Random Thought Thread

carnifex knifeworks said:
If you don't want to deal with ticks, get some Permethrin. You can wash clothes in it, such as hiking pants, socks, etc.

You can even use it on bandanas and dog collars for the pooches. Repels mosquitoes too.

I used to tie a permethin bandana around my long sleeve when camping to keep mosquitoes away. Works great.

When in tick country, I'll treat my hiking pants with it. I've never seen a tick since.
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I have had very little luck with Permethrin on clothing/bandanas for skeeters. I hate wearing Deet, but it is about the only thing that works at my cabin and woods (even though black fly’s seem to like the taste). I still wear the Permethrin on clothing, but more out of habit. Some days doing chores I just wear head net or netted shirt/head-net. The mosquito magnets (2) we have by the cabin catch thousands of the skeeters and I generally have to empty/change the nets weekly.
 
beeinak said:
I have had very little luck with Permethrin on clothing/bandanas for skeeters. I hate wearing Deet, but it is about the only thing that works at my cabin and woods (even though black fly’s seem to like the taste). I still wear the Permethrin on clothing, but more out of habit. Some days doing chores I just wear head net or netted shirt/head-net. The mosquito magnets (2) we have by the cabin catch thousands of the skeeters and I generally have to empty/change the nets weekly.
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I was fortunate to spend a couple weeks exploring all around southern/central Alaska. It is such an incredible place. I gave serious thought to moving there but I don’t think I could deal with the mosquitos and the lack of daylight in the winter. Those damn mosquitos will pick you up and carry you away. I’ve never seen anything like it.
 
beeinak said:
I have had very little luck with Permethrin on clothing/bandanas for skeeters. I hate wearing Deet, but it is about the only thing that works at my cabin and woods (even though black fly’s seem to like the taste). I still wear the Permethrin on clothing, but more out of habit. Some days doing chores I just wear head net or netted shirt/head-net. The mosquito magnets (2) we have by the cabin catch thousands of the skeeters and I generally have to empty/change the nets weekly.
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Haven’t dealt with Alaskan skeeters, but over here, Permethrin treated clothing really only stops them from landing in the treated clothing and biting through it. It doesn’t generally do anything to stop them landing on bare skin.

Fortunately, Natrapel/picaridin seems to work fine on the skeeters down here. I prefer not to use DEET unless absolutely necessary, as it eats some plastics.

The other thing that works on the skeeters here, if it isn’t too windy, is a Thermacell.

Speaking of Permethrin and Thermacells;
- I treat clothing (pants, shirts, socks, boots) with it, to keep ticks off, and also treat the tent and backpack with it (set the tent up in the backyard, check condition. Seam sealer if needed. Then spray the tent walls, floors, rain fly, and no-see-um mesh with Permethrin and leave it to dry before packing up the tent and backpack. No bugs will crawl or land on them.

- I also use the Thermacell to keep mosquitoes/bugs at bay while chilling in the evenings, then to prevent mosquitoes getting inside the tent, place the Thermacell near the entrance for a minute or two before entering.

It stops mosquitoes from following you into the tent when you turn in for the night (sucks to hear them buzzing inside the tent, knowing you’ll probably be eaten alive while sleeping).

The Thermacell can also be used to KILL mosquitoes that have gotten into the tent. The active ingredient in Thermacells is Allethrin. Same pesticide family as Permethrin (Pyrethroid class). Mosquitoes and bugs will avoid it, but if they cannot avoid it, it kills them.

If mosquitoes have gotten into the tent, you can fire up the Thermacell, place it in the tent and zip it closed and hotbox the tent for 5-15 minutes, then take a deep breath, enter the tent, remove the Thermacell, and open up the tent (leaving the no-see-um mesh closed) to air out for a few minutes. It will kill any bugs:mosquitoes that got in.

There have been cases of West Nile virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis here in MI, both mosquito-borne ☹️
 
beeinak said:
I have had very little luck with Permethrin on clothing/bandanas for skeeters. I hate wearing Deet, but it is about the only thing that works at my cabin and woods (even though black fly’s seem to like the taste). I still wear the Permethrin on clothing, but more out of habit. Some days doing chores I just wear head net or netted shirt/head-net. The mosquito magnets (2) we have by the cabin catch thousands of the skeeters and I generally have to empty/change the nets weekly.
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Look into a bat box. Skeeter population should go down if you install one properly.
 
in '03 I worked on the trail crew up at the ski resort on the island here, living in my van. I had this lemon soap/shampoo and spray- naturally derived stuff- which worked really well. All sorts of black flies and mosquitos up there were just not that into me.
 
If I remember correctly, years ago we used to think that Dr. Bronner's peppermint Castile soap (or something akin to it) was useful in keeping the nasty biters away...and was also useful for everything from brushing teeth to washing hair. Pretty sure we used it out in the Rockies while out for several weeks.
 
My father in law would take garlic pills when he was in the jungles of South America and he said it worked for him. He said you could watch the mosquitos come in hover and leave. I remember many a nights at Ft Bragg with mosquitos everywhere. I would have dove into diesel fuel to get rid of them. We would soak ourselves in deet and it would help some.
 
abraves said:
My father in law would take garlic pills when he was in the jungles of South America and he said it worked for him. He said you could watch the mosquitos come in hover and leave. I remember many a nights at Ft Bragg with mosquitos everywhere. I would have dove into diesel fuel to get rid of them. We would soak ourselves in deet and it would help some.
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I've heard garlic pills work well
 
Meh, wife and I always pull a few ticks off each other every year. We just kinda comb through each others’ hair before we jump in the shower to find any hitch hikers.

I don’t worry so much about the ticks and skeeters as I do the chiggers. Chiggers are WAY worse than any tick or skeeter bites down here.
 
91bravo said:
Meh, wife and I always pull a few ticks off each other every year. We just kinda comb through each others’ hair before we jump in the shower to find any hitch hikers.

I don’t worry so much about the ticks and skeeters as I do the chiggers. Chiggers are WAY worse than any tick or skeeter bites down here.
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It's more the pathogens carried by the ticks that are a concern. Admittedly, I don't know if chiggers carry/transmit anything.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
It's more the pathogens carried by the ticks that are a concern. Admittedly, I don't know if chiggers carry/transmit anything.
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Well, we get one or two every year. We always pull em off before they get fat and swollen though. Most of the time, they have just hitched on. Knock on wood, they have only been the Wood tick and not deer ticks.
 
Man, chiggers are the worst - make you itch so bad you'll consider skivving off the top layer of your skin. The only cure I've found for them is to scratch the affected area (usually the lower legs), then liberally wipe down with nail polish remover with a high acetone content. The acetone kills the bugs, probably kills some nerve endings, and has a nice, soothing, cooling effect once the burning stops.

As for skeeters, the worst I have ever encountered were on a canoe trip in Manitoba in July. The suckers were the size of a nickel and hunted in swarms. They drilled right through two layers of fishing shirts and purportedly mosquito-repellent spandex under shirts. Deet didn't seem to have any effect on them. Luckily, I found one solution that at least meted out some retribution:

 
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KnifeVice said:
I was fortunate to spend a couple weeks exploring all around southern/central Alaska. It is such an incredible place. I gave serious thought to moving there but I don’t think I could deal with the mosquitos and the lack of daylight in the winter. Those damn mosquitos will pick you up and carry you away. I’ve never seen anything like it.
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It is a beautiful place indeed. The darkness is not bad once snow is on the ground as it lightens things up some. An Elder from Barrow who I know brings his family to Anchorage several times during the winter to see the sun as it goes down for 65 days in winter.
 
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