[pct-l] Deet

[raeba at lycos.com (M A)]

I have an extremely bad reaction to DEET, so I don't use it. I'm always looking for other solutions. Now I just use a head net and clothing... Any other ideas are appreciated. I don't want to smell like citronella either - primarily because moisquitos seem to like it when it's applied to human flesh.


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Woods" <wpsnotebook@charter.net>
> To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Deet
> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 07:46:42 -0800
> 
> 
> I completed a maritime survival course in Alaska (I Survived in '85).
> One topic was insect repellent.
> One fact I'm sure of is that the effectiveness of Deet-based  
> repellents coincides with the percentage of deet in them. In 
> Alaska,  where mosquitos should have fuselage numbers, the only 
> truly  effective repellant is 100% deet. From personal experience, 
> don't  bother with cans, creams, sprays, with anything less than 
> 100% deet.  Typically comes in a four-ounce bottle. Yes, this is 
> the stuff that  dissolves plastic, and has a really nasty odor. 
> However it does last  and is also effective against ticks, and, to 
> lesser extent, deer and  black flies if I remember correctly. As 
> I'm sure you all know, it has  to be used carefully, and has some 
> significant downsides. Also the  usual disclaimer applies: what 
> works for me might not work for you  and verse-vice-a.
> 
> Last summer, my very unscientific personal comparison test of two  
> types of repellents ended voluntarily by the end of the first day 
> on  the trail. I compared the effectiveness, for me, in the local  
> conditions, and at that level of exertion for me, of 100% deet and  
> Cutter Advanced (Picaridin) lotion. First I tried this new 
> Picaridin- based lotion. Seemed to be effective for about an hour, 
> except that  it came off wherever I was sweating/chafing. However, 
> by the end of  the day, I was moving faster than I wanted to, just 
> to stay ahead of  the clouds of mosquitos in pursuit of my warm, 
> sweaty, CO2-producing  carcass. They caught up with me just in time 
> for dinner, and I  relented and slapped on some 100% deet so I 
> could finish dinner and  retreat into my tent. I gave away the 
> Picaridin lotion to a SoBo  section hiker who had forgotten his at 
> home. A little protection is  better than nothing.
> 
> 
> On Feb 7, 2006, at 11:29 PM, pct-l-request@mailman.backcountry.net  wrote:
> 
> > I'd like to know what type of Deet of special formula they were  using in the
> > "Grizzly Man" film.  The bush pilot never even flinched, but I was  swatting
> > them away in my living room!  Maybe that's what drove Treadwell mad.
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