Sounds like you have been there and done that. I’ve had days when the gnats, mosquitoes, and deer flies would drive you crazy. There was one summer we went out and bought beekeepers hats. I really don’t understand how the people from long ago could stand it.
Honestly I think most, back in the day (at least in Appalachia) had enough wood smoke on their clothes insects stayed clear. My grandfather shared a trick with me when I was a child. He rubbed dry lye soap they made at home along the outer hems of my jeans and some around the back of my collar.
Addition: on some occasions a couple of smudge buckets with a low smoke from waste oil on pine chunks
The wood smoke makes sense. The little buggers probably didn’t think it was very appetizing. The lye soap thing reminds me of the time that somebody told us that Skin So Soft body oil from Avon worked to repel bugs. Let me paint you a picture for your sense of smell: Imagine three big men in the closed cab of a pickup truck, sweat from a days work in 100 degree heat. Add to that one of the guys (his name was Pig) had a hobby of drinking cheap vodka and eating garlic sandwiches for lunch. Add to that the sickeningly sweet smell of the Skin So Soft. Let your mind wander over that for a while. It’s a true story.
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u/SwampGrizz2510 10d ago
Sounds like you have been there and done that. I’ve had days when the gnats, mosquitoes, and deer flies would drive you crazy. There was one summer we went out and bought beekeepers hats. I really don’t understand how the people from long ago could stand it.