By Mursidi Murah

The people of old did not have the modern aerosol bug sprays that we are accustomed to today and thus had to find other ways to deal with the bugs in their lives. Here are a few examples of bugs a South East Asian might encounter in their everyday life and how they're kept away.

1. Mosquitoes

The most common solution is lemongrass. The lemongrass stalk is bashed a few times to release its scented oils and is then rubbed over the neck, wrists and ankles. The blood is nearest to the surface of the skin at these points on the body so would attract mosquitoes more. The heat from these spots will also help diffuse the scent of the lemongrass more. Interestingly, lemongrass nowadays is used as a main ingredient in most commercial aerosol insect repellents.

2. Ants

Ants usually go for the sugar bowl and people have found out that ants give the spice rack a wide berth in its quest for the sugar. The spice in question here would be cloves. People then, before the invention of air-tight containers, usually keep sugar with a few pieces of cloves mixed in. The smell of the cloves is believed to keep away ants and also give the sugar an interesting added taste and scent.

3. Leeches

Although not an insect, leeches are just as unappealing to most. People then encountered leeches in the swampy paddy fields they tend. Leeches swim in the murky waters and latches onto its unsuspecting victim and would only detach itself when fully fed. The common way then to avoid leech attacks was to coat exposed areas of the skin particularly the legs with coconut oil. This practice was not widely adopted though due to the relative high value of coconut oil then. It was only practised by the well-to-do. When already bitten by a leech coconut oil is also useful. The leech can be safely removed by pouring the oil onto the leech. It would then suffocate and detach itself safely from the skin.

4. Ticks

When going into the jungle, hunters usually come home with more than just their kill but with ticks on their bodies, especially in the hair. To prevent this, men usually rub coconut oil mixed with tobacco into their hair to keep the parasites away. The concoction can also be used to get rid of the ticks already in the hair.

5. Cockroaches

A widely used spice in Asian, especially Malay, cooking is the pandan or fragrant screw pine. What most don't know is that the Malays also use it to keep cockroaches away. The long leaves of the pandan would be put in dark places where cockroaches usually lurk. The fragrant scent would permeate the place and keep the roaches distant. Sometimes, baskets are woven from pandan leaves to make a fragrant and roach-repelling container for food.

P.S.
These solutions might not be as effective as modern conventional ones but they serve the purpose. You might not know when it might come in handy.