Insect Repellents..."DEET vs. The World"

[daxs]

I tried the Cutters Advanced with picardin and still was attacked by insects. I am back to DEET based products.

 

[The Feathered Hat]

Here's a link to some stuff from New Zealand that's 25% Picaridin:

http://www.skintechnology.co.nz/prod_1_site.html

(Prices are in NZ dollars. One NZ dollar = $0.50 US, approx.)

A friend who just returned from an extended backpack on NZ's South Island swears by this stuff. I've ordered a tube of the cream to try out -- well, I think I did, anyway. Parts of the website are under construction, including "My cart."

 

[The Feathered Hat]

Just a follow-up note... I've used the picardin-containing repellent I bought over the winter from Skin Technology in New Zealand (referenced above) for a couple of weeks now, and it has very effectively kept away mosquitoes and black flies, at least from me it has.

Caveat: mosquitoes have never seemed to have liked me as much as they like some other people. (Must be my acerbic personality!) Still, I will get bit when not wearing any repellent. The Skin Technology product has put a stop to that, though. Black flies will hover in my face and occasionally bite as they will to most hikers in our region, but this repellent has kept them away as well. I'm sold on it.

I bought both the cream and the spray and have used only the cream so far.

 

[DiamondRidge]

Still a DEET girl myself, but when the girls were little (like, hands in the mouth little), I used to use a product that was made locally in Keene NH... I think it was called Crocodile... It worked pretty well to keep them bug free when out in the yard or at the park, but, when in the woods now, we're all about the DEET...

 

[BlackBuffalo]

Good thread, great research!!

Several years with Deets based products. I keep it in a ziplock bag in a compartment in the pack. No holes yet.

Only on a day when bugs are biting, I guess I let a few through before I apply to my cap bill and top, fore arms and legs.

Since I sweat off it's effective qualities, I may sometimes apply again.

I look forward to showering it off at the end of the day.
Can't say I'd switch to anything else soon.
DaveG.

 

[billski]

While I use chemicals when the going gets real bad, Backpacker had an article which summed up some things we can all do to change our behavior and minimize the problem:

Blackflies breed in clear running water
Mosquitoes breed in still standing water

Blackflies bite during the day only, peaking mid morning and at dusk and onset of storms.
Mosquitoes bite late afternoon, dusk and night

Blackflies target the edges of clothes and head just beneath the headband.
Mosquitos target flesh everywhere.

Black flies aer attracted to Dark colors (one defense is to wear dark pants)
Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide, body heat, lactic acid and movement.
Mosquitoes and Blackfiles are less attracted to light colors

Blackflies are inactive generally below 50F
Mosquitoes function best around 80F, become lethargic around 60F and inoperative below 50F

If a blackfly is trapped in an enclosure, it concentates entirely on escape, won't bother to bite, and spend the rest of its days crawing on the screeen or window.
Mosquitoes can detect you from 65 to 115 feet away.


Things that old-timers say work(and I have tried them all, having some success depending on contitions):
Avoid scented stuff (soaps, hair sprays and deodorants)
Camp near moving water While Backpacker says to avoid any water, the old timers say that since blackflies don't bite at night, but mosquitos don't breed in moving water and moving water tends to create constant air movement, you are better off.
Blackflies and mosquitoes prefer overcast. Seek out sunny spaces.
Make a small fire and put green pine needles on it. This particular smoke is unattractive to the biters.

One thing I try to do before putting chemicals on my skin is to put the chemicals on my clothing first, especially a hat brim.

I hit the sack early when camping. Mostly because I'm exhausted, but also because I'm just a bug feeding target after dark when camping out of doors.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

IMO, blackflies and deer flies are the main villians. Most nights, the Adirondacks seem to be a bit cool for mosquitoes to be a problem. With any of the bugs, starting early in the morning is the most effective deterent. I typically try to hike repellent-free, and easily do so at least 50% of the time, even during peak blackfly season. Make sure you don't spray any other repellent near food. My wife accidentally sprayed DEET on my sandwich one day, and it's something I'd never like to ever experience again.

DEER FLIES:
I have found nothing to be effective against deer flies, other than a well-placed swat and roll. I've found if you just swat them, their bodies flatten, and they'll be circling your head again seconds later. I've tried wearing feathers, ferns, hemlock branches, etc. on my head, and it does seem to deter them from biting. However, I don't know what's worse... the biting or the circling hum.

BLACKFLIES:
If the blackflies become a nuisance (about 30% of the time), I'll either keep moving (I've found anything above 1 mph ususally deters biting) or, if standing around, apply some Bye Bye Blackfly.

If the blackflies are swarming, I'll first apply 100% DEET to my cotton baseball hat, shirt sleeves, top of socks, and pants waistline. If they are undetered, I'll applly 100% DEET to elbows, ears, back of neck, and temples. Only on a couple of occassions have I needed to cover all exposed skin. I've used 100% DEET for years, and have not had any issues with it dissolving any plastics other than the sandwhich bag I keep it in that I replace each year. Even at the end of the year, the bag is still waterproof, it just looks opaque.

One day, many years back, they were so bad that I put on my raincoat w/ hood even though it was about 85*F. They were bouncing off so frequently that it sounded like rain. We knew we were in trouble when we brought out the DEET, and they attacked the bottle. Whenever my hiking partner touched a tree, I could see them leaving their perches en masse. When we got back to the trailhead, I noticed my socks were soaked with blood. I had scars around my sock-line for the next 6-8 months.

BTW... the next time you are being attacked... try to remember that bugs are supreme touron deflectors, and thus, are the under-appreciated saviors of the backcountry.

 

[TCD]

This thread and links are great info. WWBF, there's info here on R-326, which does work to some extent to repel deer flies (it's in Sawyer's Broad Spectrum, which I use in deer fly season). What I usually do with deer flies is the "wait and smush." It takes them a little while to burrow through your hair. So when I feel them landing on my hair, I wait a bit, until the fly is well entangled on its journey toward my scalp. Then I can smush the fly in my hair. This worked well on the NP in 06, once I go the timing down. I killed dozens of deer flies, and only got a couple bites.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

That would seem to work, but only if you have hair.

 

[billski]

I kinda like the fly tape....

Yes, it's real and yes, it's for sale!

 

[Jason Berard]

I haven't gone back to read the entire thread, but just something to note about DEET and percentages....the percentage doesn't affect the efficacy, just the length of time that the product will work.
http://www.dermadoctor.com/article_DEET-Bug-Sprays_245.html