View Full Version : Looking for Best Bug Juice Recommendations
I seem to be the best tasting thing to mosquitos and biting flies... while I can use any juice here at home I was wondering if anyone one who has the same issue as me wants to share their preference for the back woods sprays...
mtnkngxt
08-26-2008, 08:39
Try DEET itll kill the little buggers
DEET as in brand and not just a product with XX% of DEET in it? Thanks
BEN'S 30% deet is effective for several hours or more at a time per light application.
Works on most all biting insects, comes in a 1.25 oz. orange non pressurized spray bottle.
google search it.
Blissful
08-26-2008, 09:38
By the time I got to MA it was Bens 100% DEET. The mosquitoes are ferocious.
Thanks... I appreciate the help. Since I am starting my attempt fairly early next year (22 FEB) I hope to not have too much a issue during the first month or so.
By the time I got to MA it was Bens 100% DEET. The mosquitoes are ferocious.
Yeah, I have a bottle of the 100 too for the blackfly/mosguito season here,
the months of May through July come to mind.;)
Nearly Normal
08-26-2008, 09:54
Asafetida
Use 100% DEET, but remember it is a REPELLANT, not a "bugacide". You don't have to put it all directly on the skin. Use it on your socks, waistband, cap, shirt sleeves, etc. Sometimes you have no choice but to apply directly on skin, but try to minimize this. Some people are concerned about health effects of long-term overexposure.
leeki pole
08-26-2008, 10:04
.....garlic.... it works along with DEET.....
Valentine
08-26-2008, 10:33
Permetherin applied to socks or hat. Actually kills them.
Also don't underestimate lightweight long sleeves and pants in the evening.
gosh I hope there aren't any long term affects but if there are I will let you all know. I use bug spray darn near daily as I live on a lake and enjoy being outside so much. Just part of my routine. Sincerely apprecaite all the advise for my upcoming attempt.
mister krabs
08-26-2008, 11:14
I use the OFF 100% in a one ounce bottle, it's convenient and effective.
http://images.grainger.com/images/products/4HK66.JPG
Just for giggles, try going out in the bugs without any soap, shampoo, deodorant, laundry soap, fabric softener odors. Might be something simple like changing shampoo.
For Clothing http://www.rei.com/product/734901
On Skin http://www.rei.com/product/771806
Permanone. From Walmart. Expensive, but it works!
Blissful
08-26-2008, 12:46
Thanks... I appreciate the help. Since I am starting my attempt fairly early next year (22 FEB) I hope to not have too much a issue during the first month or so.
That early you won't have an issue for several months, actually. Maybe not 'til PA and NY, mainly for tick protection. The mosquitoes start up in CT and end in mid VT, at least for us. You can get gnats early, but they are mainly an annoyance and you don't need the heavy stuff.
The Solemates
08-26-2008, 12:48
dont need bug spray on the AT
when I have needed it such as in Alaska or in Deep South swamps, I use 100% DEET on the skin and permethrin on the clothes.
smokymtnsteve
08-26-2008, 15:29
ben's 100% deet
max patch
08-26-2008, 16:47
100% deet. When you get to MA you'll be glad you got it.
trouthunter
08-27-2008, 15:42
Best repellent I have found is either Ultrathon or Sawyers, both are micro-encapsulated (time released) and will last 8 to 10 hrs. effectively. They are both great for mosquitos,flies, and no see ums.
For hiking in areas that are really bad or for longer trips, soak your trail clothes (not base layer or underwear) in Permethrin and let dry. This treatment will last through several washes and will keep you from having to put so much Deet on your skin.
Permethrin both repels and kills mosquitos, flies, fleas, chiggers, ticks, and no see ums.
For best protection in really bad areas wear long sleeves and pants.
For additional protection you can spray your boots with Raid roach spray, it will repel and kill most of the above, but beware it contains petroleum distillates and is not good for expensive full grain leathers.
Also tucking your pants legs in your socks will prevent ticks and chiggers from crawling up your legs, and will keep them outside on your pants in contact with the Permethrin if you have treated your clothes. Looks stupid, but works real good!
You can also wash exposed areas twice a day with Dawn dish liquid to get rid of the oils from Poison Ivy, left in contact with your skin you will only be able to treat the blisters and then it's too late.
DEET will surely work but if U would like other recommendations that I've had success with try lemon eucalyptus(sold at REI and Sports Authority, etc.) or Don't Bite Me transdermal patches. The patches work by masking the emissions of carbon dioxide and ammonia (what skeeters R attracted to) by using a B vitamin and aloe vera. Both alternatives work and the patches last 36 hrs.!
By the way, 100% DEET has show to be no more effective than 25-30 % DEET!!! 100% DEET should go further in applications because U need less to be effective but most people seem to think it will somehow be more effective if they slather on more.
i second ultrathon! i think it was developed by the military? works well for me! good luck!
Bare Bear
08-29-2008, 23:20
I hike in Florida..in swamps...............BEN's 100% DEET. It lasts better and the 40% stuff was laughable in NJ and NY which have way more mosquitos than Fl. Truth.
I hike in Florida..in swamps...............BEN's 100% DEET. It lasts better and the 40% stuff was laughable in NJ and NY which have way more mosquitos than Fl. Truth.
Whether you're in FL, ME or anywhere in between, when the bugs are swarming on you, the Bens 100 keeps em off for 6-8 hrs per thin application.
Each state probably has its own time period when this feeding frenzy is going on. When the bugs are not swarming but still willing to bite, the 30% formular is adequate for several hours per thin application.
I had mosquitos biting me through my polypro shirt summer, sprayed the shirt too. They were very thirsty for blood :rolleyes:
gosh I hope there aren't any long term affects but if there are I will let you all know. I use bug spray darn near daily as I live on a lake and enjoy being outside so much. Just part of my routine. Sincerely apprecaite all the advise for my upcoming attempt.
My two acres front a 70 acre salt marsh. There are no mosquitoes more vicious than salt marsh mosquitoes. At home I spray the back of my tee shirts with 30 percent deet. On the rest of me I use liquid 100 percent DEET. On the trail I use just the liquid because I don't like to breathe the spray and it's just too heavy.
It's worked for me for 50 years or so without any noticeable damage, so I plan to continue. Just keep it off plastic eyeglass lenses. DEET is a solvent. I destroyed my reading glasses while walking north from Springer.
By the time I reached the AMC huts, a "tourist" felt sorry for me and donated his "drug store" reading glasses to the cause.
Scientists for years couldn't figure out how DEET works. Only that it did. Some thought DEET blocked the odor of humans, so the bugs didn't know you were there.
Recently I read that a scientist had figured out that bugs really find the odor repugnant and thus stay away. Bugs, however, mostly smell through their legs. So they land on you and then fly away. That means you have to put a thin layer on all exposed skin. It doesn't take much. I rub a couple of drops on the palm of my hands and smear it on all available skin.
A two ounce bottle tends to last me all summer.
Weary
Bare Bear
09-08-2008, 23:40
My favorite method is to take my sister with me, she is a fair skinned red head and there is something that attracts every bug to her rather than others. I've seen it in action many times, great for everyone but my sis.
By the way, 100% DEET has show to be no more effective than 25-30 % DEET!!! 100% DEET should go further in applications because U need less to be effective but most people seem to think it will somehow be more effective if they slather on more.
I'd have to disagree. Skeeters love me, no one else around me will get bitten but I'll be slapping them away. One dive trip in Belize it was absolutely terrible at the beach bar, even my bro who rarely has a problem, was swatting all night long and we were using 35% deet. We met a couple with a bottle of 100% - they gave me an extra they were carrying - whew, finally I got some relief. Granted not a scientific survey but for me it's what works.
Of course for all the rest of the '09ers, just stick with me and you won't have a bug problem! :D
take-a-knee
09-10-2008, 10:20
i second ultrathon! i think it was developed by the military? works well for me! good luck!
It has worked for me in Central and South America and the Caribbean. As suggested earlier use permethrin on your clothing and keep as much skin as possible covered, IE have a floppy (Boonie type) hat and a small headnet always available. Long sleeves are a must. Use sulpher for ticks and other arachnids.
phillycheze
10-30-2008, 10:58
btw- DEET is a first cousin of DDT. "things that make u go hmm."
btw- DEET is a first cousin of DDT. "things that make u go hmm."
As near as I can tell, DEET is harmless to humans above the age of toddlers and infants. At least, I've yet to see credible evidence of harm. Consumers Report, which tends to find some harm in most everything, says it is harmless "when used as directed."
Weary
Bare Bear
11-25-2008, 21:51
I strongly felt that 100% was the only effective method. I sprayed my ball cap every few hours. NJ had the worst and that is coming from a Florida boy. No mosquitos like up north (NJ, NY)