Aussies vs mozzies: a user's guide to repellents

[Tony]

Found this very interesting article Aussies vs mozzies: a user's guide to repellents on the The Conversation well worth a read.

Tony

[andrewbish]

Thanks for posting this, Tony.

I spent a horrible day walking on a 4WD track up to Mt Speculation last week. In the mid/high-20s heat, the flies chased me the whole way. The bush flies seemed only slightly deterred by the roll-on Aerogard (picaridin-based) I was using - per that article I may not have been thorough enough in my application of it. Instead I walked along waving my walking pole around my head like a marching band leader.

More annoying were the biting march flies, that zoomed in to my ankles when I stopped to rest. A whack with the pole was the only thing that stopped them! The following day I wore long pants, which did seem to fix that problem, though at the cost of lower-leg cooling.

I would be keen to hear suggestions for good bug repellent strategies for hiking.

[Maelgwn]

That's interesting tony. Most bush walkers I know use 80% DEET but are likely just to put a spot on their hands/ back of neck and not complete cover like recommended and find this works. However we don't go to places with lots of mozzies. Sounds like I have an excuse to stop using DEET:)

[TerraMer]

It's a hat and a mozzie net in one

http://www.exploroz.com/Shop/ExplorOz+ExplorOz_Mozzie_Net_Hat.aspx

[frenchy_84]

I only ever bother with insect repellent when there is a chance of sand flies, after my first time fishing up near townsville the bites where so bad on my legs it looked like i had chicken pox for over a week.

[Pongo]

Thanks for posting this, Tony.

I spent a horrible day walking on a 4WD track up to Mt Speculation last week. In the mid/high-20s heat, the flies chased me the whole way. The bush flies seemed only slightly deterred by the roll-on Aerogard (picaridin-based) I was using - per that article I may not have been thorough enough in my application of it. Instead I walked along waving my walking pole around my head like a marching band leader.

More annoying were the biting march flies, that zoomed in to my ankles when I stopped to rest. A whack with the pole was the only thing that stopped them! The following day I wore long pants, which did seem to fix that problem, though at the cost of lower-leg cooling.

I would be keen to hear suggestions for good bug repellent strategies for hiking.

I've just swapped aeroguard back out of my pack in favour for the 80% deet stuff.

I was out at point cooke a few weeks back and no amount of aeroguard deterred the little blighters. I would spray a liberal amount on me, the flies would fly away to avoid the mist and in about 5 seconds they were back at it. So your application may not have been lacking, when flies are thick and fast I've found aeroguard just doesn't cut it. Like you I ended up waving my walking pole around like a loon for the next few hours.

Apart from changing back to the heavy duty stuff, I've welcomed a new addition to my kit, a head net that is treated with permethrin.

[kanangra]

I'm just back from the Nortern Kosci area and the march flies are really bad this year. If you stop for a moment they are in for the kill. much worse than last year.

K.

[Tony]

I'm just back from the Nortern Kosci area and the march flies are really bad this year. If you stop for a moment they are in for the kill. much worse than last year.

K.

I agree, last weekend I was up around the Happy Jacks area doing some MTB, hut bagging and fly fishing and we where nearly carried away by the March Flies, every bit of exposed skin was attacked, during the day we had to cycle in long pants, below is a photo of the March flies that followed us into Brooks Hut.

Tony

March Flies in Brooks Hut window

[Onestepmore]

I was told years ago that March flies are attracted to blue (specifically this was in the Snowies), and to avoid this colour when walking there.
Is there any truth in this?

[Rob A]

Cracking link to the conversation site.

"Repellents containing DEET at concentrations of 80% or 10%, for example, will both protect against mosquito bites for about two hours. While the protection provided by the 10% formulation may stop after a few hours, the 80% formulation will continue to provide protection for over ten hours."

Doesnt anyone proof read their sh it anymore? Good one Cameron. I think I get the gist.

Anyone drinking Dettol?

[The Perambulator]

I have just returned from 3 days (2 nights) walking from Dead Horse gap to White River hut. The March flies nearly done my head in. I simply could not stop for a minute without being attacked by a swarm of these pests. The best defence was to keep moving and brush them off, generally after being stung. The only respite came when the breeze picked up. I doubt if the colour of a persons clothing would influence the March flies behaviour.

[neilmny]

I was told years ago that March flies are attracted to blue (specifically this was in the Snowies), and to avoid this colour when walking there.
Is there any truth in this?

I can't specifically speak for March flies but I used to do a lot of horse riding and there is no doubt in my mind that blue
particularly light blue attracted more flies than other colours. I used to wear light blue cotton(?) shirts and they would be all over
me front and back. It took a while but I eventually stopped wearing light blue and things improved a lot.

[Onestepmore]

That's interesting neilmny, as the people who warned me against wearing blue used to take some young horses up to the high country each year with older seasoned packhorses to learn the ropes (this was in the 80's, I doubt you're allowed to do this anymore). Maybe my old bushy friends knew something that might be applicable to hiking here. Anyone want to volunteer a rough field trial? (We plan on walking there in April, so can't test this theory until then)

I like RID, which contains DEET.http://www.alphafirstaid.com.au/dbfiles/RID.pdf It's a non greasy lotion (I think it comes in spray as well). The medicated version also has Triclosan, which is an antiseptic, and chamomile and Vitamin E, all of which are meant to soothe any bites you do get. It can also be used if you get stung by nettles, ants etc. It's claimed to be a tick repellant too (see prev posts regarding Lyme disease if you're interested). Not sure if it'd help prevent the flesh eating bacteria spread by mozzies though...? (Mycobacterium ulcerans - link for those iterested http://home.iprimus.com.au/foo7/fleshbugs.html and http://healthmap.org/news/flesh-eating- ... -australia)
There is also a formulation whch has 30+ sunblock too, so a good choice if you are trying to minimise products you carry, as it's pretty multipurpose. The tropical strength contains 19% DEET, the sunblock combo one 7%, so you need to apply more frequently. It'll damage sunglasses frames etc, or other plastics (like many of these products) so take care what it comes in contact with, wrap it in a plastic bag in case of spillages etc.

What are some brand names of the longer acting 80% DEET products with which forum uses have experience?

Edit
Hmm, helps to do a search first. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1684
Bushman's 80% heavy duty http://www.bushman-repellent.com/range.html
Thanks walkinTas

[Rob A]

Black or dark colours in kiwi. Different bug .
Dettol in white oil and water. Spray, or rub it on. Costs nothing. Filter/lens friendly. Good on skin scrapes and tears.
Not sure if it works in Aus, its all I ever use and Ive never been bitten, so it could be just coincidence, or no bugs in Aus.
Yes Ive done the drink it trick.
Roll on RID on the tent mesh or the boots/socks/gaiters for the climbing leaches. But to smear it all over your head and limbs, PITA.

[Strider]

I was told years ago that March flies are attracted to blue (specifically this was in the Snowies), and to avoid this colour when walking there.
Is there any truth in this?

This is DEFINITELY the case with bumblebees. Particularly dark blue.

[andrewbish]

A Russian-born workmate swears by a Russian-made cream called "Akomarin" ("Anti-mozzie"), which uses essential oils of fir, clove, lavender and vanilla. He reckons the Siberian mozzies are even more annoying than those found here. Here is a link to the website with Google translate to English. Click the third menu link to get to the products page, then look for Akomarin from the left hand menu.

He has loaned me a tube of the stuff to test.

[Overlandman]

Having good blood,mozzies, leeches, vampire bats; etc love me.
I use Bushman plus aerosol, 20 percent deet, with sunscreen, seems to last & stop the biting.
https://www.bushman-repellent.com/

edit; Gel has 80 percent deet

Regards Overlandman

[kanangra]

There is no doubt about it at all March flies prefer blue. Navy blue in particular. Did a test with a mate who wore blue king gee work wear whilst camped at 3 mile dam a few years back.

K.

[Hallu]

DEET is called a repellent but it's not proven that it does actually repel anything for most of the insects, scientists long thought it worked because it prevented insects from detecting the CO2 our mouth/skin rejects or the lactic acid in our sweat. Basically it makes it difficult for the bugs to locate us, but if they're close to us, it won't repel them. According to the Deet wiki page, now it's been proven effectively repellent on mosquitoes : they were repelled by the product even in the absence of humans. But nothing on flies or else. Anyway according to my experience DEET is the only things that is effective for mosquitoes and biting flies. You need tons of it to repel regular flies though, and its smell is actually more uncomfortable than the fact of having flies landing on you... And I agree that march flies are nasty this year, I went to Croajingolong right before Christmas, and the beaches were infested. Nevertheless, DEET won't always work : in the Top End they've got very nasty mosquitoes, and during the wet season, even 100% DEET can be ineffective around swamps or wetlands.

On another matter, I can't believe how expensive DEET is. A friend of mine is a chemist, he told me it's the easiest thing in the world to synthesize, it's a very simple molecule, easily combined with other stuff to make it a cream or a spray...

[Rob A]

Give the white oil, water and dettol a go. Theres no magic proportions you jsut batch up as you like. Its going to be thin and water like, easy to apply all over. You probably have dettol in the laundry cupboard anyway so it wont cost you anything. It works for me in Kiwi and Aus, but Ive never tried it down mexico way. It doesnt seem to stuff up your filters and lenses either. Helps with scratches and abraisons too.

[southbank]

Natures Botanical. Rosemary & Sandalwood. Even works with NZ sand flies;
http://www.naturesbotanical.biz/products.html

[north-north-west]

Anything to deter the ants at Elysia?

Not that they bothered me that much, was barely around during their working hours, but some people find them annoying.
The mozzies there must be the dumbest in the whole world, but. I was wandering around almost starkers, and they just swarmed over the tent fly and my boots and gaiters. Not interested in bare skin.

[benefit]

Give the white oil, water and dettol a go.

Where can I find white oil?

Thank you.

[Rob A]

Your cupboard. Johnsons baby oil, alpha keri oil. Coles brand.
You dont need much. Decent squeeze of oil, tablespoon of dettol, fill the rest of a 200ml bottle with tap water. Give it a shake.
If you dont mind the smell give it another slug of dettol to make it stronger.

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To be honest, in the absence of baby oil I would sometimes use a bit of Sorbelene.

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[Overlandman]

From ABC News
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-03/r ... nt/4996848

Researchers have discovered why one kind of insect repellent is effective, a discovery which could lead to a potential broad spectrum solution to bugs.
The compound dimethyltoluamide, also known as DEET, has been a successful insect repellent for more than six decades.
Scientists never knew exactly why, but a new study shows how receptors and nerve cells in insect antennae that react to the repellent.
Researchers at the University of California Riverside created a computer program to screen half a million compounds to predict new repellents.
From the thousands of compounds discovered they chose several hundred that were naturally occurring, before whittling those down to four that have strong effects on both mosquitoes and fruit flies.
Associate Professor Anandasankar Ray says the study, published in the journal Nature, successfully identified compounds that were not only safe but already appear in products fit for human consumption.
"What was absolutely critical for us was to try and quickly identify compounds that would be safe, and therefore have potential to go through trials for use with humans - compounds that were affordable, pleasant smelling and strong repellents," she said.
"These compounds, methylethylamade, ethyl anthranilate and butyl anthranilate are found in plum, in grapes and jasmine extract, they're also found in orange flower blossoms and a number of other natural sources.
"Just because they're natural doesn't necessarily always mean that they're safe, they are perhaps safer but not necessarily safe."

However Professor Ray says in this case, the compounds are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for addition to food, such as flavourings for chewing gum.

Discovery could lead to affordable, broad spectrum repellent

Professor Ray says the findings are crucial for creating an insect repellent product affordable to the developing world.
"That has always been our key motivation, to try and find a substitute that is not only better for use in the developed world, but is also excellent and affordable in parts of the tropical world where disease transmission is prevalent," she said.
"DEET has no impact in control of disease in these areas because of the costs in these parts of the world, as well as the sticky inconvenience of applying it to every square inch of your body.
"We think some of these compounds we've found and some of the ones that are in our freezer at the moment could be key to being able to take repellent strategy to control malaria, dengue, flavivirus, West Nile virus and other insect transmitted diseases in tropical parts of the world."
Additionally, Professor Ray says the discovery could lead to a broad spectrum insect repellent.
"DEET receptor Ir40a is extremely well conserved across insects and not only is it found in mosquitoes and drosophila flies, this receptor is also present in a number of different insects that destroy crops and greens," she said.
"It is also found in other bugs that humans don't like, like lice and bed bugs.
"So we are designing a strategy to come up with a broad spectrum insect repellent that can work not only for protecting humans, agricultural animals or pets from disease transmitting insects and pesky insects, but perhaps also one day be useful to protect fields of grain or fruits in a tree from insects."