Text | Canned green oranges
Edit | Canned green oranges
According to biologists, mosquitoes are more than 100 million years old.
In other words, not only are we suffering from mosquito bites today, but the ancients of thousands of years ago were also suffering from mosquito infestation.
Some people can't help but wonder, we now have mosquito coils, mosquito repellent water, mosquito nets and other tools to repel mosquitoes, but there were no such items in ancient times, how did we fight mosquitoes in summer?
After careful study, it was found that although the ancient science and technology were backward, the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated.
There are not only many ways to repel mosquitoes, but also more elaborate than our modern ones!
Although the ancients did not have mosquito coils, they knew very early that the smoking method could repel mosquitoes, so they found many materials that could be used as smoke to repel mosquitoes.
For the record of repelling mosquitoes, it was originally the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the ancient people were more respectful of ghosts and gods, and the Western Zhou Dynasty set up a special position to repel mosquitoes.
When it's time to repel mosquitoes, chant a mantra while burning the grass to repel insects.
Half of the mosquitoes that died under this method were burned by the fire because of phototaxis, and the other half were killed by the smoke because of the irritating gases released by the sagebrush.
Later, the folk also used mangweed to repel mosquitoes, but because the smell was too pungent, it was not suitable for long-term use.
Later, after experimentation, it was discovered that wormwood and artemisia grass also have the effect of repelling mosquitoes.
And compared to the poisonous gas, which can kill mice, wormwood and artemisia have a fresh smell and do not have too much smoke, so the negative impact on the human body is minimal.
For a time, wormwood and artemisia became common materials for the ancients to repel mosquitoes.
On this basis, the ancients also made the earliest mosquito coil products, fire ropes.
The fire rope is to pick the wormwood and artemisia grass like a rope braided, hang it on the beam, be sure to avoid direct sunlight, wait for the sun to dry, and light it in the summer when the mosquitoes are the most.
In order to increase the mosquito repellent effect, the ancient commonly used insecticide realgar was also added to the fire rope later, and the mosquito repellent effect was better.
It is said that the mosquito coils in Europe were created based on the "mosquito coils" of the Qing Dynasty on the mainland.
But not everywhere there is wormwood and artemisia grass, in the place where wormwood and artemisia grass are scarce, the people take local materials, use eel bones, eel bones, turtle bones to grind into powder, and then burn them.
The principle is the same as burning wormwood and artemisia, and it can also repel mosquitoes.
However, although the arquebus is good, it can only be used at home, and it cannot be carried with you all the time.
After all, whether it is a handsome boy or a beautiful and dignified young lady, it is not sightful to hold a pile of hay in her hand.
So on the basis of the fire rope, people invented items that are both beautiful and easy to carry, one of which is the sachet.
The sachet can be worn on the waist regardless of gender, and hung with jade pendants and other things, which is decent and generous.
Generally, the ancients would put fennel, herbs, star anise, perilla, mint and other items in the sachet, these things taste fresh and elegant, not only to repel mosquitoes, but also to refresh the mind, just like the flower water we use now.
Carrying such a sachet on a hot, sweaty and lethargic day can be very beneficial.
In addition to sachets, mosquito repellent fans are also mosquito repellent items that are easy to carry.
There are generally two kinds of mosquito repellent fans, one is made of mosquito mother bird feathers, also known as "mosquito fans".
The mosquito mother bird is a kind of nightingale, likes to eat mosquitoes, often haunts the pond in summer, the mouth is large and long, and when eating fish, mosquitoes fly out of one mouth.
If you wave a fan made of mosquito feathers, mosquitoes will think that there is a mosquito bird.
Physiological instinct will make it afraid of approaching, and it can naturally achieve the effect of repelling mosquitoes.
In addition to the feathers of the mosquito mother bird, a fan can also be made from palm leaves, known as a brown whisk.
Just wave it lightly and use the scent of palm leaves to repel mosquitoes.
Of course, these things can not only be carried on the body, but also kept at home to repel mosquitoes.
In ancient times, almost every house had a small yard, and planting incense sachets in front of the window and behind the house, or wormwood or palm used for the fire rope, could form a natural barrier for the house.
It can not only repel mosquitoes, flowers and plants but also be pleasing to the eye, why not do it?
In ancient times, there were no mosquito nets, but there was a kind of curtain similar to mosquito nets, called mosquito nets.
Mosquito flags are generally hung on the side of the bed or on the door, so that mosquitoes cannot get close to the person, and they are physically blocked.
Some wealthy families have extremely high requirements for the material and color of mosquitoes, and all kinds of high-grade silk fabrics emerge in an endless stream, but the use is the same, mainly to isolate mosquitoes.
In addition to mosquito repellent, there are other physical mosquito repellent methods, which are mosquito repellent using the food chain method.
Place a large vat in the courtyard and put water in it, then place greenery and frogs to create an illusion that resembles a pond or puddle.
Mosquitoes love dark, damp places where they lay their eggs and give birth to their offspring, and when the mosquitoes are confused by the sight in the tank and attract them to fly over, the frogs in the tank come in handy.
When a frog sees a mosquito coming, it immediately sticks out its tongue and eats it.
Mosquitoes can eat a "buffet", and humans are no longer infested by mosquitoes, killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, if the yard is big enough, you can put a few more large tanks in the yard, and according to the above method, not only will the mosquitoes be eliminated, but even the eggs will be laid and their descendants will be eliminated.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, all kinds of handicrafts were relatively mature, and well-made mosquito control products - mosquito killer lamps appeared.
Mosquito killer lamps are mostly copper and iron, and rich and noble families may use gold and silver to make them, generally conical or teapot shaped, with a wick and fuel inside, and a round mouth on the top and side.
After the wick is lit, the inside is heated, and the cold air from the outside flows in, and the mosquitoes can be directly sucked into the mosquito killing lamp and burned to death.
The mosquito killer lamp is equipped with a handle, which can be hung directly on the top of the bed, and as long as the mosquito appears, it can be directly eliminated physiologically by physical means.
The mosquito killer lamp was simple to operate and easy to carry, and was very popular at the time.
In the book of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of mosquito repellent lamp was mentioned, and in the Qing Dynasty, the production of mosquito repellent lamps was more sophisticated and became one of the most important mosquito repellent methods.
Nowadays, in modern society, we have more and better choices for mosquito repellent items, various brands of toilet water, wind oil essence, because of the pungent smell of mosquitoes, we have invented electric mosquito coils and electric mosquito swatters.
As for the sachets, we have made a wristband that can repel mosquitoes frequently, which is also easy to carry, not obtrusive, and can repel mosquitoes.
Even some scientists breed male mosquitoes and then release them, affecting the fertility rate of female mosquitoes, and when there are fewer new mosquitoes, the number of natural mosquitoes will also decrease.
Although the technology of the ancients was backward, they used their wisdom to invent all kinds of things to drive away words, and constantly improved their living conditions.
It can be seen that many things can be done as long as we are willing to use our brains.