Effectiveness of different bug repellents

Interesting tidbits:
1. "Natural" repelents such as citronella and oil of lavender are MORE likely to cause allergic reactions and are being phased out by Canadian autorities.

2. Picaridin-based repellents work just about as well as DEET, but they do not repel ticks and actually attract gnats. Bummer.

3. For short-term exposures (less than 2 hours), soy-based and other natural product repellents work as well as DEET and don't need to be washed off upon returning indoors. This is good if your kids are just going outside for a bit after supper or other short-term exposure.

-Blast

My DEET concern is its reputation for eating GoreTex, nylon, etc. unless you are very religious about keeping it away from such things (no spray DEET, wear only natural fibers, and I guess you are not supposed to sweat) and also about washing it off any clothing.

Permethrin is supposed to be a clothes-friendly tick repellant that can be sprayed on clothes and footgear.

Picaridin-based repellents work just about as well as DEET


In my experience, this is wrong, I bought some 2-years ago and found it gave only a few min of protection. DEET is a much better product.

I have tried lots of different products as I naturally attrack mosquitos and have a more than average reaction to them. Nothing works as good as deet. Too bad it kills you.

drink more beer and add more cayenne pepper to your diet, the mosquitoes won't like you as much.

I've always used DEET based repellants and I've never had a problem with it eating clothes.

I put it on my hands first, then rub it into wherever I need protection...then wash my hands.

I also commonly wear a wool base layer even in summer which helps too I think.

Really?

In my experience, it repels black flies (bigger gnats), while DEET basically puts the dinner bell around my neck for the little monsters. And I'm allergic to them, the anticoagulin or whatever it is they inject is like poison ivy for most other people.

It also has one major advantage- it doesn't eat nylon and other plastics.

I watched an adirondack black fly do a splashdown in a puddle of deet on my arm, swim to the bottom, and bite me. I think the black flys are more closely related to wolverines than gnats.

When I was young, I was always told that if you eat a lot of garlic in your food that the bugs wouldn't bother you as much. It seems to work because I am rarely bothered by flying insects and I almost never get ticks and never (for as long as I can remember) chiggers either.
I have also heard the same things about onions.


I love both.

Haha that tends to not only repel bugs, but people too. That can be a good thing .

Some of you guys are saying deet does not repel black flies????

You likely were using a bad batch or expired deet because in all my years working in the Great Northwoods of northern NH and Maine deet has always worked very well at repelling insects of every species. They may continue to buzz around, but if they landed and stayed on any part of my body that meant there was no deet on that spot or it had worn off on bushes, or due to sweat, etc.

I know some sprays are pretty weak in percentage of deet and that could be a problem for longer term protection.

If an insect were to become covered in viable deet it would live about 1/10 of a second.

Catnip oil (Nepetalactone) is supposed to be much more effective on mosquitoes than DEET. I wonder why no one's offered it as a commercial repellent yet?

What I’ve read DEET needs to be 28% or higher to repel flies. Or it will work in lower DEET concentrations if it has R-246 & R-326 in it.

I think body chemistry plans a bigger role in all this than repellent manufacturers like to let on. DW and I will walk to the mailbox in the even and she'll end up with 6-7 bites and I won't have any. Her record was 17 and I got 1. Citronella fails completely with her and she dislikes the feel of DEET. Her repellent of choice is a thick oak door, a fuzzy comforter, the couch and a good book.

I'd use this article as a guideline for trying new stuff. It told of things I'd never heard of. So see what the experts say about the choices/concentrations and give it a shot to see if it does the same for you.

-Blast

Hi Blast,



You could always try 'Mossy Off'.

http://www.thejetrest.com/MozzyOffTrials.asp

The active ingredient is Myrica Gale (Bog Myrtle)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrica_gale

I've heard Brewers Yeast works well, consumed, not topical. But it smells from a distance, even while still in the closed container, so I've never tried it. Some of the B vitamins are said to work as well.

Eventually there will be vitamin enhanced, garlic resistant mosquitoes with a taste for onions.

but seriously, on a visit to AK a few years ago I tried orange oil and tangerine oil mixed with apricot kernel oil, a 50/50 mix of apricot to one of the other oils, and got fair results, short of a flame thrower there isn't much to stop an AK mosquito. I'm one of those who doesn't like to wear bug spray, either.

While working in a friends garden in Arkansas I got bite by mosquitoes and the bites itched so much I put neosporin on them immediately, the itch stopped and it eliminated the red bumps around the bite, as well. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use neosporin that way, but it worked for me.

Echo the thoughts on body chemistry. Bugs choose targets by scent by and large- if with deet you smell REALLY good, you'll get bit while dripping with the stuff.

Frostbite, next time, try just plain vaseline. I know oxidation plays a part in the itching, so maybe it just a matter of becoming air tight.

That sound like SUCH a good idea. Full body shell of vaseline + sparks.... Yeah, bad :P

I've had really good luck with Repel Lemon Eucalyptus:

http://www.repel.com/ProductCategories/Insectrepellents/LemonEucalyptus/

FWIW, they say:

"Oil of lemon eucalyptus, in addition to DEET and Picaridin, has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for effective protection against mosquitoes that may carry the West Nile virus."

It doesn't last as long as DEET but I find it quite effective and it doesn't have all of the negatives of DEET.

Welcome Newguy!

Lots of garlic (and maybe onions too). How is your love life?

Blast...DO NOT try the catnip oil thing...

"...Full body shell of vaseline..."

Reminds me of Burt Reynolds in Striptease...

An application technique I use is to spray a DEET product on the back of my hands then wipe/rub the back of my hands on face/neck/etc. Keeps the DEET off the fingers & palmar surfaces when I can't get to a sink to wash up.

Me too. Very effective and it won't eat up your gear.

Repel is decent, but again, not as effective as deet. It depends on what kind of environment you're going to.
Park outing: Repel is usually good (enough).
Swamp: Deet.

Hey, Blast. Has she tried the newer cornstarch-based stuff from OFF!? Their FamilyCare Smooth & Dry stuff definitely feels better once applied than normal insect repellent, and still contains 15% DEET so it is relatively effective. I don’t have extensive experience with it, as I only used it once when I had to borrow some from a friend on an outdoors trip, but it seemed to work well on that occasion.

JCWohlschlag,

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

-Blast

I have a few cans of this stuff, I bought them at Wal-Mart last year for $2.25 a can. I use it in the back yard and also leave it about when camping in a group. People always seem to forget that when you go camping you are going to encounter bugs. They ask to borrow your bug juice. I don’t loan out the $5.00 a can stuff I use, I let them use the $2.00 a can stuff.

It works in the back yard, can’t say how well it works in a bug-rich environment as I use other things that I feel do a better job.

I hate any liquid bug juice (but still use it sometimes), so please let us know how it works...

Northern Michigan gets hit hard by bugs and this stuff is great.
It smells great.
It lasts for many hours.
I have used it for years.

My wife is very sensitive to mosquito bites and ends up scratching them until they bleed when she is bit.
This product does the trick.

You can buy it at any Walgreens and other stores.

Your search is over. Test it in your part of the country and let me know.

Click Here for Information

Drink as much apple cider vinegar as you can stand mixed in a large glass of water every morning, mosquitoes and other bugs will leave you alone.

Not a repellent, but a home remedy to stop the itching from mosquito bites, recommended to me by an old pharmacist back in the 60's: take cloudy ammonia, mix 50/50 with plain water, apply to bite with cotton ball or tissue until the itching stops. Do not use on broken/bleeding skin. Usually will stop itching for several hours. Reapply as necessary. Always and still works for me. YMMV.

Thanks for the tips

I just got back from a weekend of training. One application of 3M Ultrathon Friday morning. Between 9am and 11pm I received 1 bite on my arm and 5 on the small of my back just above my belt...where I neglected to put any. I didn't think about my shirt coming up (I was on my hands and knees most of the time).

I even mixed it with cream sunscreen yesterday. I was worried one would defeat the other but I had no bites and no burns.

Take that mix, and right before application add a little baking soda. It will pretty much take care of any bite or sting. When I was a lifeguard ammonia and baking soda was my standard cure for kids stung by bees or bitten by flys. Worked well. Stopped the tears and itching quickly.