Posted on 10/28/2015 12:46:26 PM PDT by Red Badger
Every summer while preparing for long weekends at our family cabin in the north woods of Minnesota, we'd face the same dilemmas. What food should we bring? Is SPF 50 sunscreen enough protection? And, most importantly, which mosquito repellent should we buy? If we picked the wrong kind, we'd be opening ourselves up to evenings of constant swatting by the campfire and nights of uncontrollable itching. Protection from the unofficial state bird, the mosquito, was not something to take lightly.
However, while itchy limbs might be annoying, Minnesotans don't have much to worry about from mosquitoes, except for the occasional case of West Nile virus or a few other less common diseases. In other parts of the country and the world, more devastating mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya are present, so protection from mosquitoes can be a matter of life and death. In these places, making the right decision on a mosquito repellent carries more weight than it does in Minnesota.
To help consumers decide which mosquito repellent they should buy, researchers at New Mexico State University tested 10 commercially available products for their effectiveness at repelling mosquitoes, and the results were published in the Journal of Insect Science. Three of the products (Repel 100 Insect Repellent, OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent VIII, and Cutter Skinsations Insect Repellent) were mosquito repellents that contained DEET as the active ingredient, and four of the products (Cutter Natural Insect Repellent, EcoSmart Organic Insect Repellent, Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, and Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard) were mosquito repellents that did not contain DEET. The other three products tested were Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil, Victoria's Secret Bombshell perfume, and Mosquito Skin Patch, a skin patch with vitamin B1 as the active ingredient.
The products were tested against two mosquito species, the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), both known vectors of dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, and other diseases.
For both species, the researchers found that mosquitoes were strongly repelled by all products containing DEET. For the other products, they found mixed results.
On Aedes aegypti, the mosquito repellents that did not contain DEET either didn't repel them at all or didn't have a repellent effect after just 30 minutes. The exception was Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, which had strong repellent effects for the duration of the 240 minute test. The bath oil and perfume effectively repelled mosquitoes for 120 minutes, but the skin patch did not seem to have any repellent effect at any time.
On Aedes albopictus, two of the non-DEET repellents significantly repelled mosquitoes throughout the duration of the study. Furthermore, unlike the resuts for Aedes aegypti, Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard had significant repellent effects for 120 minutes. The bath oil and skin patch had no repellent effects on Aedes albopictus, but the perfume repelled mosquitoes for 120 minutes, as it did for Aedes aegypti.
"The results of this study show that not all commercially available mosquito repellents are effective in repelling mosquitoes and that efficacy is also dependent on the species of mosquito that is repelled," the authors wrote. "Overall, the results from this study confirm that DEET repellents are the most effective mosquito repellents in the market. Although, based on the results from this study, a lemon-eucalyptus oil containing p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) [the active ingredient in Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent] has similar efficacy to DEET repellents."
Perhaps the most surprising result in the study was the effectiveness of Victoria's Secret Bombshell perfume at repelling mosquitoes.
"Our results challenge the notion that floral perfume-scented sprays, in general, attract mosquitoes," the authors wrote. "Floral fragrances may provide a masking odor resulting in low mosquito attraction rates, but over a shorter duration of time."
However, the authors do provide a caveat to this finding, noting that "the concentration of perfume we used in this test was rather high and that lower concentrations of the same fragrance might have different effects."
Explore further: A natural, alternative insect repellent to DEET
More information: Stacy D. Rodriguez et al. The Efficacy of Some Commercially Available Insect Repellents for (Diptera: Culicidae) and (Diptera: Culicidae) , Journal of Insect Science (2015). DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iev125
Nope that is a Mosquito Hawk, that eats mosquitos.
That’s what I use. 100% DEET, and to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it.
I live in Arizona, and never use sunscreen.
After the war, we will.
DEET.
End of story.
I tested the wife no long ago as she had no idea what her type was. Turns out we are both O+.
Good theory though, but I still think some sort of body chemistry thing is at work. Mebbe all the rum I consume?
Nah, no booze in SEA and they ate me alive there. They would bite right through my utility trousers while I tried to sleep. Used to bundle up in a flak jacket and wear a gas mask to get some sleep. Beeeeeeeeeee........
I have a great one if anyone wants: lemon balm essential oil. My little girl is allergic to mosquito bites, they get huge like chicken pox. I don’t want to put any neurotoxins into her bloodstream (anything you put on your skin goes right in).
I mix it two ways. With water in a little plastic spray bottle, enough drops in about a cup or so of water so that when you spray it on your arm the scent remains nicely. This can be sprayed on in seconds as someone races out the door. Mosquitos do not like it. The water version only lasts less than an hour.
For a longer time exposed to mosquitoes, get a little metal or ceramic cosmetic tin, or even an empty cosmetic tin from old cosmetics, mix up some natural Shea butter and coconut oil, about 3:1 in a little bowl, put in 30-40 drops of lemon balm (can add some drops of eucalyptus oil as well), and when smooth spread into the tin. Depending on your home’s temp, it may need to be kept in the fridge for consistency, or taken out with enough time to get it spreadable. Spread it over all exposed areas, not super close to eyes, and it lasts a few hours.
Totally natural but she doesn’t get bitten - mosquitos just don’t like that scent. It smells great to us.
Don’t feel forced to put neurotoxins on your skin. Gd always has a better way.
Black flies in June then skeeters. Nothing at the time worked.
Stand in the smoke of the fire or go into the tent. Fill the tent with pipe smoke and then kill the ones that got in on the netting.
They were little but bit thru the back pockets of your jeans.
Probably blood type, body chemistry, diet and just ornriness on their part.
Pretty sure you have a “Crane Fly” there...AKA “Mosquito Hawk”(apparently they don’t actually eat mosquitos): http://entomologytoday.org/2015/08/17/mosquito-hawk-skeeter-eater-giant-mosquito-no-no-and-no/
Also more Crane Fly photos: http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/lancasteronline.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/a9/ca92a112-6618-5036-ab3c-2862268ff00e/5230e5ee08349.image.jpg and http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/resource/images/mosquitomagnet/Products/mosquito-cranefly-article-c.jpg
Hmmm, sounds good, I wonder if it’s the petroleum jelly or the camphor that does the trick?..............
LOL! Why not just wear a flea collar?!?!?!?................
Yes, you used to be able to buy ‘Flowers of Sulfur’ at any country store or drug store. I bet they would call 911 if you asked for that today, thinking you were either a terrorist making a bomb or a meth-head making some ‘Shake n’ Bake’ meth...................
I wonder if Lemon Extract, like in your kitchen spice rack, would work?..................
I may have the wrong photo. they are galnippers. https://youtu.be/zLiqa_Y8Gn8
Yeah, I never used to either, until the last few years. I got tired of my nose peeling...
I think it’s the camphor. The petroleum jelly just keeps it in place.
No, they are not spreading HIV,
http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/vectors/mosquitoes/Pages/aedes-aegypti.aspx
http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/vectors/mosquitoes/Pages/aedes-albopictus.aspx
The viruses that are spread are from this group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbovirus
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