Thread: effective bug spray!!

Ok, I know this isn't beauty related, but I wasn't sure where else to ask this question....
I'm born and raised in the desert, it's too hot and dry for most bugs, no flea's, ticks, mosquito's, (although I have some serious spider and scorpion stories to tell )
I have not spent much time in humid climates where lots of bugs and mosquito's live, I'll be in Florida for a bit, then teaching a week long workshop in Barbados, and both places have some serious bugs!!! Mosquito's love me, I spent a month in Costa Rica when I was 22 and came home with 40 mosquito bites, and 8 bee stings, my travel partner had 3 bites the entire trip, WTF!!,m::

What bug spray is effective for people that bugs love to feed on??? I did everything in Costa Rica to not have a sent to my skin, no make up, lotion, perfume, hair product, I went all natural and still I was eaten alive. I don't want to spend the entire time slathering on that pink lotion, calamine I think....

Any input from those of you who have experience in this area, and have found ways of surviving the nasty humid type bugs would be great!!!

No suggestions on good bug sprays unfortunately. I just got back from visiting family in Canada and was eaten alive by black flies and deer flies. Ick and brutally itchy. :( I do have a suggestion on afterbite stuff though. They have a Japanese product here called Mopidick that works wonders! I had a student give me some when she saw my arms swelling from bites (nasty teeny flies here that are like fruit flies but pack a punch!). The stuff works miracles! I'm looking to pick up more for myself so can send along a bottle for you if you can't find it there. :)

I don't think anything works quite so well as regular deet-containing bug spray. (I'm a little wary of deet, since it's somewhat neurotoxic, but it seems to be one of those things that is an issue with constant exposure every day for a long summer, not a week here or there)

Another thing to try is taking a lot of B vitamins. They are excreted by the body slightly in sweat (mostly in urine - you'll also get "Vitamin B Pee") and that change it makes to your sweat supposedly makes you less attractive to bugs. I don't know how true that is... but taking B vitamins when you're traveling is good anyway. Helps with fatigue.

Avon Skin So Soft helps me. I think I saw something about ordering online with free shipping but I did not read the details. I cannot use anything with Deet, between the smell and skin reaction I would rather endure the bites. When outside I add a lightweight gauze overshirt with long sleeves that button or have an elastic cuff to protect my arms. I love long skirts so I slather Skin So Soft on my legs and feet.

I've heard to not eat super sweet fruits just before going outdoors, like banana or pineapple.
Bugs also do not like citronella or peppermint.

I like Off! brand, as it smells pretty nice and isn't sticky, but it is true that DEET based sprays are the best, especially if you're going into densely wooded or tropical areas. What you can do that's a bit better if you choose to use that is to just spray it on your clothes and no your skin.

There are DEET-free repellents based on oil of lemon eucalyptus that are effective. I've tried one by Cutter, but I know Repel also makes one. I'm a major mosquito magnet and the Cutter lemon eucalyptus has worked for me this humid New Jersey summer. I got it in Target.

I like the idea of spraying clothing but I will have to do a test spray to insure it will not impact the fabric or dyes. No trips to the Everglades for me, apparently insects think of me the same way I view chocolate - Yum!

I am wondering if it would help to spritz a bit of peppermint oil and water or something similar on my skin? I might have to purchase a spray bottle and do a test. There's a cook-out tonight, that might enable me to join everyone outside since I depleted my supply of Skin So Soft..

Thanks for the suggestions, I may have to try all of them and see what is most effective, maybe do a study while I'm on this trip and report back..l;,

Originally Posted by Uulady

No suggestions on good bug sprays unfortunately. I just got back from visiting family in Canada and was eaten alive by black flies and deer flies. Ick and brutally itchy. :( I do have a suggestion on afterbite stuff though. They have a Japanese product here called Mopidick that works wonders! I had a student give me some when she saw my arms swelling from bites (nasty teeny flies here that are like fruit flies but pack a punch!). The stuff works miracles! I'm looking to pick up more for myself so can send along a bottle for you if you can't find it there. :)

Also, lavender essential oil works good for afterbite intching and swelling!

Qamar

Originally Posted by txchic

I like the idea of spraying clothing but I will have to do a test spray to insure it will not impact the fabric or dyes. No trips to the Everglades for me, apparently insects think of me the same way I view chocolate - Yum!

I am wondering if it would help to spritz a bit of peppermint oil and water or something similar on my skin? I might have to purchase a spray bottle and do a test. There's a cook-out tonight, that might enable me to join everyone outside since I depleted my supply of Skin So Soft..

Not a good idea to spray undiluted peppermint oil on the skin (it does not emulsify with water). If anything, heavily dilute with another carrier oil (almond, jojoba, apricot kernel, etc.). The skin is really sensitive to these oils. One time I inadvertently got a diluted water/lavender oil blend near my hooha and it stung like a mofo...

I'm going to second what antimony said about the B vitamins. The last time I was in Kauai, the mosquitoes loved my non-vitamin-taking husband, but they left me alone!

Incidentally, I don't like taking Vit. B, despite the benefits. Does anyone know of a type that's less gross? I don't like the smell, and they're hard to swallow.

i'm reading this thread with great interest, we have tried EVERYthing and we have mosquitoes so bad that i wont take the baby outside for more than a few minutes. a friend of mine suggested Listerine in a squirt bottle. nothing helps us. our skeets will eat thru glass to get with us. paradise my ass. you should see the roaches here. they FLY. i can hear them hit the windows at night. i find gecko crap all over the place when we wake up. they are cute but don't use potties. man i miss the desert. scorpions, snakes, mountain lion...

oh and i woke up with a centipede on my head once but i suppose that can happen anywhere :( thank goodness for thick hair

Originally Posted by Azhia

The skin is really sensitive to these oils. One time I inadvertently got a diluted water/lavender oil blend near my hooha and it stung like a mofo...

<coffee spray!> ..l;,

AGH! Jes, centipede on your HEAD!!!!!! AGGGH! Only those who lived in Hawai'i can understand the horror!

Minnesota-bred me says Deep Woods Off. Also mosquito coils.

Deep woods off contains the highest levels of DEET, and I have found it to be the most effective. I too am absolutely loved by mosquitos. I have never had much luck with what I consider the SSS myth. The non DEET varieties of sprays have some effect, but if I am spending a considerable amount of time outdoors it's Deep Woods Off all the way.

Originally Posted by Najma

I'm going to second what antimony said about the B vitamins. The last time I was in Kauai, the mosquitoes loved my non-vitamin-taking husband, but they left me alone!

Incidentally, I don't like taking Vit. B, despite the benefits. Does anyone know of a type that's less gross? I don't like the smell, and they're hard to swallow.

Sublinguals are perfect.
Biochem
B12
3000mcg
1 tablet under the tongue once a day
Taste like cherry Spiderman vitamins

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

AGH! Jes, centipede on your HEAD!!!!!! AGGGH! Only those who lived in Hawai'i can understand the horror!

Minnesota-bred me says Deep Woods Off. Also mosquito coils.

I was spending time with a host family on Kyushu once and my anechan slammed the screen door on a centipede.

It screamed.

OK, not fair. This is quite entertaining but not when I choke on my lovely merlot. Flying roaches hitting the windows, mosquitoes that eat through glass, centipedes (screaming, in Jes's hair or otherwise), bee stings, teeny flies, gecko crap, snakes, scorpions, mountain lions - and Azhia's "hooha and it stung like a mofo" ... all in one thread. Bhuz is the best! And of course all this makes perfect sense to all of us.

holy crap. my hawaii fantasies have been killed forever and the screaming centipede is now going to give me nightmares.

ok. so.

yet another vote for DEET products. you're not going to be using them for long so if it were me I wouldn't worry too much about it. back in the day when I used to be able to backpack around europe and such, I used a bug repellant that I got at REI that came in a little bottle - I think it was called jungle juice? you use it almost like perfume: you pour a couple of drops in your hands, rub them together, and apply. I would use it just on my feet and lower legs (on crete the mosquitoes hung out under the tables at night when you were eating dinner), and on my ears and hair (to keep the blasted mother effers from buzzing me all night and keeping me awake). and that was enough. it's like the fumes of it kept the bugs away.

Okay, granted there are places besides Hawai'i with such horrors and worse!

I even have a link to a photo (not embedded as I have done that before and am therefore going to say: get the heebie jeebies at your own risk!):

Hawaiian centipede:

http://www.mokihana.com/big%20centipede.jpg

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Okay, granted there are places besides Hawai'i with such horrors and worse!

I even have a link to a photo (not embedded as I have done that before and am therefore going to say: get the heebie jeebies at your own risk!):

Hawaiian centipede:

http://www.mokihana.com/big%20centipede.jpg

EEEEEEEEEK!

Qamar

Mosquitoes love me too! Vitamin B12 capsules worked for me, too, but it's best to start taking them like 2 weeks in advance of exposure to the lil' buggers...

Qamar - well don't say I didn't warn you. ;)

That's the 'other side' of paradise.

Originally Posted by txchic

OK, not fair. This is quite entertaining but not when I choke on my lovely merlot. Flying roaches hitting the windows, mosquitoes that eat through glass, centipedes (screaming, in Jes's hair or otherwise), bee stings, teeny flies, gecko crap, snakes, scorpions, mountain lions - and Azhia's "hooha and it stung like a mofo" ... all in one thread. Bhuz is the best! And of course all this makes perfect sense to all of us.

heheheheeee!! bhuz rules

if i was a man you would all be my harem biatches..ok slap me before i have more coffee

BreaMorgaine where's that funny article about centipedes?

my younger brother just got stung by a scorp (he lives in phx) two days ago..he lived ..my mom finds them regularly in wonderful places like shoes and beds

suddenly paradise doesnt look too bad lol

<Beki timidly raises a hand> I have a deterrent that wasn't mentioned. My sister is allergic to DEET. However, when she went to Kenya she was the only one that was not bothered by bugs.

Her remedy was Aveeno Menthol Lotion.

It worked better than conventional DEET containing bug sprays in her not-so-scientific trial. (And she just brought it along to keep her skin moisturized!)

Originally Posted by beki

<Beki timidly raises a hand> I have a deterrent that wasn't mentioned. My sister is allergic to DEET. However, when she went to Kenya she was the only one that was not bothered by bugs.

Her remedy was Aveeno Menthol Lotion.

It worked better than conventional DEET containing bug sprays in her not-so-scientific trial. (And she just brought it along to keep her skin moisturized!)

The bugs probably didn't like the way she tasted! For some more natural approaches to dealing with pests

7 Natural Insect Repellents - DEET Free Bug Sprays - thedailygreen.com

I can't say I have tried any of them though.

Ok, I'm freaked about the centipede, I hope they don't have those in Barbados!

I will buy a suitcase full of bug sprays..l;,..l;, Thanks for all the info ladies!!

Oh, Aradia, I know this is weird, but while in Barbados (if you're interested in history at all) check up on the Redlegs, descendents of Scottish slaves in the islands!

It was my hope to study them but I fear that the grad program might think I just want to hang around on Barbados for *other* reasons.