A Ron Swanson guide to Father鈥檚 Day gifts
Don鈥檛 get dad a tie for Sunday, especially if he went to Catholic school and thinks of Purgatory as a place where everyone has to wear a suitcoat and tie on the hottest day of June.
Instead, get dad a 听鈥� a shepherd鈥檚 hook-shaped device that shoots a small flame out the business end that cooks sidewalk weeds while Pop stands up, grinning with satisfaction. Yes 鈥� it鈥檚 a personal sized flamethrower; no man has ever said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want one of those!鈥�
Or, bring his inner Ron Swanson all the way out and get him a sledgehammer. I don鈥檛 care if he has absolutely no use for a sledgehammer; he wants one! A big heavy thing that carries a great risk of personal injury? Just imagine the smile on his face.
Oooh! Or an ax 鈥� an ax would be sweet! Timmmmbbbeeer!
BTI traps are your best skeeter bet in wet weather 鈥�
Melanie in Catonsville writes: 鈥�At your advice, we鈥檝e been setting mosquito 鈥榯raps鈥� using in our yard. We started last fall and have continued this spring. But we鈥檝e been soaked by rain upon rain this spring. The recent flood in historic Ellicott City also filled many basements here. Does BTI stand a chance in the face of so much water?鈥�
Yes, Mel. If you keep putting out water laced with the otherwise nontoxic larvicide BTI on your property, 鈥測our鈥� female mosquitoes will keep laying eggs in the water that will fail to develop into biting adults. And since females tend to stay close to where they were born (it鈥檚 like South Philly), your property will have the lowest possible number of biters.
鈥� but sometimes it takes a village not to raise mosquitoes
However, Melanie worries that the biting pests are just flying in from next door. She continues: 鈥淲hat if our neighbors here in the burbs don鈥檛 do anything to prevent breeding? Our yard is once again thick with mosquitoes!鈥�
First, have your gutters checked and cleaned; you may accidentally be breeding skeeters unseen up there.
Second, talk to your nearest neighbors and offer them some of your BTI dunks, or just plain offer to set up traps on their property.
Third, consider spraying your landscape with a professional grade of garlic oil. ( is the original, best-researched brand.) Studies have shown garlic oil sprays highly repellent to mosquitoes 鈥� and ticks. And the Italian restaurant smell fades after a few hours. Darn.
What to do when the mosquitoes love you
Melanie continues: 鈥淭he mosquitoes love my daughter 鈥� and no amount of lemon eucalyptus seems to deter them!鈥�
Studies have clearly shown that some people are much more attractive to the pests than others, Mel. If your daughter is willing, have her eat some fresh garlic and take Brewer鈥檚 yeast every day in an attempt to camouflage her attractive 鈥榮cent鈥�; it鈥檚 folklore but it can鈥檛 hurt.
Second, buy her a set of permethrin-treated clothing. ( originated the technique, and their clothes were just used in a medical study that found the clothing to be highly effective.)听The clothes will repel mosquitoes from everywhere on her except exposed skin.
And for that skin 鈥�
When Melanie writes: 鈥渕osquitoes love my daughter 鈥� and no amount of lemon eucalyptus seems to deter them,鈥� she鈥檚 referring to , the non-DEET repellent that has scored the highest in clinical studies, rivaling fairly high concentrations of DEET itself.
Just remember that any repellent must cover every inch of exposed skin and that 鈥� despite a recent 鈥渙utdoor entertaining and decorating鈥� article in The Post 鈥� things like herbal bracelets do not work. Those gadgets have failed every scientific test, as has Avon鈥檚 Skin so Soft. (Sorry.)
But catnip does work. Studies rank catnip right up there with oil of lemon eucalyptus. Look for it in herbal products and alternate its use with lemon eucalyptus.
