeld there is a reference to Superman

the Internet was originally called ARPANet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) designed by the US department of defense

Weird Facts

weird facts

There are more than 40000 different species of spiders.

The creator of Peter Pan gave the rights to a children’s hospital so they could always collect royalties and fund the hospital.

Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year presidency.

When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

Before pencil erasers were invented, bread was used to remove pencil marks.

Mickey Mouse’s first words ever were, “Hot dogs, hot dogs!”.

Cows have best friends and can get stressed when they are separated.

In ancient Egypt, people used to shave their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.

There are more plastic flamingos in the United States than real ones.

Weird Facts

weird facts

Hitlers first love was jewish

In 2007, a Bosnian couple found out that they had been cheating on one another in online chatrooms…with each other.

There are giant hornets in Japan whose venom is potent enough to melt human flesh!

It would cost about $42 000 to attend Hogwarts for a year…if it was real.

3 people stole the secret recipe of Coke and contacted Pepsi to sell it, Pepsi immediately informed the FBI and Coke about it.

Due to extreme pressure and temperature, it literally rains diamonds on Neptune and Uranus.