Whats the best insect repellent

Rumble said:

"Most women do wear perfume or some sort of beauty product (hairspray, make-up, cleansers, smelly soaps, etc)."

As a point of clarification, neither of us were wearing any unnecessary scents whatsoever--we were using unscented soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc.

I'm very sensitive to scents--they make my throat close up and burn, and make me nauseous. Further, both of our jobs require us to be completely free of artificial scents. She was a field biologist who couldn't wear scents due to animal tracking needs. Now she's a medical doctor who can't wear any scents because many patients have sensitivities. I'm a nature photographer, who can't wear any scents due to animal stalking for wildlife photography.

"women smell better in general...I tend to see women get bitten more than men."

Yes, women do smell better than men, and taste better, too. That's not just my bias from a man's perspective, either. You can see this plainly in the way that any wild animal reacts to human scents; you can even see it in the sniffing behavior of domestic cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits, parrots, etc.
 
Hi guys & girls,

We're blessed with a beautifull teenage daughter who however seems to be a feeding platform for musquitos, if there's one mosquito and 10 people my daughter will get bitten :(.
She's also allergic to them, nothing threatening but when bitten she will have at lest 3-4 days itchy discomfort from the bite spots.

We have used deet and it works but what also works very good is taken 2- 3 Vitamine B tablets a day and whenever she starts doing this a day or two before the holidays and keeps this up during the holidays she won't get bitten :)
Vitamine B is also present in yeast.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
 
I use the lower concentration of DEET and just reapply as necessary. I like the sprays, since they are a little more versatile than lotion. I can spray the lower edge of my pants or top of my socks if wearing shorts, or apply by hand to face.

There is usually a difference in the number of mosquitos in the areas where I go, with the high, breezy, sunny ridges nice and bug-free, but the shady lower areas worse. Although sometimes I catch a major emergence by standing water, and they are miserable everywhere. I can recall a few times when I was breathing bugs in...:barf: Also, the deer flies and no-see-ums seem to go everywhere.

Bagheera, what concentration of Vitamin B does your daughter take? I am interested in these alternatives. If I experiment, I will as usual bring the Off as a backup!
 
There's no great solution for those of us that the bugs love to torture. DEET is the most effective, according to scientific tests. but it will melt most artificial fibres and i am reluctant to use it. Citronella does work for me when applied directly - for about 15 minutes. I've tried the old "Indian" prescription of wood smoke. I've tried garlic, vitamin B and herbal concoctions of every variety. Nothing seems to work, although I'm not sure if at a certain point of dirt and smoke the bugs stop biting or you stop caring.
Most folks use clothing and netting in the tundra. It's the one thing I hate about the woods aqnd tundra, and why I like to go further north or way south where there ain't none :)
I guess your best bet is DEET.
 
Hi Tarsier,

The Vitamine B that she takes (2-4 tablets at breakfast) is a kind of Vitamine B-complex consisting of:

Vitamin B1 25 mg
Vitamin B2 25 mg
Vitamin B3 25 mg
Vitamin B5 25 mg
Vitamin B6 25 mg
Vitamin B12 25 mcg
Biotine 25 mcg
Foliumacid 25 mcg
Choline 25 mg
inositol 25 mg

per tablet.

It works for her and she's quiet happy with it.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
PABA 25 mg
 
Deet is the way to go however, I don't like repellents with a high Deet concentration. Don't like that oily residue on my skin. I have found Sawyer Controlled Release Deet Formula (20%) to be very effective. Its a lotion that is easily absorbed by the skin with no oily residue.
 
Smoking a cigar will help keep them away. Used to wear long sleeve shirt and smoke cigar while running trot lines at night in Louisiana. It was a good combo. Trouble is when you stop, they come right back in.
 
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