Mosquitoes-friend Or Foe?

[+Joypa]

The mosquitos are driving me nuts. What's the best way to get 'em off me? Yes, I use deet.

[+LaPaglia]

Don't exhale

They are attracted to CO2.

 

A neat trick at an outdoor party is to place 5 lbs of dry ice in a bucket at the other end of the yard away from your gathering. the Dry Ice generates a large amount of CO2 as it melts so much so that is attracts all the skeeters in the area in spite of the fact that you are warm and the Dry Ice is cold. This really works. We have don't it for several parties.

 

There are those that say they are also attracted to heat but I dont know if that is true or not. I do know that this trick works.

 

For hiking about I do not have a good suggestion.

Edited September 14, 2004 by Lapaglia

[+briansnat]

DEET is the best way. Do you apply it to every inch of your exposed skin, or do you do like a lot of people and give yourself a few squirts? If you do the latter it won't work. You have cover your entire exposed body with the stuff and if you're wearing a thin shirt, the shirt too.

 

I've seen people apply repellent as if it were perfume. A few splashes here and there. That doesn't cut it.

 

Ultrathon is the best I've found. THe cream is a bit expensive, but it lasts a long time.

 

Eating a lot of garlic also seems to help.

Edited September 15, 2004 by briansnat

[+Robespierre]

You know, we had so very much water in the spring and the skeeters were unbelievable. But for several weeks I have not used any spray hardly at all, right here in the middle of Ohio. I don't cache but every couple of weeks, but I walk the dog daily.

[WH]

You could always try........

 

[+dingermcduff]

Your thread title confuses me...friend or Foe??? Always Foe.

 

I live in northern Minnesota where the mosquitoes come in clouds and I NEVER wear any type of repellent. I don't think it's healthy. If you tough it out enough times they really won't bother you much after a while. If they are *unbearable* I will sometimes wear a long sleeve shirt.

 

I used to avoid bringing my young son with me when the mosquitoes were bad but then I realized that he's blessed--they never bite him anyway. I've had mosquitoes all over me, looked down, and not a one near him. So now I take him to every cache with a terrain rating under 3.5 and he's gotten maybe 2 bites all year.

[+SixDogTeam]

Your thread title confuses me...friend or Foe??? Always Foe.

 

Mosquito bites kill millions of human beings on this planet every year: Malaria, Encephalitis, Elephantitis, Nile Fever etc. (and dogs, also)

[+Snoogans]

Your thread title confuses me...friend or Foe???   Always Foe.

 

Mosquito bites kill millions of human beings on this planet every year: Malaria, Encephalitis, Elephantitis, Nile Fever etc. (and dogs, also)

The Snoogans geocaching motto:

 

Geocaching: Wayyyyy more chances to contract West Nile, or Lyme Disease, than the average person.

 

Sn gans

[+Joypa]

Well, let me just correct my title...Mosquitos, merely irritating of foe? Did you really think someone would defend mosquitos?

[+briansnat]

I NEVER wear any type of repellent. I don't think it's healthy.

 

If you think repellent is unhealthy, imagine how unhealty West Nile Virus would be, or Lyme, or Erlichosis, or Babesoisis, or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or or Tick Typhus, or STARI, or Tularemia, or St. Louis encephalitis, or Tick Paralaysis, or Relapsing Fever, or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or Anaplasmosis, or Malaria would be. All of the preceeding are mosquito, or tick borne diseases that are found in North America. Some, like WNV and EEE, are becoming increasingly common and are frequently fatal.

 

The dangers of these diseases are real. DEET on the other hand has been used by many millions of people for several generations without ill effect. Used as directed it is a safe product. I'll take my chances with the repellent.

Edited September 16, 2004 by briansnat

[+RJFerret]

I'll gladly defend mosquitoes...

 

They are great food for dragonflies, birds, fish and other water critters (as well as a few plants).

 

They are useful disease vectors, improving the health and gene pool of most species (save humans who are doomed by their own fate).

 

Without mosquitoes there'd be more organic debris that the larvae feed on.

 

Yes, Deet is the only true solution and must be spread on flesh (spray, rub). Otherwise they might land/feed on an untreated spot right next to a sprayed droplet.

 

For the yard, the aforementione dry ice will keep 'em at one end, the new propane powered mosquito traps work affectively but obviously affect your local environment adversely. (I wouldn't want fewer dragonflies or bats at my house, but rather more!)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

[+dingermcduff]

Eek! Lyme disease! I just pulled a DEER tick off of my shoulder and I wasn't outside today at all, so it was probably there for a while. It had some blood in it, so I may have to get tested for Lyme this week.

 

I'll admit, I'm taking a chance by not using repellent. I'm mixed about what to do about my son when in the woods. I cringe when I see parents instruct their small children to hold up their arms while they douse the kid with chemicals.

 

I had a fairly traumatic experience with DEET that involved much vomiting and a call to poison control. Ever since I haven't gone near the stuff.

 

Don't take my advice.

[+Joypa]

DEET-Friend or Foe?

[+briansnat]

DEET-Friend or Foe?

Friend. See my post a few lines above this.

[+junglehair]

DEET-Friend or Foe?

Foe - it melted my Swiss Army Knife (purchased in Switzerland) when the bottle leaked one time in my backpack.

 

I read once that mosquitoes tend to stay away from people that have eaten garlic, onions and/or peppers. Hmmm, I tend to stay from people when they've just eaten those things too! New geocaching diet perhaps?

[+DrMomentum]

For children, you can use a lower concentration of DEET. From what I understand, that works, but works for less time.

 

Our parents sprayed the heck out of us with OFF and I've never heard of lingering effects. Doesn't mean for certain that it is safe, but we've had local deaths from EEE lately so I'll take my chances with DEET. And since EEE kills kids more readily than it kills adults (dead jsut a few days after the bite and there is no cure) I'll happily coat my kids with reasonable concentrations of DEET to prevent infection.

 

I guess it's up to every person and parent to assess the risks as they see fit. For me, I couldn't live with myself if my daughter dropped dead from EEE a few days after I took her geocaching. Locally, I've never heard of DEET having a human impact. That's how I arrived at my conclusion. YMMV.

 

I reduce the kids' exposure to DEET by making them wear long sleeves and pants. We put rubber bands around the cuffs of the pants for ticks and I spray their clothes. That's less skin to spray (which also makes it harder to miss a spot). The better your preparation, the clearer a mind you take on your adventure and the more enjoyment.

 

And we look forward to the first frost.

 

Cheers,

-JP

[+dingermcduff]

Well I just took my first dose of Doxycyclene tonight in case there is an infection. I have to take 2 tablets a day for 14 days. The stuff makes me pretty nauseous , but so far I haven't had the other side effects. I think I'll do a better job of checking for ticks now.

[+Two Dog Knight]

I used to use DEET. But I had a plastic cabinet that I set a can of DEET insect repellant on and the cabinet now has rings where the can was. Much like the aforementions swiss army knife. So I searched the web and came up with a recipe that I use and I like.

 

A mixture of 50% Avon Skin So Soft BATH OIL

and 50% rubbing alcohol.

 

I tried it, it works for me.

 

kibnbitspa

[+geoSquid]

I was sent for west nile testing in July after receiving a few hundred mosquito bites while caching here in Ottawa, and then exhibiting the symptoms a few days later. Ended up off work for a week, and pretty sick for the whole time.

 

Turned out not to be west nile, but I'm pretty sure it was something mosquito borne, or an incredible coincidence that I happened to get some kind of flu right at that exact time. The doctor was sure it was a virus, so at least it's not likely I'll get it again.

 

Heh, if it had been west nile it would have been a FTF for a human in 2004 in Canada

Edited September 17, 2004 by geoSquid

[+Sputnik 57]

DEET is our friend. See more here.

[+briansnat]

I used to use DEET. But I had a plastic cabinet that I set a can of DEET insect repellant on and the cabinet now has rings where the can was. Much like the aforementions swiss army knife.

 

Fortunately for me, I'm not made of plastic. How about you?

 

So I searched the web and came up with a recipe that I use and I like.

 

A mixture of 50% Avon Skin So Soft BATH OIL

and 50% rubbing alcohol.

 

Here is the info on Sputnik's link. It is a New England Journal of Medicine study.

They had a bunch of people coat their arms with various repellents and stick them into a "cage" filled with mosquitos. The minutes are the average of how long it took for the first mosquito to bite.

 

OFF! Deep Woods (DEET 23.8%) - 301.5 min.

Sawyer Controlled Release (DEET 20%) - 234.4 min.

OFF! Skintastic (DEET 6.65%) - 112.4 min.

Bite Blocker for Kids (Soybean Oil 2%) - 94.6 min.

OFF! Skintastic for Kids (DEET 4.75%) - 88.4 min.

Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus (IR3535 7.5%) - 22.9 min.<

Natrapel (Citronella 10%) - 19.7 min.

Herbal Armor (Citronella 12%; peppermint oil 2.5%; other ingredients <2%) - 18.9 min.

Green Ban for People (Citronella 10%; peppermint oil 2%) - 14.0 min.

Buzz Away (Citronella 5%) - 13.5 min.

Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil (Uncertain) - 9.6 min.

Skin-So-Soft Moisturizing Suncare (Citronella 0.05%) - 2.8 min.

Gone Original Wristband (DEET 9.5%) - 0.3 min.

Repello Wristband (DEET 9.5%) - 0.2 min.

Gone Plus Repelling Wristband (Citronella 25%) - 0.2 min.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2004 by briansnat

[+Alan2]

Ahh snow. No skeeters - no ticks - no foliage - no heat - no humidity - no sweat; all great for caching as long as it's not too deep!

[+McMurdo1]

Well yeah, I have not seen a bug for a month now and probably won't until February unless it happens to crawl out of the salad.

Trouble is only 4 caches within 100 miles

I suppose some would consider 8 to 10,000 feet of snow too much for a good caching experience however.

 

by the way, batteries really don't last long at -20 to -30 F It does look like I may get a break from the wind and be able to find a couple more this weekend.

 

 

mac

[+Mr.Benchmark]

But I had a plastic cabinet that I set a can of DEET insect repellant on and the cabinet now has rings where the can was.

I had this happen to one of my flashlights one time. I'd sprayed down with 100% DEET spray. It was one of those red LED flashlights with variable brightness. I picked it up, and noticed that it was really sticky - the darn thing was melting a bit in my hand!

 

So the answer for me wasn't to quit using DEET, it was just to be more careful with plastic objects when using it. The 3M ultrathon that Brian mentioned seems to have a LOT less impact on plastic. (Which makes sense.) It is a *much* more pleasant product to use, too. 3M is also making an ultrathon spray now. I've tried it and it seems to work quite well too. (It doesn't last as long as the cream, but it's easier to apply.)

 

I became a big believer in DEET after my very first geocaching experience. I went walking through an unmowed portion of a nice city park here in Dallas. (The rest of the park was mowed.) Really, I only went 150 feet or so. But I picked up about 20-30 chigger bites on my legs. These persisted for about 2 weeks, and I didn't sleep very well during most of that time because of the itching.

 

You can also spray your clothing with permethrin spray - it will last for a couple of weeks. It's not technically an insect repellent - it's a contact insecticide. It takes some planning and preparation though - something I never seem to quite manage... (You have to spray it on, wait 8 hours or so while it drys, and then put the clothes on.) You can wash your clothes a time or two before it wears off, once it's been allowed to set in to the fabric.

[+TotemLake]

Mosquitoes-friend Or Foe?, What's the best way to get rid of 'em?

 

Eat'em, for they are small and crunchy and they taste best with ketchup.

[+DrMomentum]

Rubbing alcohol dissolves latex paint. Baby oil dissolves rubber. That's not pertinent to repelling insects, or how safe those substances are to use.

 

When there could be serious medical consequences, I'm a lot more comfortable with the tests published in a peer reviewed medical journal.

 

As far as Avon's products go, 9 minutes of effectiveness doesn't cut it for me. Not hardly. As always, YMMV. But if I sold Avon and I was telling folks to use it around here, I'd feel pretty bad knowing the results of that study when there have been 3 confirmed cases of triple-E in the last month or so. When it's just itchiness, it doesn't seem like a big deal. When it's disease, I start feeling like Avon is irresponsible for pushing the product.

 

On the bright side, I hear the cases of West Nile have dropped this year. I have no idea if that is a result of better preparedness (if so, I guess all mosquito-borne illness would be down).

 

-JP

[+SixDogTeam]

Rubbing alcohol dissolves latex paint. Baby oil dissolves rubber. That's not pertinent to repelling insects, or how safe those substances are to use.

 

Try dropping a penny in a cup of coca cola and putting it on the window sill and waiting a few weeks....

[+Anonymous']

This way doesn't really repel bugs but it does kill them, I have two. They really hurt when you touch them.Lectro Swat

[+Sputnik 57]

As for being cautious around plastic, be mindful of (i) your watch crystal and (ii) the face plate on your GPSr (and PDA). High concentrations of DEET can do real damage. Take off your watch and apply while far from your electronics.

 

Technically, they advise that you not spray DEET on your face (or on your children's faces). You are supposed to spray it on your hands and then rub it onto faces. They also recommend that you apply it to your children's faces, don't put it onto their hands (which too often end up in their mouths, eyes, etc), unless you make them wash hands afterward.

 

Like any other pesticide, read and follow the directions!

[Fire_Fly]

Just have to agree with the DEET users, had it used on me as a kid, now I use it on mine(and me). Please please please, like it has been said, read the directions for use, and all other warnings. DEET is my friend!!

[+maleki]

With the end of our mosquito season fast approaching here in the Chicago area I found all the 'bug stuff' marked down 75% at Target last week.

 

Ultrathon was about $ 1.50 a tube I think and almost all the aerosols where about $ 1.20.

 

Stocked up...

 

Of course, they hadn't marked down the Garmin stuff I've seen mentioned in other posts here.