bugs what to do

[wareagle69]

this goes hand in hand with my bug out theory two times this week i asked people to go out to do something first was horseback riding answer lets wait till the bugs die down 2nd lets go train same answer, now i know i am not the only one who deals with bugs or the heat or cold or rain but it amazes me how people only want to go outside when conditions are perfect.
how will this affect or effect you who say you will bug out when the crapper explodes have you put any serious thought or training into this, i never ever wear bug spray cannot fathom the thought of spraying poisons on to my skin.

but what will you do how will you make do with the adverse conditions on a daily basis not a weekend or a week but a whole realtime bugout scenario?

[crashdive123]

I keep enough pesticides on hand to kill a whooooooooole lot of bugs.

[Rick]

WE - I guess I fall into that category. I can be miserable any time I want. But I prefer to make the exercise as enjoyable as possible. I'll deal with the butt nasty gnats and deer fly when I have to but I'll slather on some DEET in the mean time. If you don't mind doing it, my hats off to you but consider this. Wouldn't you rather have those guys go out sometimes and enjoy themselve rather than have them come out with you in the rain, babble on about how rotten a time they are having, then refuse to do it again?

Hi. I'm Rick and I'm a fair weather survivalist. I've avoided going out in the rain twice this week.

Welcome to the meeting, Rick.

[wareagle69]

i guess thats why i don't have many friends if your gonna complain go home and do it on a forum not out here...

[BraggSurvivor]

I try not to use bug spray if I can help it, but a couple weeks a year it seems like there is no other choice. Whenever we can we use a non toxic cheap product from Avon called "Skin so Soft". Best harmless product we have tried to date. Even my cattle get a good healthy dose on their face at this time of the year.

Oh, and my hands are baby butt soft all summer.

[crashdive123]

The Skin so Soft is real popular around here. We've got "no-see-ums" - little tiny biting gnats. We affectionately refer to them as flying teeth.

[Ole WV Coot]

DEET more DEET until I glow in the dark. Last time I was in Maine a mosquito, or large vampire bat took a chunk out of me and flew over on a fence post and invited a dozen black flies to lunch.

[RobertRogers]

Yeah, those biting insects can make life a special kind of hell.

Deet is really the only repellent I've found that works when the bugs are thick.

For non-biting insects, I prefer to just leave them be - pesticides are powerful poisons and though I am a very big bug and it would take a relative alot to kill me, I suspect these poisons are non-to-good for me and the people I care about.

[Rick]

Here is a good article on Deet from the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The article says, "The effectiveness of DEET in repelling mosquitoes is directly related to the concentration of the chemical applied ... However, the duration of action reaches a plateau at a concentration of 50%." So products containing 70% Deet are no more effective than products contain 50% Deet according to the article.

I use a spray that is 25% Deet.

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/169/3/209

[RobertRogers]

Good find, Rick. There is some evidence that DEET can be harmful to humans so the less you use, the better. However, it's sometimes impossible to go out into areas without using it.

The government repellent we used in the 70's was 100% and very bad stuff when it got onto your plastic gear.

[crashdive123]

While pesticides that are misused can and are certainly harmful, used properly they have extrordinary benefits. It is extremely important not to misuse them. Look at DDT (NO, not the dreaded DDT!) Here is a product that was banned surrounding the hysteria of junk science and a book by Rachel Carson (Silet Spring). Since the ban on DDT millions and millions of people in under developed countries have died from malaria.

[Rick]

I really have to agree with you, Crash. It wasn't the chemical that was bad it was our misuse of it. I've seen older vids of people being fogged with DDT and the air is so thick with it you would think they were IN a fog.

I'm not advocating their use everywhere. I don't use them in my garden for example. I'm only saying that properly managed, in select applications, insecticides have an important role to play.

[wildWoman]

Here is a good article on Deet from the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The article says, "The effectiveness of DEET in repelling mosquitoes is directly related to the concentration of the chemical applied ... However, the duration of action reaches a plateau at a concentration of 50%." So products containing 70% Deet are no more effective than products contain 50% Deet according to the article.

I use a spray that is 25% Deet.

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/169/3/209

Yeah I know that's what they say. They don't sell the 100% Deet in Canada anymore, claiming that the stuff with the lower content works just as well and as long. Bunch of baloney! If the testers would get out of the lab, into the northern woods and break a sweat, they couldn't help but come to our conclusion that the weak stuff you have to re-apply every 20min, and the strong stuff lasts about an hour.
So my question is, in the end, don't you get just as much DEET on your skin with the weak stuff, because you constantly have to re-apply it?

We ended up getting more of the 100% DEET from the States because the only thing the weak stuff they now sell here seems to be good for is that truck loads more of it get sold - nice for the people who make it, I guess.

I use 100% DEET when the bugs are really bad (right now till mid-July) and I have to work outside, other than that Balm of Gilead (extract of cottonwood buds in olive oil) works ok. Discovered a couple days ago when trying to swat a mosquito while I was cutting garlic that they seem to abhor garlic. Will try adding that to the Balm of Gilead next year.

[crashdive123]

Discovered a couple days ago when trying to swat a mosquito while I was cutting garlic that they seem to abhor garlic. Will try adding that to the Balm of Gilead next year.

Works for vampires, oughta work for the little blood suckers.

[canid]

one important consideration about sprays and possible health considerations is to make sure to wash them off your skin as soon as you don't need to be out in the bugs anymore.

this considerably minimizes exposure over, say; forgetting you're wearing it for several more hours.

[RBB]

Living in NE Minnesota, bugs just go with the territory. Don't get me wrong. there are times when the bugs get too thick for me, but they each have their season. Midges are a real problem for about two weeks in the beginning of June. Black flies have a big hatch in mid summer that can be very annoying, but mosquitoes are only a problem in early morning and for a couple hours around dusk. Knowing where and when bugs will be a problem - takes a lot of the problem out of it.

I do get a charge out of people who camp in low lying wooded areas in summer. Those are winter camping sites.

When out camping, I use bug dope for the first day or two, then you just kind of seem to get used to it. If bugs are too bad, mosquito netting is in order. Blue berry picking - it is good to have a head net.

Garlic and onions seem to help. My grandfather ate onions like apples.

[cabingirl]

Wareagle, I just got my Homeopathic Healing News Letter today. This month they had a big write up about the posion bug sprays. they say we can repel the bugs by rubbing 30% eucalyptus oil on our skin. Also you can mix Eucalyptus oil, Thyme oil, Citronella, clove and Patchouli and rub on the skin. '
Last night while watering my garden the bugs tired to eat me alive. I have Eucalyptus oil so I am going to try rubbing it on the next time I go out side late and see if it works.
If it does, maybe we sould all buy up a few bottles from the health food store.

[crashdive123]

Cabingirl - interesting combination, I'll have to do some research. Citronella oil is registered with the EPA as a pesticide (biopesticde) and is very effective in the control of insects. I guess that's shy citronella candles are so popular. I'm curious if the addition of the other ingredients change the effectiveness of the mixture or just more friendly to the user.

[Rick]

Consumer Reports did a test on insect repellents probably two years ago. I only keep one year of back issues so, of course, I don't have it. If anyone keeps their back issues check the December 2007 issues Index on the last page and see if Insect Repellent is listed. As I recall, Deep Woods Off was number 1 rated but I would rather see the report than go by memory.

[crashdive123]

Deep Woods Off is what I keep on hand for work (usually just use it when I go into a flea infested structure) Ultrathon is what I keep in my daypack/backpack.

Here's some info that I found interesting. http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic540.htm There are two slow release, deet based products (Ultrathon and Sawyer) that use lower concentrations of Deet, but because of the slow release are supposed to be as effective as products with higher concentrations.