I've read that park rangers sometimes wear pantyhose as an underlayer to keep ticks from biting their legs. Well that got me wondering if they would work for mosquitoes and biting flies too. If so, I was thinking you could cut off the leg sections and wear them on your arms as a makeshift mosquito shirt. Do you think it would work or is the material not tightly woven enough?

When you read that park rangers wear pantyhose under layers to stop ticks (protection against Lymes Disease) did it indicate what kind of material the pantyhose were made from. Were they made from Nylon or Silk. This disease can have very serious medical consequences for those who then develop chronic Lymes disease.

Because ticks are non flying insects unlike mosquitoes and midges I think that the park rangers were using the pantyhose layer as a fabric barrier against the ticks to protect the lower body. In areas where there might be ticks a similar form of protection would be to wear full length trousers made from a very tight weave cotton called Ventile and then use a very old fashioned ankle protection called puttees. Ankle Gaiters can also be used but would probably be not as effective.

I don't think that wearing pantyhose cut offs on the arms would give similar protection against mosquitoes and other flying biting insects. Again I would use a Ventile shirt with full length arms, headnet etc and the most appropriate insect repellent. I find the natural tea tree oil or citronella based repellents work quite well rather than Deet based repellents, which give you brain damage.

I don't know about ticks and other bugs but we used to wear pantyhose on my buoy tender (deck crew) in order to stay warm during the winter.

Panty hose: $1.50
The look on my wife's face when I asked her for some: PRICELESS

What size did you ask her to buy LOL

Hmm, when thinking about this, do you reckon some of the park rangers could be wearing stockings and suspenders as well. They would probaly be just as effective and allow the call of nature to be made a lot easier. Maybe this explains the Canadian Lumberjack song

I wasn't about to get technical

Pantyhose are nylon. The support kind are usually thicker, if that makes a difference to anyone.

They're actually quite useful for a lot of things:
Another layer to trap body heat
Filtering water
Tying things
Bank robbery disguises
Straining paint, etc
Use w/ wire coathangers to make kids butterfly wings
Cover clothes dryer vents to catch debris

Talk about multipurpose!

Sue

I've heard of several people in swampy areas (canoeists, soldiers, etc) wearing pantyhose as a base layer to help keep leeches off. Would probably help for ticks, I would guess.

Speaking of which, a friend of mine found two on him, not one day after reading that thread about the ticks here on this forum. They are indeed thick this year!

J

Ticks, maybe. Mosquitoes? I highly doubt it!!

I went on a trip up to the Sierra Nevadas about a decade ago (the Rae Lakes Loops). The mosquitoes there were biting through long sleeve flannel shirts. Apparently deet wasn't a big deterrent either.

Do they have to shave thier legs to make that work? I've got wookie legs and the thought of having to shave them boggles my mind.

"Do they have to shave thier legs to make that work? I've got wookie legs and the thought of having to shave them boggles my mind."

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if hairy legs turned out to be an asset when wearing pantyhose for tick protection. The hair might hold the pantyhose out from direct contact with the skin, thus making it even more impossible for the ticks to get to your skin.

WARNING: I would suggest that if you are indeed wearing pantyhose for tick or leech protection, that you don't overimbibe your favorite alcoholic beverage to the point where you might be arrested and jailed.

Sue

...or have an accident and end up in the hospital having your clothes cut away in the E/R...

I would think that nylons would be a relatively effective barrier against ticks at point of contact, but if the tick migrates to a spot not so covered he will burrow in there instead. Ticks have to kinda gnaw their way into ya, and it can take them a bit of time. Most flies are the same, though my experience is a big horse fly might be able to get through nylon armor with those mandibles of his. Fleas likewise ought to be able to chew their way through nylon, but they get into other places too easy to consider the deterence factor nylons would have on them. Mosquitoes and sandflies have a hypodermic extension that allows them to penetrate the weave if it isn't too thick, so nylons probably aren't going to do a darned thing for them. I find a combination of deet and a pre-emptive dosing of B-complex to be most effective on most biting insects like these.

Mosquitoes can make it through flannel, but not flannel and thermals. I don't think nylons have enough loft to separate the outer layer from your skin far enough.

For less than $100 you can build an ultrasonic sweeper that will drive most all biting insects far away. Nothing like 80 db at 19 to 35 Khz to really knock the skeeters outta the air. Of course, you're not gonna see much game using that device either, but at least you can enjoy the woods relatively bite free with it.

"Of course, you're not gonna see much game using that device either, but at least you can enjoy the woods relatively bite free with it."

So, it will keep bears away? How heavy is it? Got plans?

Sue

I'm not sure what the frequency range is for ursual hearing, but at that level, you can be sure they will know you are there. If it is operating in their hearing sweet spot, they will not like it much. Animals tend to avoid things that screw up their senses, and for a dog this would be about all they could hear within about 50 feet. Might be a bit painful on those auditory organs, too.

Tain't heavy, maybe a pound or less with batteries. Less if you use them lithiums. Won't last forever, though.

Interesting. A company produces something along those lines (using acoustics) to kill mosquito larve in water.

http://www.larvasonic.com/

Yep.

Also for people who wade out to catch crabs with a handline and net, pantyhose are a good protection from jellyfish stinger nettles.

Tom A.