Repel Bugs with Rue

[Kassandra]

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Beautifully elegant, and energetically protective rue.jpg (37.51 KiB) Viewed 853 times

We recently noticed that our herb lady at the farmers' market has been selling rue. Our only familiarity with the plant was from lines in Shakespeare (Ophelia used it in her garland), so we asked for recommendations on what to do with it. She told us that rue has traditionally been used in folk remedies, but that most people find it too bitter to eat.

She also had another intriguing suggestion. "Put it in the kitchen," she said, "it will keep flies at bay!" So, we grabbed a bunch and found the perfect opportunity to test its effectiveness when we brought home a stem of fresh dates. Hung by the window to ripen, the dates soon attracted a small cloud of fruit flies. We tucked a few sprigs of rue between the fruits and, lo and behold, the flies quickly lost interest. In fact, they disappeared altogether. (One might even say they rued the day they entered our kitchen!).

Although flies hate the strong aroma of rue, it's fortunately rather pleasant to humans. We will definitely be keeping the herb around our fruit bowls from now on. Have you ever used rue or other herbs to repel kitchen bugs?



Article source: apartmenttherapy.com/tips-repel-fruit-flies-with-ru-63641




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[__Oracle__]

Thanks for the tip! I wonder if rue planted in a garden will keep some bugs away as well

[firebirdflys]

I used to grow this in the fabulous "Sacred Circle Garden" (that's what I named it) I really miss that garden, I used to have nightmares about moving...because I had like 6 months to nightmare about it...anyway, the dream was about moving to an apartment or some other insufficient place the make plants grow, I would be re-potting and and re-potting and they would be dying, it was just horrible. I had a white sage plant, Salvia apiana, that I had started by seed. It took two years for it to do a thing, then POW...it got huge and beautiful and and when it came to smudging it burned better and smelled sweeter than any I wild-crafted, (I did get the seed in the wild though).......

....wow I really digressed, back to Rue...I had a fine specimen of Ruta graveolens in the garden, I have heard Hispanics use it extensively and it would be burned much like Sage to rid the air of negative energy, it has a funky smell when burned and it felt like it would be good for banishings.

The reason I wanted to comment on Rue is (ha! now we finally get to it!) I found out the hard way it has a photo-toxic effect on some people. and I was one. Being the bathing beauty (I used to be) I would garden in as little clothing as possible, which usually meant barefoot and in a bikini, and usually slathered up with some kind of Sun accelerant like baby-oil or coco butter...then off to trim and crawl around in the bushes ...really becoming one with the plants. So I was giving the Rue a good butching back, I had to lean over the cut branches to reach other ones, and the juice of the fresh cuts were getting all over me. I continued about my day in the yard, which was all day...

Later I went in and showered...and then started to break out in really painful blisters. At first I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, it was only on my legs and ankles and a couple spots on my belly and wrist. After a little research and reliving of where I went that day, It was the only one I was leaning over, plus it was stabbing me in the ankle when I was trimming, that's is where I got the biggest blister. Then it all got much worst the next day.

That whole episode made me very wary of the plant, although I have a feeling the oil on my body really made it much worse, plus, I would lay out to tan for a rest....just unknowingly baking it right in there. It was pretty bad took well over a week to start getting better, and I still have scars from it.

Now I don't want to freak anyone out ...Rue is one of the great herbs, just treat it respect... and don't go rolling around in it while all buttered up in the Sun!


BB, Firebird

[Kassandra]

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@ff
Oh, my! Sounds like it had an effect similar to poison oak on your skin. THANKS for sharing that information, good to know. Rue does have a "formidable" vibe to it, like it ain't nothin' to play with. With good reason!


@Oracle
Well, judging from ff's Foray in the Green with rue, it is just as powerful in the garden as in the house, probably moreso with the addition of the sun, which seems to augment it.

Interesting.


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