Insect Repellent

[dlbrunner]

I will have to find the article, but Avon skin so soft has to be re-applied every 8 minutes to be effective. Snake Oil

The only real repellant is DEET over 15 or 20%.

Eating Garlic or vitamin B....Disproved in trials

Pretty much if you don't want to get bit, wear DEET, and over 30%, is has to be reapplied the least. The lower the concentration of DEET, the more frequently you have to apply. The longest DEET will last is about 5 hours.

I did a lot of research on this while working for a health agency in Phoenix during the West Nile Virus Outbreak.

DEET.

 

[seanz0rz]

besides DEET, taking up a nasty smoking habit is the only mosquito repellent i know of. when my mother smoked (for around 15 years), she never had a single mosquito bite.

so far the best defense ive come across is wearing pants and a long sleeve, collared shirt. they will still bite your face, but a little application of the strong stuff (30% or higher) on your collar will keep most of them away. then i usually put a bit on my ears and neck and forehead.

 

[evldave]

My wife and kids have sensitive skin, so they can't use DEET w/o a rash. After doing some research we bought some 'Don't Bite Me' patches just to see if they work. They are like cigarette patches, apply once per day or so.

Results so far:

I never get bit anyways, so I don't care On the rare occasion it happens, they don't bother me at all, I almost never notice (even biting flies generally ignore me, maybe it's all that garlic-y food I eat).

Work great for my wife. She gets a moderate/severe reaction to bites so she know's when she's bit. A couple weeks ago she was serving beer outside at a concert and used the patches, zero bites in the first 2 days, but stopped using the patches and was bit a lot on the third day. Since then, she uses them when we know we'll be outside in mosquito weather.

For my daughter (15), she is severely reactive to bites, like welts 5-6" across. She used the patches and the bites went down (but not 100% away).

For my son and his friend - worked ok for about 12 hrs, but had to be re-applied more often than recommended.

My thoughts on this: It's worth it to try - it's been a lifesaver for my wife and daughter. I think everyone's chemistry is different, so you just have to keep trying until you find what works.

 

[chirigringo]

I have always relied on DEET to keep the skeeters away and have used several brands of 100%. Before my recent trip to Central America my travel vacc. pharmacist recommended the 3M Ultrathon which is 35% DEET. It seemed to work well on the parts of skin which had a good application. Everyone in the group wearing short sleeves got bit baddly on the elbows, including me. Not sure if it was caused by poor application or a DEET tolerant insect. I also bought a kit to treat my clothes with permithrin. Nasty stuff when wet (don't let it touch your skin or breath much of it) but worked well once dry. It's the same thing marketed as "Insect Shield" and "Buzz Off" by several outdoor clothing manufacturers. During the trip there was a lot of discussion about the long term safety of DEET and one traveler mentioned a newer product called Picaridin. I've only started to do some research on it and haven't even tried it myself but I thought I'd share an article I found to further the discussion here. Anyone have experience with this stuff?
-Michael

 

[haven]

More discussion about repellents here
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47048