Skeeters and Citronella

[babykinz]

Originally Posted by LauderBoy

Ah yeah, wrong spelling: Thermacell

ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent

I entered the giveaway and won! I hope it works

[Pelagic]

I came across this product in Australia.

Once I stopped laughing I never could bring myself to use it.

Maybe there is someone in the “Armed Forces” who could offer an opinion?

Whack Off Insect Repellent : Random Funny Pictures | The Newest, Most Viewed, and Most Popular Funny Pictures

[vintageray]

The first time I had to sleep in the berth in a mosquito infested place, they were so bad that I propped an empty paper towel tube on my chest and used the bed sheet for a tent. Worked well, but it was a little uncomfortable and hot. I remembered reading somewhere that a breeze over 1 mph disrupts a mosquito's flight. I but a 12", 3 spd table top fan a few feet from my pillow and now sleep under a bed sheet with the fan blowing over my head and exposed parts. Works very well.

[GordMay]

Use bed nets that are rectangular in shape, impregnated with permethrin* (a pyrethroid) every six months, and tucked tightly under the mattress before dusk.

* Some commonly used insecticides
Permethrin EC
Deltamethrin SC
Deltamethrin tablet
Lambda-cyhalothrin CS
Cyfluthrin EW
Alpha-cypermethrin SC

➥ Canadian Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria Among International Travellers - Public Health Agency of Canada

➥ Canadian Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria Among International Travellers - Public Health Agency of Canada

➥ Canadian Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria Among International Travellers - Public Health Agency of Canada

➥ What is malaria? - Spread the Net

[97fxdwg]

Originally Posted by vintageray

The first time I had to sleep in the berth in a mosquito infested place, they were so bad that I propped an empty paper towel tube on my chest and used the bed sheet for a tent. Worked well, but it was a little uncomfortable and hot. I remembered reading somewhere that a breeze over 1 mph disrupts a mosquito's flight. I but a 12", 3 spd table top fan a few feet from my pillow and now sleep under a bed sheet with the fan blowing over my head and exposed parts. Works very well.

I can guarantee that 1 mph is nothing to a skeet. As a land surveyor in the Arctic, I can personally attest to, swear to, (and swear AT), that the little pains-in-the-ass can navigate in a breeze up to about 9-10 mph. At 12 we all breathe a huge sigh of relief because it means, for that time anyway, "No bugs!"

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by 97fxdwg

I can guarantee that 1 mph is nothing to a skeet. As a land surveyor in the Arctic, I can personally attest to, swear to, (and swear AT), that the little pains-in-the-ass can navigate in a breeze up to about 9-10 mph. At 12 we all breathe a huge sigh of relief because it means, for that time anyway, "No bugs!"

Down here they know how to use eddies and can tack and pinch better than any sailor I know.

[nosinglesource]

I had read somewhere that Thai lemongrass oil has a higher concentration of the active component of what is sold as citronella oil, than does the actual citronella oil. The Thai lemongrass oil is supposed to be quite effective, though I have not used it myself.

Some time ago, the US military did trials involving yarrow tincture/extract as a possible replacement for DEET. I don't know how it turned out, but much of what I read up on yarrow tincture points at it as a pretty good repellent.

I stopped using DEET after doing some more research on it after it ate through the plastic on my watch during an exercise in the field.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by nosinglesource

... Thai lemongrass oil has a higher concentration of the active component of what is sold as citronella oil, than does the actual citronella oil...

Oil of Citronella works primarily by masking (due to it's distnctive odour) the carbon dioxide and other chemicals given off by humans that mosquitos target.

Oil of lemon eucalyptus [active ingredient: p-menthane 3,8-diol (PMD)], a plant- based repellent, is also registered with EPA. In two recent scientific publications, when oil of lemon eucalyptus was tested against mosquitoes found in the US it provided protection similar to repellents with low concentrations of DEET.

[nosinglesource]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Oil of Citronella works primarily by masking (due to it's distnctive odour) the carbon dioxide and other chemicals given off by humans that mosquitos target.

Oil of lemon eucalyptus [active ingredient: p-menthane 3,8-diol (PMD)], a plant- based repellent, is also registered with EPA. In two recent scientific publications, when oil of lemon eucalyptus was tested against mosquitoes found in the US it provided protection similar to repellents with low concentrations of DEET.

Hmmmm....how 'bout neem oil? It sounds promising.. Repellent action of neem cream against mosquitoes. [Indian J Malariol. 1995] - PubMed result C'mon...cut me some slack here!

[captain58sailin]

When I first started working in West Africa there was a corporation mandate to use anti malaria medicine (still is), after reading about the health side effects of the different anti malaria medicines I consulted with some old Limeys that had been living there for 30 years and asked their opinions, to the person they all did not use anti malarials and claimed that they did not prevent malaria only masked the symptoms until you get really sick and then it took much more medication to overcome the malaria. If you are not taking the a correct anti malarial for the specific strain of malaria in the area then it will do no good as a preventative. Most of them had contracted some form of malaria in the first ten years of residence after that they did not catch it again. I have worked in west Africa for the last ten years and have not yet contracted malaria and have used no special repellents at all, I do avoid the open air until after night fall is complete or I go out during broad daylight. I do eat lots of garlic and vitamin b, and in the last year I have been forced to consume doxycyclene due to the company's frequent urine tests requiring me to have the substance in my system. In Alaska we use Cutter's to good effect, though I have to say up around Barrow, I think the mozzies must eat it, we would carry 2 bottles with us for interim protection, but they were not deterred and a 25 knot breeze would not dissuade them. Finally I quit using repellent and eventually they got used to me and didn't bite very often, the locals didn't use any kind of bug spray. I will try the lemon zest on my return to Africa.

[sck5]

I have travelled in Africa extensively for the past two decades. Pretending you wont get malaria because you havent gotten it yet is just plain insane. Malaria can be fatal. It is no joke. The locals come from a gene pool where there is some resistance to malaria. People of European descent don't. DO use a repellent. DO avoid being out at dusk when they come out of wherever they are hungry. DO use a prophylactic antimalarial. DONT pretend you cant die because people who dont take precautions can and do die from malaria.

[captain58sailin]

Well maybe that is where I am lucky, I am of American Indian descent.

[nosinglesource]

Turns out catnip, of all things, isn't such a bad go as far as repelling mosquitoes.

ISU News: Catnip Drives Cats Wild, But Drives Mosquitoes Away

Apparently I have far too much time on my hands... :-/

[GordMay]

Kamal Chauhan et al, found that “... catnip oil is significantly less effective than deet or SS220...”

See their research published in the Journal of medical entomology:
“Feeding Deterrent Effects of Catnip Oil Components Compared with Two Synthetic Amides Against Aedes Aegypti”
by Kamal Chauhan, Jerome Klun, et al


➥ BioOne Online Journals - Feeding Deterrent Effects of Catnip Oil Components Compared with Two Synthetic Amides Against Aedes aegypti

➥ ARS | Publication request: Feeding Deterrent Effects of Catnip Oil Components Compared with Two Synthetic Amides Against Aedes Aegypti.

➥ http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc...f&AD=ADA505002

“... In the present study we evaluated the repellent efficacy of the natural product catnip oil that was claimed to be ten times more effective than deet. We compared its effectiveness with two established repellents deet, and SS220, in tests using human volunteers against a mosquito that is a serious disease carrier. We found, contrary to the claim, that catnip oil is significantly less effective than deet or SS220...”

[detav007]

Finally something I can contribute to thank the members for all the info I've gotten. I'm often outdoors here in Michigan, barefoot and wandering the woods up north. I've found that Deep Woods Off is the best bet economically, there's also an Off product with something like 90% Deet from Outdoor outfitters (Bass Pro/Cabella's, but it's VERY expensive) that comes in a tiny bottle and you rub it on. I've found that the Off products work with one application and last all night long.