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Insect repellent laundry soap


bobandrobin

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Hi all,

I'm writing this with a case of cache chiggers. I must be prone to em. I looked on line and read about some products, "Zote" soap and "soap nuts." Does anyone have any experience with these? How about solutions you have found for these tiny buggers.

I cache in Florida where there is LOTS of overgrowth. Ticks, skeeters, gnats and fireants I can handle but these things seem to crawl through denim to get to a meal!

Any alternatives to Deet? I don't like the way it feels on my skin, it's expensive and the empty aerosol cans - well, there must be a greener alternative. I have heard about clothes with some sort of insect repellent in them but would rather not invest in new clothes just for the woods....that's what my old clothes are for.

What say you gurus of the brush?

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Every study I've read has discounted the effectiveness of "natural" and "folk" repellents. DEET wins hands down every time for level and length of protection. Picardin based repellents have also been found to be effective, but I've found Picardin to smell far worse than DEET.

 

The insect repellent clothing you've read of uses Permethrin, which is available in a spray form. It last through several washings on clothing, but should not be applied to the skin.

 

Your best protection from insects is a DEET based repellent on your skin and Permethrin treated clothing

 

I agree that DEET feels icky on the skin, but I figure it feels great compared to how West Nile Virus, Lyme, Erlichosis, Babesoisis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tick Typhus, STARI, Tularemia, St. Louis encephalitis, Tick Paralaysis, Relapsing Fever and Anaplasmosis might feel. All these are diseases that are carried by insects in North America.

 

If you are worried about the greenness of aerosols, DEET comes in a lotion or liquid form. Permethrin may too, but applying it to clothing may be difficult without an aerosol. There may be a "wash in" version out there.

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Every study I've read has discounted the effectiveness of "natural" and "folk" repellents.

 

The CDC would disagree with you: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/R...lentUpdates.htm

 

According to the CDC Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus does a better job then typical formulations of DEET.

 

Peppermint Oil actually works well with mosquitoes. I didn't do a peer-reviewed scientific study, but I did gather fairly good subjective evidence during 3 weeks in the Amazon rain forest of Peru.

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  • Fennel - A small study by researchers at Seoul National University in Korea found that a spray mosquito repellent containing 5% fennel oil was 84% effective after 90 minutes and a repellent cream with 8% fennel oil was 70% effective after 90 minutes.
  • Thyme - In one study, carvacrol and alpha-terpinene, two compounds derived from the essential oil of thyme, were found to have significantly greater repellency than a commercial DEET repellent. The researchers suggest that a spray made with 2% alpha terpinene is a promising natural mosquito repellent. However, don't try to make a thyme oil repellent at home- it is too irritating and strong-smelling to be used at effective concentrations above 25%.
  • Clove oil - Two studies have found that undiluted topical clove oil is active against mosquitoes. However, like thyme oil, clove oil should not be applied undiluted to skin as a homemade repellent.
  • Celery extract - A Thai study compared 15 mosquito repellents with a topical extract from celery. The researchers found that the extract did not irritate the skin or cause a burning sensation. It was found to be active against a wide range of mosquito species comparable to a 25% DEET formula.
  • Neem oil - An extract from the tropical neem tree, neem oil has insecticidal compounds called azadirachtins.
  • Vitamin B1 - Vitamin B1 is often taken to help repel mosquitos but one study suggests this remedy may be useless. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin study tested B1 with a larger sample of human subjects and found no effect of vitamin B.
  • Garlic - Another popular theory is that ingesting garlic can provide protection against mosquitoes. A University of Connecticut study examined this claim with a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study. The data didn't provide evidence of significant mosquito repellence. However, subjects only consumed garlic once, and the researchers say that more prolonged ingestion may be needed.

Link: http://altmedicine.about.com/od/aznaturalr.../a/mosquito.htm

 

The article cites it's sources on the second page.

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Every study I've read has discounted the effectiveness of "natural" and "folk" repellents.

 

The CDC would disagree with you: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/R...lentUpdates.htm

 

According to the CDC Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus does a better job then typical formulations of DEET.

 

Peppermint Oil actually works well with mosquitoes. I didn't do a peer-reviewed scientific study, but I did gather fairly good subjective evidence during 3 weeks in the Amazon rain forest of Peru.

 

I know people who swear Skin So Soft works, but studies don't confirm it. Non DEET repellents work for a limited amount of time. If you spend your time constantly re-applying it and don't mind smelling like a cough drop, Lemon Eucalyptus works but isn't effective nearly as long as DEET. Here is one website that bears that out. Here is another.

 

And the CDC says here

that "Of the active ingredients registered with the EPA, CDC believes that two have demonstrated a higher degree of efficacy in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature (See Publications page.). Products containing these active ingredients typically provide longer-lasting protection than others:

 

• DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)

• Picaridin (KBR 3023)

 

Oil of lemon eucalyptus [active ingredient: p-menthane 3,8-diol (PMD)], a plant- based repellent, is also registered with EPA. In two recent scientific publications, when oil of lemon eucalyptus was tested against mosquitoes found in the US it provided protection similar to repellents with low concentrations of DEET.

 

Draw your own conclusions.

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