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Hello,
Now that the camping season is back I wanted to put this out to see if anyone has any alternatives to repel mosquitos without the use of deet products. Lately I've been hearing more about the negative side effects of deet and would like to venture into the use of a more natual product.
I've heard once that stuffing your pockets with rosemary works. Unfortunately being allergic to bites prevents me from being able to experiment myself.
Has anyone on this site personally tried or know of any effective natual remedies that they have tested out in the past?
Susan
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Here's a decent set of test results:
It also looks like a new chemical called "icaridin" or "picaridin" (depending on which country it is sold in) can do as well or slightly better than DEET.
You might note in that 2nd reference that a product based on Lemon Eucalyptus is almost effective enough to be useful, but you should also note the ingredients include [Approx 65% p-menthane-3,8-diol] which is a chemical formed through refining the 'natural' ingredients: The 'natural' source only contains 1-2% of that chemical so you may not consider it 'natural' after refining.
Basically if you drop below 90+% effectiveness, the product is ineffective as an insect repellent. It looks like a Picaridin/Icaridin based product might be worth trying, but there still don't appear to be any 'natural' products that come close to being effective.
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Good links Rob, thanks! I'm interested in the lemon eucalyptus. Just hope it doesn't smell like citronella oil, had to turn the car window down the whole way home once bc we smelled real bad!
Have to do more reading on the Picaridin first but it def sounds better than my sac of herbs scattered around the bench. ..Wonder if that would be considered as leaving food out in the open...does anyone know? Wouldn't want to get in trouble by the park staff if I did try.
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I bought the All Terrain Herbal Armor Insect Repellent last year. I think it works really well. I also like it because my dog can wear it too.
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I just looked at the Herbal Armor link, reviews and feedback looks good. Definitely interested. How often did you find you had to reapply?
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Chipz03 wrote:
How often did you find you had to reapply?
Hmm. I can't really remember. The mosquitoes were only out during dawn and dusk and earlier in the year I was portaging and sweating it off, so had to spray it on more frequently. It sprays on creamy so I had to rub it onto my arms and exposed areas. It's by far the best natural repellent I've used.
I will vote for Picaridin, which I use for 5 or 6 years now. It's much better for your skin than DEET and as good as DEET against skitters. No smell either. You have to reapply it every 4-5 hours (it comes only in 20% solution).
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Hi Eddy, is there a particular brand you use and where would I be able to purchase this? I'm on an experimental run right now before my first camp trip and will be bringing a few good recomendated products.
Hi Chipz03,
as far as I know it's manufactured only by Sawyer (insect repellent with picaridin) and I buy it on Amazon, though recently some outdoor stores started selling it too. Good luck on your trip.
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Nice! Bass Pro has the Sawyers, and ordered the Herbal Armor online. I'm all set. Thanks guys
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I think its Vitamin B-1 that keeps them away too. My bro took Vitamin B pills for a month before going to Asia n he said the bugs never touched him once.
Its the same concept as the Insect patches that Italo promotes.
On another note, i heard that Citronella can no longer be sold as a repellent in Canada as it in fact attracts bugs. False advertising. Kinda funny really, companies got away with it and made millions for years lol
Last edited by Craigson (5/17/2016 1:54 pm)
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Craigson wrote:
On another note, i heard that Citronella can no longer be sold as a repellent in Canada as it in fact attracts bugs. False advertising. Kinda funny really, companies got away with it and made millions for years lol
Actually it's a regulatory requirement to test repellents for consumer safety. While citronella is "natural" none of the vendors had gone through the necessary testing to prove that it was safe to use as a repellent. Here is a CBC article from 2014 with more detail:
Here's another article from 2015 saying Health Canada had relented and was once again allowing citronella to be sold as a repellent:
However, that still doesn't make citronella effective.
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I've tried those vitamin B patches and regardless of the bugs I found they left a nasty tast in my mouth and an oudour leaching out of my pores. No - it was not from the lack of deodorant lol. I won't be using them again.
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I'm with ya Craigson. I actually just started taking my vit B1 last weekend. I'm heading up in 2 weeks. I think it works awesome. Also 4-5 days prior to trip I over in dulge in garlic. Have it cooked in every meal. I also have this stuff which is real manly type. Got it from Avon lol. Can't think of the name of it, but pretty sure it's just an Avon line product. I got it for my daughters when they were younger as I wanted to steer clear of any deet products. I find it works really well as well. My 2 cents!
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there used to be a citronella- based cream that's great for blackflies called repelfly. I can't find it anymore but it was fantastic stuff for flies, not so good for mossies
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So for June trips this year I will be:
- Spraying clothes etc with Permethrin
- Applying picaridin repellent to exposed skin,
- Wearing Vit B patch
- Taking Vit B1 supplement prior to trip.
- Bringing a Thermocell and Eureka VCS bug shelter.
Fairly certain they will still be all over me.
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ShawnD wrote:
So for June trips this year I will be:
- Spraying clothes etc with Permethrin
- Applying picaridin repellent to exposed skin,
- Wearing Vit B patch
- Taking Vit B1 supplement prior to trip.
- Bringing a Thermocell and Eureka VCS bug shelter.
Fairly certain they will still be all over me.
Have you checked the risk of chemical interactions from those combinations? :-)