They sustain us with their nutrition, heal us with their energy, awaken us with their sensual fragrances and picture-perfect elegance. This blog is a celebratory dance for the body and mind with plants: for the body there are how-tos for making oils, tinctures, teas, crafts, and snacks; for the mind there are cultural perspectives, mystical lore and scientific tidbits about the world of the Plant People. So, come foray in the green with me, and let's see what we find...

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Repel Fruit Flies with Rue


Beautifully elegant, and energetically "protective" rue.


          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. posted originally from: AT:Kitchen 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?


Source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/tips-repel-fruit-flies-with-ru-63641


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