B-1 Vitamin + No Bannana = No Bug Bites????

[lx93]

A seemingly well-educated hiker today told me that loading up on Vitamin B-1 for a week and not eating bannanas would keep the bugs away.

I'm somewhat skeptical- has anyone else heard of this?

 

[David Metsky]

Riiiiiiiight. You first.

-dave-

 

[TDawg]

Isn't it bad for to load up on B vitamins? Because they are fat soluable, not water soluable like vitamin C. I don't know where I heard that, I could be making it up.

Sounds silly though, I'll stick to bug dope.

 

[WSC]

I have Heard that Taking a Multivitamin or specifically a B Vitamin will help deter bug,but in all my literature I have read the evidence is non-existant.
So far it is an old wives trail.
WSC

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I've heard this for some time now... at least 10-15 years... One clue that it is an UL, isn't exactly the same. Sometmes it's B-1, sometimes B-6, sometimes B-12, etc.

FWIW, I tried it, and all it did was made me piss flourescent yellow.

 

[TCD]

Just a note. I think most B vitamins ARE water soluble, like C. It's A and D that are not water soluble, and there are documented cases of poisining by these vitamins.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

 

[C.Tracy]

Thats way TOO funny, "Seemingly Well Educated". My Wife has a PHD, but it does not make her an expert on bugs

 

[dr_wu002]

If you want to keep the bugs away but don't want to put bad chemicals like DEET all over your body, you can try smoking a cigar. I don't smoke but I noticed that when I was playing croquet once with a bunch of friends and the mosquitos were particularly bad, when I smoked a cigar they stayed away.

Normally, getting bug bites in the summer doesn't bother me. You get 20 or 30 and they go away quick enough. However, I might take a cigar with me in a waterproof package just in case the bugs are real bad one day.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,508,00.html

-Dr. Wu

 

[WhiteMTHike]

However, I might take a cigar with me in a waterproof package just in case the bugs are real bad one day.

I've used this method a few times. The cigar may taste horrible but it does prove effective in this case.

 

[dr_wu002]

However, I might take a cigar with me in a waterproof package just in case the bugs are real bad one day.

I've used this method a few times. The cigar may taste horrible but it does prove effective in this case.

I would also note that -- while I would take a cigar with me for a hike, I wouldn't take it out on a trail where there are lots of people. Other hikers shouldn't have to smell my cigar. But If I were 'whackin through some swamp and gettin' eaten alive, I'd pull out my cigar. Probably a lot safer than B or Deet.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Puck]

A seemingly well-educated hiker today told me... not eating bannanas would keep the bugs away.

I'm somewhat skeptical- has anyone else heard of this?

This is true, I say! I stopped eating bananas for awhile and the fruit flies went away. The rice Crispies were boring but there were no flies.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I've known people who think that vitamin B1 helps with repelling bugs, particularly black flies. The B1 was taken via a 'natural method', in Brewer's yeast. It's not as effective as DEET, but it doesn't melt plastic, either.

As for bananas - yes! I have a couple of friends who like to down a banana or two before a hike. They'll be the ones with swarms of mosquitos around them at the trailhead ...

 

[pilgrim]

Vitamins inspire folklore, and the Bs are no exception. They have been promoted and debunked as treatments for heart disease, menopause, and transplant shock in plants, among other things.

I don't care for bananas, and haven't eaten any in years. Bugs love me.

 

[funkyfreddy]

things that repel bugs........

1. wear garlic around your neck
2. cover your body with mud before traveling in the backcountry
3. sacrifice a goat or other large mammal to the mountain Gods before a hike
4. wear a head dress made up of large colored feathers.....
5. carry fire/flame and wave it vigorously while walking
6. chain smoke while hiking
7. bring along trained bats or bluebirds and let them eat the bugs before they eat you
8. hike with your mouth open, eat all who enter
9. hike when its cold or windy

Hope this helps!

 

[hikingfish]

Isn't it bad for to load up on B vitamins? Because they are fat soluable, not water soluable like vitamin C. I don't know where I heard that, I could be making it up.

Sounds silly though, I'll stick to bug dope.

Vitamins A-D-E-K are fat soluble and have nastier side effects if you 'load up' on them. Water soluble vitamins (B-C) stil

The golden rule we saw in each of my nutrition classes is to watch quantity and vary sources of food. Loading up on a certain element should not be done without consulting an MD.

Fish

 

[marty]

1. wear garlic around your neck
2. cover your body with mud before traveling in the backcountry
3. sacrifice a goat or other large mammal to the mountain Gods before a hike
4. wear a head dress made up of large colored feathers.....
5. carry fire/flame and wave it vigorously while walking
6. chain smoke while hiking
7. bring along trained bats or bluebirds and let them eat the bugs before they eat you
8. hike with your mouth open, eat all who enter
9. hike when its cold or windy

Hope this helps!

In addition to those insightful suggestions, I am going to try the following product this spring: Sawyer Broad Spectrum. It is supposed repel black flies with the ingredient R-326 and also has DEET for other biting insects, such as mosquitos. I think Repel Black Fly Formula is supposed to be a similar product.

I will let everyone know my findings in a future thread.

Marty

 

[jjmcgo]

Funkyfreddy

I knew I should have gone to you for professional advice on how to train bats but I didn't and now I have neck sprain. They're hard to follow!

 

[chas]

Sorry folks, there's no way I'm giving up eating bananas, bring on the black flies!

Chas.

 

[doldreo]

In addition to those insightful suggestions, I am going to try the following product this spring: Sawyer Broad Spectrum. It is supposed repel black flies with the ingredient R-326 and also has DEET for other biting insects, such as mosquitos. I think Repel Black Fly Formula is supposed to be a similar product.

I will let everyone know my findings in a future thread.

Marty

I've found consuming R-326 laced with DEET in copious quantities didn't keep the biting insects at bay but masked the troublesome and painful biting and stings they cause. Brian

 

[arghman]

1. wear garlic around your neck
2. cover your body with mud before traveling in the backcountry
3. sacrifice a goat or other large mammal to the mountain Gods before a hike
4. wear a head dress made up of large colored feathers.....
5. carry fire/flame and wave it vigorously while walking
6. chain smoke while hiking
7. bring along trained bats or bluebirds and let them eat the bugs before they eat you
8. hike with your mouth open, eat all who enter
9. hike when its cold or windy

Hope this helps!

10. bring an out-of-stater with you when you go hiking to attract the bugs. (or does that sort of fall under item #3? )