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Friday, April 18, 2014

P is for Pennyroyal


A-Z Challenge
My theme is Herbs
P is for Pennyroyal

Besides being made
into a tea for colds
and promoting
sweating,
Pennyroyal is  a
pleasantly
fragrant insect
repellant. This
can be very
effective for
hikers and
campers.
They can
crush the
leaves and rub them on their skin and on the
clothing.

This is one of those herbs that has to be
supervised when taken orally because of
the volatile oils. It was listed in the
Pharmacopoeia from 1916 to 1931 but
removed as an intestinal irritant.

A Pennyroyal tip:
Braid the Pennyroyal in with a string
for a flea collar for your pet. 
Good results. 

37 comments:

  1. I know this one. A friend of my childhood had a grandma who made a strong tea with Pennyroyal and used it to rinse the blankets in the dog kennel and cat basket, then she'd hang them in the sun to dry before putting them back for the pets to sleep on.

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  2. River
    That is very interesting.What a great tip. Thanks a lot.

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  3. Sounds like it would be good for our bike/walking trail here that we like to frequent in the summer. Sometimes the mosquitoes are so bad there (water is beside it) that we have to leave. :(

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    1. Rosey
      I just wrote out ingredients of a bug repellent that is made locally. Oh, I wrote it in Zara's comment. All natural herbs and it works. It's marketed under the name of TripAnimals but it's also for humans. I use but some summers it's so dry here and we don't have much of a mosquito crop.

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  4. Oh I LOVE their smell!!! But I didn't know about the flea collar thing! Awww I'd love my cats to have these around them! Awww!

    Wishing you and yours a happy Easter, Manzanita! Take care
    x

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    1. Old Kitty
      Cats react differently than dogs to some herbs. I was making a formula for Cody that called for tea tree but then I read that cats should not have tea tree.
      A very happy Easter to you, too and also Charlie and GumTree.

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  5. No bugs sounds great to me. Although if you put anything around the cat's neck, he just wants to eat it and won't rest until he does lol

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    1. Pat
      Well, there you go. Put some of that raw food around Orlin's neck and he'll learn to eat it. Haha Yeah, I hate bugs and especially ticks. It's that season about now, too.

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  6. i have heard it is good for detering ants from nesting - this is Uk don't know if it applies to all species of ants - like the theme:)

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    1. Alberta Ross
      I believe it would be good and worthy of a try, although I usually use diatrimaceous earth outside for ants. I have huge bags of it for bugs in the garden and around the house.

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  7. Yup, I've definitely heard of pennyroyal being used as a repellent.

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    1. Bish
      I think it's worth a try although I use diatrimaceous earth around the house and garden for ants.

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  8. I love River's tip. Rinse out dog bed (slips) in the tea, dry them, and put them back on. Anything to make our pets more comfortable!!!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Robin,
      That is a great tip. I am definitely going to try it. I deleted one comment because it had several typos and I couldn't even read it. Keep me informed of your dance lessons. I always love to hear about dancing.

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  9. What would be ideal is if there was a shop that sold all these herbs fresh and for the picking. Of course, second bests--okay first--is for me to grow an herb garden. :-)

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    1. Susieee
      The trouble with some of the herbs is they may tend to take over your garden. If I'm familiar with them, I'll plant them.

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  10. Interesting name for an herb. Wonder where it came from?

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    1. C Lee
      It's a corruption of an old herbalist's name....pulioll royall.

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  11. Manzi, thanks for these useful tips! I suppose this is not ordinary peppermint plant?? That sounds great using it instead of anti-mosquito chemicals. And regarding dogs... do you think it also helps against ticks too?

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    1. Zara
      I couldn't find anything but I bet it might help for ticks too. We don't have fleas but have plenty of ticks. I try never to use the chemical sprays for mosquitos. I found a really great insect repellent that is made localy. Here is what it has in it...
      Apple cider vinegar, essential oils, catnip,citronella, cedarwood, eucalyptus, lavender, marigold,myrrh, tea tree, coconut oil and valerian tea. a lot of ingrediemts but it works. I spray that on Cody too.

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  12. I like the fee collar idea.
    Merle.............

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  13. Merle
    I do too but people swear there are no fleas here. I guess it's too cold for them. Ha

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  14. Manzanita, you are a mine of information!

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    1. Wendy
      Thank you, thank you..... a gold mine. Ha And some help from all my herb books.

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  15. I have heard of it being used to keep bugs away

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    1. Holy ghost
      Good. It seems quite a few people have heard of this one.

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  16. What an interesting plant and I loved River's use for it.

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  17. Patti
    I will certainly wash Codys bed covers in it. Sounds wonderful. All the old tips and ideas seem the best.

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  18. never heard of it before, but it's apparently a member of the mint family

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    1. Adam
      Yes, minty fragrance seems to knock out the bugs

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  19. Hi human, Manzanita,

    Yes, of course I eventually get here. Gone three on a Saturday morning, but I finally arrive. Arf! "Pennyroyal", Yes I am and thank you for noticing.

    Seriously, it would make a great flea collar for my pet human, Gary.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny, the friendly host of the Alphabark Challenge! :)

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    1. Hey Penny
      I think your human, Gary, would look pawsitively groovy in a pennyroyal collar. (and smell divine)
      Enjoy the weekend but don't go barking up the wrong tree.

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  20. I am learning so much in your posts!
    My grandmother left me a book published in 1887 and I found pennyroyal on pg. 248! I wonder where it is available in the southwest.

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    1. Susan
      How lucky are you to have that precious book. I have a few but I never find all I'm looking for in one book. It sounds like you were left many old precious books by relatives.

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  21. I wonder if it also keeps ticks away? I haven't ever use pennyroyal.
    We have been having a couple of nice days in a row. Glad to see the warm weather.... Love you.

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