Category: Personal Stories

Citronella – You’ve Been Using it Wrong

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For as long as we’ve been together, my fiance has always insisted that we buy a citronella plant or two each spring to help keep the bugs off our porch and deck. From there we did what I think many people do, and set them up around the places we like to hang out and then kept them watered and expected that to somehow keep that mosquittos at bay.

Turns out we were wrong.

It was one of those things you stumble upon by mistake but once you realize it, it makes a lot of sense. But while researching how to propagate cuttings it made mention of how you had to rub the oil on your skin to make it work. Yes that’s right, you need to break a branch off and then rub the oil on yourself in order to ward off the bugs.

So there you have it folks, if you’ve been expecting the plant to passively repell mosquittos… well, you’re wrong.

What’s that Bite?

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Have a mysterious bite on you and you’re wondering what caused it? Well, it turns out that it’s not as straight forward as you might hope to identify what bit you. When it comes to bites, everyone’s body reacts differently. A mosquito bite may cause little to no reaction in one person, and a major reaction in the next. It all depends on your immune response to the bite.

With that being said, here are some general guide lines for identifying what has bitten you:

  • Bedbugs typically leave a small bite mark on the skin that is red and itchy and can cause a serious allergic reaction. It is not uncommon for these bites to appear in a line formation on your skin. They may be inflamed and itchy for several days.
  • Bee stings cause a red skin bump with white around it. A bee sting will have a persistant stinging sensation rather than an itch. You may often see part of the stinger still embedded at the center of the bump.
  • Flea bites leave an itchy welt on the skin, often on the ankles, shins and legs.
  • Mosquitoes leave a raised, itchy pink skin bump or in rare cases a severe allergic reaction.
  • Spider bites cause minor symptoms like red skin, swelling, and pain at the site or very serious symptoms that need emergency care.
  • Ticks bites can range from hardly noticeable to leaving a rash that looks like an expanding bull’s-eye. If you see this bull’s-eye rash seek medical attention promptly as it may indicate lyme disease.
  • Chiggers will leave small itchy red welts on your skin that will feel hard.
  • Scabies will burrow into your skin causing an intense burning/itching sension and if you look closely you may see small tunnels caused by their burrowing.
  • Kissing Bugs typically do not cause a reaction when they bite. However in some people it may cause mild itching and redness in a small, tight cluster.

Again, when it comes to identifying bug bites by analyzing the reaction on your skin you may find it’s an imperfect science. For that reason, if you are dealing with persistant bug bites in your home I highly recommend setting up sticky traps. Only then can you be sure of what is biting you.

Do Glue Boards Work?

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When it comes to glue boards you need to be aware of what it’s main purpose is in order to be able to determine how successful they are. A glue board is not going to control an infestation, there just isn’t enough incentive for them to crawl into one. But every now and then one will, and that is how you’ll confirm that they are in fact there. That is their true purpose, for monitoring, not controlling numbers.

Bed bugs are like little ninjas. They’re hard to find and often the only sign of them is the red blotches on your skin the next day. So how do you figure out exactly what’s biting you? Glue traps are you answer.

Glue trap are relatively cheap, you can get them for as little as $1 a board. From there some can be spit up into thirds, costing you about 33 cents a piece. I highly recommend setting several around your room. I put them under the bed, under the dresser, in drawers and any other spot I think they might want to crawl and hide. I even put them under the couch coushins. I also like to keep them out of sight in case visitors stop by, but it just so happens that bed bugs also like to stay out of sight.

If you’re lucky, one will crawl across a glue board and become insnared. Then, finally, you’ll know what’s biting you.

For me, that was what finally confirmed our problem. My wife had been getting bites for quite some time. We had first suspected fleas. We treated our cat, even took him in to the vet for an inspection. There was no sign of fleas. Eventually one of the glue traps caught an adult bed bug in our master bedroom. Until that happened, we would have continued to live in denial. So for that alone, I will say that yes they do work. I will continue to use them and check them frequently.

I’ve also managed to catch many other things in glue traps. I’ve caught several mice in the garage. I’ve caught crickets, spiders and even centipedes. So even if you don’t manage to catch any bed bugs, they’ll definitely help you keep an eye on what creepy crawlies are in your house.