I subscribe to Old Fashioned Tips and read Brenda's notes every day and she was requesting information about bites and stings. Since fall has hit almost all of the USA, there will be few if any problems with the insects. Spiders will continue to live in our homes and surprise us now and then.

It is important to remember that not all adults or children are affected by any reaction to bites and stings. While several of our folks say to use Avon's Skin So Soft to repel insects, one of the first hints is to never wear perfumes or scented lotions. Personally, my favorite is clipping the top of a mint plant, rubbing the crushed leaves over my arms, neck and ankles and I am set for the morning or afternoon. Since I cannot tolerate perfumes, I prefer the natural cures.

I discovered the use of Sulfur back when we became blessed with two new puppies who came with mange so bad that a vet would have put them to sleep. Our Byron Tumlinson gave me a recipe for the cure but I got to reading the bag of sulfur and found that it was also a method of killing chiggers. These pests are also called sand fleas and a victim can suddenly notice dozen of bites and hurt for weeks to come. I am proud to say now that the season has ended that I have had no bites this summer at all. Not one. It is important to regularly dust your pathways of travel around your home/farm. Try not to go walking out through the brush, that's where even the ticks are hiding, ready to jump to you for a ride. I made 3 dusting trips around our area this spring and summer and didn't need any more. 

Diatomaceous Earth is another great powder to sprinkle around the home and yard for getting rid of ants and other crawling pests. It also kills beneficials so try to keep it away from the garden unless you are under siege. 

I took the time to check over the listed websites of interest and replace the ones that did not work anymore. Some very interesting places. A few tips that I could disagree with. One website mentions buying store bought itch relief. The best I found was Benadryl BUT, it only worked the first time I used it. Then it was nothing. Kathy Vilseck thinks it doesn't work if you also take Benadryl. Perhaps so. Her favorite is Willow water that she makes for her husband's poison ivy rash. Click on her highlighted name and look down the page for her Poison Ivy Cure recipe. I will get outside this week and take some branches just for making some of the cure. We have desert willow and I would like to see how it works.

My last remaining demon is the wasp. They are everywhere this year. I keep a poison spray for the ones I can knock out but they are up under our trailer house in places I cannot see. They will soon be gone with the increasing cold weather and I will get out and close off their access to as many spots as possible. 

Brenda Hyde also mentions crickets as being a problem pest. We have so many here that just keeping them out of the house is great. We have the regular black cricket but also have what is called the white cricket. The white one doesn't look at all like the black one but has a thin body with transparent wings. The sound is the same but the white one is endless noise. Neither one bites or leaves any sort of damage but they are indeed a nuisance. If one gets inside your house, they will call for all their brothers and sisters to join them.

I found a new website and photo of an Asp. Sound like some computer term or a snake? Not this one. Look below to see the little white fuzzy bug. Cute? Perhaps, but don't touch. There is a photo of the bit I incurred. Their season is summer but it is short. When I see a fluff of white, I find something to kill the beast with and don't touch it at all. Brutal pain.

While ammonia or baking soda paste helps some people, neither helps me at all. Cold water is about the only relief I can find. And time.