[pct-l] REPELLING MOSQUITOES AND TICKS

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

All these tricks are lovely, but once your hike has commenced, if you  
did not buy that stuff in advance, it's very hard to acquire. And  
just try to treat your clothing with chemicals out on the trail.  
Depending on where you are, you may not have access to a washing  
machine. If you are taken by surprise, lack resources (money or time  
to wait for mail) or just don't want the chemicals, hiking in a  
cotton T-shirt won't hurt you in the summer. Honest, it is quiet  
comfortable and it's really easy to find them in stores. Nor will a  
pink tie-dyed hippie skirt over your pants hurt you. You might get  
some odd looks if you are a guy though, so perhaps light tights will  
keep the proboscises out. Or you can do the method that some guys on  
the trail wearing shorts and t-shirts did: wipe the brow, wipe the  
neck, wipe the left arm then the right, wipe the hem of the shorts of  
one leg, then the other, wipe down one leg, then the other, repeat.  
Another guy used his PCT bandana to whip himself all over. Looked  
exhausting. Like flogging yourself on a pilgrimage.

On Feb 12, 2012, at 8:55 PM, Nathan Miller wrote:

> You could also try eating garlic...LOTS of garlic!  Mosquitoes have  
> a very narrow range of smell.  Blocking and confusing their  
> olfactory senses is the basis of repellents.  If they land on you,  
> they'll still bite you, no matter what you're wearing, but they  
> have to find you first!  With raw garlic, you also get all those  
> other great health benefits!
>
> -Nate the Trail Zombie
>