Insect Repellents

[scaredycat]

So you go to the woods and enjoy the camping experience ---but what about the bugs? Will ordinary insect repellents be enough to not make the bugs want to bite? Which one is the best brand?

[Ilovelife]

I like skin so soft bug spray and sunscreen in one. It really does work but it is an natural product so you don't have to worry about chemicals that might be bad for you. One brand I hate is OFF. I won't use it if there is something else available.

[PoisonIvy]

Anything that has DEET spells BAD NEWS for me. So, to be safe, go with ones with natural oils from citronella and lemon grass, etc.

[primitivesite]

I am a big proponent of natural solutions. But, I haven't found one that works very well for mosquitos. I've tried many kinds, both storebought and home made. But nothing works like the dreaded DEET unfortunately. If you have a specific recepie that works for you and other forum members can validate that it worked for them too I would really like to hear about it.

[oldmangunner]

I often have to get a brand from a store that does not have a natural alternative. But I agree that OFF is one brand that I always try to stay away from. OFF bug spray is a money trap compared to other brands.

[lbean]

I like the natural brands but I am another person terrified in to the mind set that we must have DEET. What I am wondering is, is it really necessary to have a bug repellent with DEET in it?

[staime]

At first I was thinking this was in regards to around the house and I was going to say that I have a cat, but thats useless now.

For natural brands though I have yet to find anything that works that good, most tend to only work for part of the time and reapplying seems to be the biggest issue. Maybe I am using the wrong brands?

[abrisendine]

I have read on a few sites that rubbing dryer sheets on your skin will act as a repellent, as long as your manliness can stand all of the flowery perfumes. Also, Listerine in a spray bottle seems to be mentioned here and there. Has anyone tried these, and if so, yay or nay?

[Refrigerator]

I currently use Natrapel with a low dose of DEET. (Using DEET especially full strength can delaminate Gore Tex and other laminated fabrics) I have tried a few Natural 100 percent repellents and had problems not working as well as DEET. I do know there is a study out now about Citronella. An abstract from a flower, sweet and attracts Bears, especially Black bears..they like the smell of Citronella Flowers.
I am always looking for that natural repellent as I nuke myself with DEET.

[Jade]

The best repellent I've found is one you make for yourself and drink.

It goes back to when Britain was fighting in India, back in the 1860's... the enlisted men were falling victim to malaria, the officers were not. Someone decided to look into why, for some reason, back in the 1970's, and actually found the answer.

The officers were in the habit of quaffing a gin'n'tonic with a citrus twist, once a day at tea, the enlisted men were not. It was the one big difference that no one gave any thought to: it was the drink that was keeping the officers unbitten.

"Real" tonic water is flavored with quinidine; the malaria drug used to treat the illness is quinine. Both are sourced from the bark of a tree, one is derived from the other. That bite that tonic has is from this ingredient, ergo why it has to be "real" tonic water and not artificially flavored.

I haven't encountered to many of anything that cares for juniper, and that's what gin is made from.

We all know citronella candles and lemon smells are a deterrent to the flying nuisances.

So it was an experiment: I don't like gin'n'tonic, but for the sake of the experiment, I agreed to drink one a day, before dinner, and my partner didn't drink any at all.

He was bug fodder, I was unscathed.

Something in that combination does something to the "scent" and "taste" of our blood, and the mosquitoes and other flying pests do NOT like it.

They do, however, really like folks that eat bananas.