Insect Repellent

Nurrgle said:
If I had to use DEET or something similar, I would spray it onto something I didn't care about and tie that around my belt or to my pack.
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It smells strong enough that it would seem this should work, but unfortunately it has to be on you. The magic of DEET is that It keeps them from landing on the spot the deet is. In fact, if you cover 90% of your skin and leave just a little bit without it they will sometimes find that small place on the back of your neck or wherever that you missed. Even though the Ultrathon lotion has time release and is excellent, it just isn't very good for applying on clothing and that is indeed a drawback for that type.

So if you aren't going to put it on you, probably better to save your money and stick with the Yarrow and fat mix :) (Although the alligator fat might be tough to come by in our mountains here in Idaho :) )

I used to hike in an area on the Wyoming Utah border years ago and ran into a sheepherder once that told me the location of a pond that had a natural petroleum sheen on it. He told me the deer would go in this pond to get a away from the mosquitoes. Perhaps the deer had their own alligator fat stash there and we just didn't know :) It would have been interesting to follow up on what he was talking about but I wasn't in the mood for data gathering at the time.

On a complete tangent.....the first thing the sheepherder asked me when we met out in the wild was "are you one of these friends of the earth?" How else can one answer a question like that except for my response which was "Of course not....I'm an enemy!" :)
 
I spent a few days in Green River Lakes area this past weekend. I didn't take any deet, but brought the essential oil blend with me (Terra Shield) My wife wanted me to try it to see if it works. The mosquitoes were absolutely horrid up there so it was the perfect testing grounds.

My conclusion, it works. I would say it works 75% as well as deet. It mostly kept them of me, but occasionally a persistent bugger would still land on me. I only applied it to my hands and face as I was clothed everywhere else. The only downside is it seemed to take pretty constant reapplication to keep up the effectiveness. I would say every 1-2 hours you had to reapply it. The good news is, it doesn't stink or leave any nasty residue on your skin. In fact it actually smells very good. My concern was it might make me smell like a giant piece of food for any wandering bears. It's also super nice to take a tiny little bottle of oil with you instead of a can of off or lotion. Overall I think it's a keeper if you dislike deet.
 
If you do not like DEET or other applicants, give the bugshirt (@bugshirt.com) a try. Yes they can be a little warm at times but I have used them a fair bit up here in the interior of Alaska(at times thick with mosquitos, black flies, no-see-ums, white socks, etc) and they are very effective. You can also find "jackets" made of mosquito netting that you can spray DEET on. The DEET does not touch your skin much and the netting also provides a physical barrier. Check out the bugbaffler for an example. Not sure on the durability if carrying a pack but for hanging around camp or fishing or other similar, they seem to last pretty well.

I've also used shirts soaked in permethrin and they seem to work pretty well for a few washings. Like andyjaggy's wife, I am a mosquito magnet and have always been. Bugshirts have saved several of my work days in the field. Their durability also seems to be solid also.

Oh yeah, I do not like headnets at all but I have no problem wearing a bugshirt.
 
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Vegan.Hiker said:
I used the Coleman Lemon Eucalyptus on a 5 day trip in the ADK's notoriously known for it's black fly season in May/June and it worked extremely well. They weren't out in full force because it was colder and windier than normal for most of the time, but on the warmer days, they left me alone as soon as I sprayed it on me.
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We got some Lemon Eucalypus Repel after your recommendation and found that it has done a very good job. We have not been able to test it over the late fall and winter for lack of insects but will continue to do so in the ensuing spring and summer again. So far it has bee very effective with both mosquitoes and gnats.
 
Vegan.Hiker said:
Hey Nick, doesn't that chart say that the Lemon Eucalyptus is the best alternative to deet? The bars represent the level of bug attraction, not ability to repel if I'm reading it correctly.
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Doh! I'm an idiot. I read that wrong. Yeah, that stuff looks great.
 
Nick said:
Doh! I'm an idiot. I read that wrong. Yeah, that stuff looks great.
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It wasn't you, they used a pretty counter intuitive way to display that info. I had to look at it 3 times and still wasn't sure.
 
I use a lemon oil eukalyptus oil mixture and sometimes add lavender oil to it.
I'm highly allergic against everything with DEET in it, but this natural repellant works perfect for me.

For deer flies and black flies I use Vick Waporub, it keeps them away pretty good.
 
Nick said:
Thought this was interesting. Might be worth trying the EcoSmart non-Deet repellent.

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsan...s-the-best-way-to-keep-mosquitoes-from-biting

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Ahhh....if only the chart included the time release DEET to compare against.:stomp:

But I think part of the lesson is that one has to be happy with whatever they are using. If one isn't comfortable smearing it on every patch of bare skin.....then it shouldn't be in your pack....no matter what the chart reads.
 
IMO the diseases carried by insects are much worse than any possible issues with DEET. My step dad almost died from tick born encephalitis while fly fishing in Russia. He spent about a month at the U of U hospital.
 
Since the chart shows the Lemon Eucalypus' effectiveness is very close to 98% deet on application and is still close to 98% deet and far better than anything else after 4 hours that looks very good to me with all the insect borne diseases we hear about these days.

as an aside, the Lemon Eucalypus which I carry in a 1/4 oz size Nalgene works just super as an accelerant. If you are in wet, cold conditions it will really help for starting a fire if you find yourself in dire need... so dual purpose.
 
If that lemon stuff works as well as that chart shows I may just be making the switch. I'm not afraid of deet, but it would be worth the switch to avoid the smell and greasy skin.
 
Wyatt Carson said:
Since the chart shows the Lemon Eucalypus' effectiveness is very close to 98% deet on application and is still close to 98% deet and far better than anything else after 4 hours that looks very good to me with all the insect borne diseases we hear about these days.

as an aside, the Lemon Eucalypus which I carry in a 1/4 oz size Nalgene works just super as an accelerant. If you are in wet, cold conditions it will really help for starting a fire if you find yourself in dire need... so dual purpose.
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I could be wrong but what I read said that DEET was more effective over time in higher concentrations.

The bottom line is that it seems like there are a few good alternatives if you are willing to accept the smell in bear country.
 
pstm13 said:
I could be wrong but what I read said that DEET was more effective over time in higher concentrations.

The bottom line is that it seems like there are a few good alternatives if you are willing to accept the smell in bear country.
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No you are right and I completely agree. My post was just worded a bit confusing I think.

As far as bears, I don't know but I lived through "night of the grizzly" about 40 years ago and don't want to do it again! :lol:
 
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