by jjneal
Can what you eat deter those pesky biting insects? More specifically, can eating garlic protect you from mosquito bites? A number of sulfur containing chemicals give garlic its characteristic odor. Some of the garlic chemicals, such as allicin, are distributed throughout the body by the blood and are taken up by the cells of the body. The lung cells release the chemicals into the lungs and contribute to the “garlic breath” odor. Cells of the skin will release garlic chemicals into the pores and the oil that coats the outside of the skin.
My Arm After a Visit from a Mosquito.
(I ate my garlic.
Obviously, I was not wearing DEET.)
Photo: jneal
Garlic extracts do have an effect on mosquito larvae. However, mosquito larvae are aquatic and do not bite people. The garlic extract must be applied to the water where the mosquitoes live. It is not a cost effective mosquito control.
Contrary to the marketing that suggests that garlic, or garlic based supplements, will prevent mosquito bites, the evidence is lacking. DEET is the most effective protectant against mosquitoes and other biting arthropods.
This post made me wonder if any other foods or spices have been studied to observe the effects they might have on preventing bug bites like that of garlic with mosquito bites. Finding a natural way to prevent pesky mosquitoes from biting would not only be beneficial to people but also the environment as a whole. Applying insect repellent myself throughout my life, I think doing more research concerning this topic would be a relief from having to wear smelly and sticky repellent to ward off insects. I would be more than willing to adopt some new eating habits to eliminate the need to apply repellent before I go outside.
RESPONSE TO YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT 2.
I thought that this was a really cool article. I have always wondered if anything besides bug spray would ward of mosquitos. That is cool when how you eat it, it travels through your blood stream and are taken up by the cells and then goes into the lungs and that is how you get the garlic breath. The garlic in the skin oils is what they dont like which is pretty cool. Also what i found pretty funny and interesting is the things about the vampires and how it originated from garlic warding off mosquitos. So next time mosquitos are bothering me i will eat some garlic.
Garlic vs Mosquitoes??
This article is very interesting and brings up some interesting ideas. After reading this blog it makes me want to try the garlic versus mosquitoes theory the next time I’m out and about at night. It kinda makes since when you relate the vampires and garlic through the folklore stories. I also wonder if there are any other types of food, drinks, spices or condiments that can be used to help keep away the biting pest. It reminds me of how some people say when your on the beach and you drink alcohol you get more tan, due to the alcohol in your system.
Very interesting article. It would be a very interesting study to find out what kind of natural substances people can consume that would work at keeping pest insects at bay. It’s interesting to read about how simple things that we consume can end up in places like the oil of our skin. By utilizing this process, it would be very cost-effective and relieving for people to keep mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and other pests away from us.
You are What you Eat Post.
Kinda of surprising article. I had heard that myth before and never really knew what to believe when it came down to whether it was true or not. Even though in the end i thought that the most effective way was to of course buy the DEET even though it does smell terrible and makes you look like your super shiny. However if there was a particular food that would repel certain insects i would be all for it if it lowered the chances of my getting bitten.
I have always had issues with getting bit my mosquitoes. I have been told many different reasons why they are more attracted to certain people, but I never truly believed any of them. I am very surprised there hasn’t been more findings on this topic due to the deadly outbreaks of West Nile Virus. I’m sure there has been an increase in research being done, but it appears that not many certainties have come out of it.
I’ve always had to use the store-bought bug repellent in order to keep the pests away. However, my mom never liked that I did this because of what makes up the stuff. The main repelling component is the bug spray is deet and it also happens to be a carcinogen. Since garlic might be a replacement for bug spray, maybe it’d be worth eating the obcene amounts of garlic!
DEET is NOT a carcinogen. There is absolutely no way that DEET would continue to be approved for use if it were carcinogenic. DEET has been exhaustively tested for carcinogenic effects in laboratory animals and through epidemiology studies. There can be problems from overuse of DEET and DEET is toxic at high doses taken internally but carcinogenicity is definitely not an issue with DEET. There is a lot of misinformation out there.
This article is surprising to me because I have heard of people using garlic to protect themselves from mosquitos my whole life. I have heard of people eating garlic before camping trips and even bring garlic with them as a repellent. I have seen it used in television shows as well. I think it would be interesting to test other foods to see if they are a repellent to mosquitos or other harmful insects such as bees. If there is one it could redefine bug repellent.
I thought this article was very interesting and just like everyone else it made me wonder what other types of foods would deter mosquitoes or any other insect for that matter. Being an avid sportsman/outdoors-man I am frequently outside in the summer and spring and continuously get bit by mosquitoes even with the fact I am wearing bug spray. So I wonder if eating the garlic and using bug spray would help or if it would just have minimal effect.
You are what you eat
I thought it was neat to read about the connection between mosquitos and vampires and to see the myths that come with them. It also made me wonder if other test have been conducted to test what other everyday foods repell mosquitos.I also wanted to know if there are less hazardous materials other than deet that can repell pesky insects.
I thought this article was quite humorous because as a kid my mother used to tell me that garlic did help keep mosquitos away and when we went camping it was a good idea to eat some. This now proves to me that statement was not very true by my mother and that it was just made for me to eat some. I do believe though that there are some foods that do help with repelling mosquitos in one way or another if more test were done.
I had never heard about garlic as a mosquito repellent. My mom planted mint around the front and back porches of our yard, she said it kept mosquitos away. She said that bugs didn’t like the smell of it. My mom also would take some of the leaves and tear them up and rub them on us. I hardly ever got bit, but even without any repellant on I hardly get bit. But I would prefer the smell of mint over DEET any day! Also I’m glad to know that there aren’t carcinogens in DEET.
It was interesting to read about other things besides bug spray that can keep misquitos away. i have read and heard about the myth many times but was never sure what to think about alll the theorys. For my own sake i want to test out the garlic keeping misquitos away theory. Learning about other things that can keep them away could benefit me and save money
My mother always told me that garlic kept away vampires, apparently the same is true for mosquitos!! I never liked spraying mosquito repellent on my body especially when it got into my eyes! Ouch!! Garlic could be an alternative to this. Next time I go hunting in Montana I will test this theory of garlic. I wonder if any other foods could possibly help repel mosquitos away. I found this article extremely interesting and I surely will research more about this fascinating information!!
It was interesting to read about other things besides bug spray that can keep misquitos away. i have read and heard about the myth many times but was never sure what to think about alll the theorys. For my own sake i want to test out the garlic keeping misquitos away theory. Learning about other things that can keep them away could benefit me and save money
This article was very interesting. I had never even heard of the idea of using garlic to repel mosquitos. Obviously the evidence is not really there to prove this to be true, but I do think it is crazy that it is effective when dealing with mosquito larvae. That doesn’t really matter though because like the article said, they don’t bite people and this would not be cost-effective.
Thanks for the thoughts, garlic is not only effective against vampires but also mosquitoes. I heard that Tobacco extract can also be used as spray against mosquitoes.
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