Every week is an interesting one around our place, and this was no different. Right after Memorial Day, a local radio station mentioned the BlogSpot on the air at the end of a piece on Black Gnats and how there is no known repellent. Okay...if stuff like that is going to happen, we'd better get serious with developing a product. (!!)F533113 from the weekend test turned out to be stronger and long lasting, and has more varieties of essential oils. It is still gentle and natural and sweet smelling, but the percentage of essential oils increased to see how that would affect its effectiveness. A SuperHero Garden Club member applied it at 6:30 am and didn't need to reapply until 11am, but the Hubs and I reapplied about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours to be on the safe side. That was a huge improvement over the last formula which repelled bugs but lasted about 2 hours before needing to reapply.
No bites. But we did notice a little interest from the bee population. Hmmm. Looks like we need to cut back a little on the vanilla!
Eight small bottles are on their way to the Florida Everglades next week, and today we get feedback from someone returning from Hawaii. A family in Oklahoma who is surrounded by floodwater from the tornados asked for a sample with temps heading into the 80s by the weekend. They expect to be inundated by mosquitos in no time. Crossing my fingers it works for her there. We also dropped some off to the neighbors who are harvesting now, and they will use it right away. That will be especially helpful to see how they like it. After all, Yolo is our home and the gnats and mosquitos are why we started on this journey.
There is a lot ahead - shelf life and storage needs, and what sitting in a backpack for a weeklong hike will do to the formula. Can it sit in direct sun at the beach? Or in cold weather on a shelf in the garage? How many lavender flowers does it take to make a vial of essential oil and what is the extraction process?
Online hints and suggestions have been very helpful. We have also ordered several books to learn more about essential oils, their medicinal properties and chemical inter-relationships. It is insightful to see what online people are combining and what works and doesn't work for them. For instance, last night I learned that several of the essential oils thought to repel spiders are commonly used for other purposes. Peppermint. Citronella. Lavender.
There's a Lavender Festival at a Lavender Farm in Yolo County on Saturday -- we will swing by as early as possible, with triple-digit temps expected by the afternoon. The weekends fly by, I can promise you that!
