To Deet or not to Deet, that is the question!

[koogs]

The mosquitos are really bad right now in our city park, so when I went to play yesterday, I wore a cap. I'm not normally a cap wearer, but my head is the only place I can't really protect with bug spray. I found out that I can't wear a cap while I play, at least not when I drive. The bill always seemed like it was in the way, though really, if it were, I've got serious form issues. As far as the Deet goes, my son works outdoors at night, and he uses Deet constantly, and he notices his skin burning after a while. He also melted the paint off his Itouch cover after handling it with Deet-covered hands.

 

[solomon.trenton]

i use backwoods cutter and have never had a problem with bugs. and they are pretty bad up here

 

[odysseus81]

Is there any evidence to back up my theory that mosquitos are attracted to certain people better than others? I have always found that those things will swarm me and leave everyone else alone if I am around.

 

[koogs]

Is there any evidence to back up my theory that mosquitos are attracted to certain people better than others? I have always found that those things will swarm me and leave everyone else alone if I am around.

You are absolutely correct. It depends on your odor. Now, before you get all upset and think that I'm saying you stink, it really has nothing to do with either a good or bad odor, it's just YOUR odor. I used to be one of the "attractive" ones, but my odor must have changed with age, because now I'm not any worse off than anyone else

 

[eegor]

Dryer sheets. Never tried it but supposedly the repel mosquito's.

Dryer sheets will leave you flammable... just sayin'

 

[odysseus81]

Interesting...so older age is going to be my only reprieve=(
I unfortunately passed this "odor" on to my youngest son as well.

 

[eegor]

I don't think there is a problem with DEET. I have tried the strongest stuff and sometimes that is still not enough. I knew a guy that would drink a small amount of vineger each day during the summer and would never get bit. Worth a try.

Wouldn't it be better to have that vinegar on a salad or a sub sandwich? Drinking it is a bit much...

 

[tstack10]

Deet deet

 

[koogs]

Interesting...so older age is going to be my only reprieve=(
I unfortunately passed this "odor" on to my youngest son as well.

It could also be something that you're ingesting. For instance, I drink about 1/10th the beer I used to. Do you (and your son) drink quite heavily? If so, we may be on to something.

 

[superberry]

DEET is N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide

Here is the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)...
https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/88715.htm

Here is the Wiki page...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET

Poison is poison, on humans or bugs. Watch your doses and wash it off well after you're away from the bugs. I admit that it works phenmoninally well when other products fail, but that's what poison does. Statements like "small amounts applied to human skin have shown no significant increase in harmful effects", do not make me feel any better.

For ticks and other bugs, most of the natural repellants work well, just not on mosquitoes. I also found that cedar works well. Break off a small bundle of cedar tree (or arborvitae bush) leaves and rub them all over yourself. Doesn't make sense to me because the bugs like swamps and cedars grow in swamps.

 

[Matthew boals]

Two smells you can tell it's summer, fresh cut grass and Deet! They do seem to come out more in the eve. A lite spray of "deep woods off" does the job for me with no side effects.

 

[SpyderPride]

I've been using DEET my whole life, and yes, it is nasty stuff that will typically eat anything that is plastic. Take note of the wind and step a few yards away from all of your plastic/nylon stuff that you have placed on the ground. Spray your exposed areas and rub it in to spread it out. Then go wash your hands (use soap if possible) and you're good to go. If the activity you are doing makes you sweat, you will eventually sweat it all off and need to reapply. At the end of the day, take a shower. Leaving it on your skin while you sleep can cause you to wake up with a rash.

As far as I am concerned, it is the only repellent that works. And I only use repellent when the mosquitoes are thick. Buy the highest DEET content spray that you can find, and spread out a little bit of it as far as you can. Most economical and effective.

 

[medicinalfunk]

not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but catnip oil + coconut oil keeps pretty much everything away from me, even on really buggy holes. not sure if its widely available though, the bottle i have has been around for years and has packaging that leads me to believe its a local confection (easy to tell it was made in microsoft word or something)

 

[RussMB]

I only read the first page of this thread, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned it. My wife got some Skin so soft from Avon. This was a Sun block/Bug repellent. I went to play at a course today that is notorious for bugs. I sprayed some on me, and I didn't have anyproblems. I got buzzed a few times, but didn't get a bite. I'll be keeping it in my bag from now on!

 

[Lewis]

Is there any evidence to back up my theory that mosquitos are attracted to certain people better than others? I have always found that those things will swarm me and leave everyone else alone if I am around.

I'm the same way. I have a friend who claims to be a mosquito magnet. One day we decided to test how many bites we both got after being outdoors in the same place for the same amount of time. We both had dozens of bites, but I "won" the contest by having more.

I also seem to be the guy around the camp fire that the smoke always finds. Then when I move, the smoke changes directions and finds me again.

Before you try deet, try using Lemon Eucalyptus. Deet will melt certain plastics and synthetic fibers.

 

[REDARMY]

i'll get behind the dryer sheet thing as well.

it does work great, but just remember that you have to reapply after you sweat off the first layer.

and also remember, don't go walking into your favorite watering hole immediately afterwards or people will think your lily-scented ass has caught teh ghey.

/not that there's anything wrong with that

 

[cfair]

went to africa last year and we had sometime like 100 DEET and it worked like a charm. Put it on like perfume (the girls showed us how) and then sprayed our legs twice and our bodies front and back. No physical problems for anyone, even those who didn't shower. But if it melts plastic I might try something else.

I did a clinic with mark ellis and he used OFF and left it wrapped in a hand towel in his bag.

 

[dscglf4]

im a garlic freak, i add it to most everything i cook and i love to eat it raw also....anyways,i hardly have any problems with skeeters and other bugs,a couple of the guys i golf with spray themselves down with 'OFF' or other bug sprays,but after awhile they are gettin eaten up.
also,i dont know if it makes a difference or not, but it seems to me that people who wear cologne/perfume get 'bugged' more than those who arent wearing any

 

[Thumber]

I grew up in the Canadian woods so bugs become something you learn to tolerate. I have no evidence to back me up, but I notice that mosquitos, black flies, noseeums, horse flies and deer flies always seem to chow down more on the people who grew up in the city (citidiots), than they do on me. Perhaps the years of exposure have changed my body chemistry to make me less palatable to the bugs. I don't know.

DEET is nasty stuff. i did a 3 week field camp in Churchill, Manitoba one year and the flies were the worst I have ever seen. Clouds and clouds of them. We prayed for wind.

Lots of kids were going down from blood poisoning due to excessive DEET application. They were slathering the old school, 97% oil on themselves every half hour.....2-3 days of this and here come the headaches and puking. i watched one guys Zeiss binoculars partially dissolve after he spilled that ****e on them.

It may be gross, but avoiding deodorant and aftershave, etc helps.

Best is a breeze, and keep on the move

 

[hyzerburn]

I like to use a little 100% deet on the clothes then some sweatproof bugspray on the skin.