🚀 go-pugleaf

A few acquaintances of mine swear on vitamin B-12 (or around there)
taken during the few days before the 'problem' period.  It has never
worked for me, but I've seen results.  (I was the only one bitten :-( 

    Darin Johnson

> It's the season to be....bitten. What methods exist, apart from the application
> of diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) in large quantities, to protect oneself from 
> biting insects? In particular, are there any foods one can eat that would repel
> them? I have heard that garlic is exuded through the skin (and breath) and that
> insects dislike it, but that eating bananas will attract them. And there is a 

	Eliminating as much sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet
as you can will help, as these do change your blood and your body scent.
Not eating red meat will also help. I am told that dousing yourself with
chamomile or thyme tea will repel insects. If you are barbecuing or using
a campfire, bringing dried herbs with you for the fire will help keep the
insects away from your campsite.
-- 
  

jcpatilla

"'Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill !'"

In article <2389@mit-hermes.ARPA> jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) writes:
>It's the season to be....bitten. What methods exist, apart from the application
...
>going on a 10-day canoe trip in central Canada in July, and I can't see hauling

Central Canada in July?  Black-fly time!  Or, at least, the tail end of
it.  The little buggers (also called "no-seeum gnats") are probably the
worst of the insects.  Numerous mosquito bites are usually little more
than an annoyance.  Black-fly usually travel in large swarms and
you frequently get mobbed by them.  In rare occasions, large quantities
of black-fly bites can be dangerous.  Every once in a while you read
about domestic cattle dying from black-fly bites due to insufficient 
shelter, no breezes and becoming panicky.

Re: repellents: I very much recommend "Musk Ol" (I think that's what it's
called).  You can get it at any of the outfitters.  You don't need much -
one small plastic bottle (the size of one of the nasal sprays) should be 
enough for one person for at least two weeks.  I've never found "OFF" to be 
particularly effective - Musk-ol is fantastic.  We were in Kilarney for a 
week - we were barely touched by anything.  Made a believer out of me!
Even kept most of the wasps away (glad of it too, my wife is strongly 
allergic to 'em).  At best, OFF only prevents mosquitos from biting me.
It isn't particularly effective for me against black-fly or the truly
awesome Horse or Deer fly.  Musk-ol will prevent almost everything from
landing, except possibly for Horse fly - you'll still need a baseball
bat! (:-)).  

Seriously, Horse fly take quite a bit of meat and leave behind quite an
inflamation.  Fortunately they don't swarm and are much rarer than
mosquitos or black-fly - but one or two will fly in circles around you
for hours waiting for a chance for fresh meat - you don't feel it til
after they've left.

Warnings: Musk-ol is *very* smelly at least initially.  You get used to
it - it's a small price to pay.  Musk-ol is also *very* irritating to
sensitive tissues.  Particularly eyes.  You must pay attention to the
warnings on the package.  However, once you apply it (it's a thick oily
liquid), you should rinse your hands - it's still effective as a repellant
but it won't be concentrated enough to cause problems with rubbing
your eyes etc.  One dose of Musk-ol per day is usually sufficient
even with some minor dunkings or splashings.  

At least partial washing is very strongly recommended if you and 
your friend decide to ...

The smell isn't particularly objectionable after a couple of hours - 
but you gotta get your friend to use it too!

Musk-ol is somewhat expensive (say $3-4 CDN per bottle) but well worth
it.

Another suggestion.  Anti-histamine cold-remedy pills (eg:
Chlortripolon in Canada) are sometimes very effective at reducing the
itch from most biting insects.  I use the strongest non-prescription
anti-histamines I can get (the stronger version of Chlortripolon).  I take
one or two after getting a few bites and I have very little itching at
all.  One pill per day (if I'm getting bitten) seems to be the right 
amount for me.  You will have to decide for yourself what strength 
is strong enough to be effective that won't make you too drowsy or
have other undesirable side-effects.

Also, anti-histamine may just save a life when you discover, 5 days
into the bush, that you are having a very strong allergic reaction to a
bee or wasp sting.  My wife carries a little box containing a two-shot
adrenalin-substitute hypo and several prescription-strength
anti-histamine tablets.  Anti-histamines alone (the hypo is
prescription-only here, quite expensive and lasts only for a year
or two) *may* be sufficient for survival if the reaction is 
life-threatening.  However, it is always safer to have a doctor 
check you out for bee/wasp stings if you don't know how you will 
react to them - particularly if you are going into the bush.  
If you are sensitive to bee/wasp strings, you should carry the 
hypo around at all times.

Re: food selectivity.  Some people at some times seem to naturally
repell bugs.  I don't think that anyone has managed to figure
out precisely why or, more importantly, force it to happen with
any sort of reliability.  All I can say is, if by luck you discover 
it happening to you, don't change your "cleanliness-factor" or
your diet.  Neither perfectly clean or filthy bodies, in themselves, 
will repell bugs much either.  Sweating has something to do with it tho.
I've gone for a year without being touched, then two years getting 
eaten alive (before I discovered Musk-ol).  It's largely a matter of luck.

One "natural" suggestion tho:  Avoid wearing anything blue or black -
they attract some bugs.  In particular, blue attracts mosquitos.
And, mosquitos can usually go right through blue-jeans...
I also think that white is to be avoided but I can't remember for
sure.  Greens, medium browns and dark beiges are probably best.

I may have made camping/canoeing around in the Canadian bush sound a
little intimidating with the comments about the insects.  It ain't all
that bad - I just don't like insects biting me (particularly Horse
fly).  The danger I usually worry about is being caught too far out in
a lake during a storm or misjudging how close you can get to a set of
rapids.
-- 
Chris Lewis,
UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis
BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321

In article <2389@mit-hermes.ARPA> jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) writes:
>What methods exist, ... , to protect oneself from biting insects? 

Yes, eating garlic will help.  In addition to whatever oral remedies
others may suggest, cut down (way down) on your salt intake.
Mosquitoes (& most biting insects) are attracted to the salt in your
blood (no, I don't know how they know you are a walking salt mine).

-- 
 Blessed Be,

 Jeff Hull            {decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,scdrdcf,ucbvax}
 13817 Yukon Ave.         trwrb!trwspp!spp2!jhull
 Hawthorne, CA 90250		34o3'15" N  by  118o14'28" W

In article <249@sdcc13.UUCP> ee163acp@sdcc13.UUCP (DARIN JOHNSON) writes:

>A few acquaintances of mine swear on vitamin B-12 (or around there)
>taken during the few days before the 'problem' period.  It has never
>worked for me, but I've seen results.  (I was the only one bitten :-( 

Yup, that works, but I have found something that works
real well: Brewers Yeast

It can be purchased at any health food shop and does wonders for repelling
fleas, 'skeeters, etc.  It really makes your skin taste bad. (Note: it really
doesn't make you smell :-)

Oh, by the way, if you ever feed the stuff to a cat, you will make a friend for
life. (Plus give it a better coat..)

-Jim Hayes, UCSD.
{ihnp4, sdchema, ucbvax, etc}!sdcsvax!sdcc3!23403091
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honest, I did study... Pha-His-Ics... What's that? Oh well, I drop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

In article <2389@mit-hermes.ARPA> jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) writes:
>It's the season to be....bitten. What methods exist, apart from the application
>of diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) in large quantities, to protect oneself from 
>biting insects? In particular, are there any foods one can eat that would repel
>them? I have heard that garlic is exuded through the skin (and breath) and that
>insects dislike it, but that eating bananas will attract them. And there is a 
>company selling a product they call "skeeter tabs" that claim to be an "oral
>repellant"--has anyone tried it? And is it safe for humans, apart from its 
>effect on bugs? I'm more interested in this subject this year because I'm 
>going on a 10-day canoe trip in central Canada in July, and I can't see hauling
>a 55-gallon drum of Off along, nor do I want to hear my girlfriend's usual 
>remarks about how I have the aroma of a Sunoco station. Itching, of course, is
>no fun either.
>
>John Purbrick 
>{...decvax!genrad!  ...allegra!mit-vax!} mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg

I don't have any offhand suggestion to stop you from being bitten.  But if you
should be we have found that a good dose of B-complex (natural off course)
will reduce the bump and stop the itching within minutes.

{allegra|ihnp4}!cbdkc1!tjs

>  Musk-ol will prevent almost everything from
> landing, except possibly for Horse fly - you'll still need a baseball
> bat! (:-)).  

Thanx for the reply--I'll save it all. We certainly get black flies in New 
England; in fact you aren't allowed to kill them in Maine, on account of 
they're the state bird. 

Oddly enough, the weapon to deal with horseflies isn't a baseball bat, but a 
baseball HAT. Explanation: horseflies are not swarming insects, but one or two
will follow you for hours in sunny areas. They are very agile, and can dodge
almost any solid object; if you're lucky enough to connect, they are tough
enough to survive an impact. But I have a baseball cap that I sometimes wear
while canoeing, and the back of it is made of mesh. If the cap is held by its
peak and swung, the mesh back apparently isn't enough to create a pressure 
wave that the flies can dodge, so you can sweep them down against something
hard. It's especially gratifying to toss your persecutor overboard and watch
a fish appear from the depths and swallow it!

ps Muskol is widely sold in the States too. Is it really better than Old
Woodsman (I use the "jungle strength" grade) or is it just that the smell
makes one think that it's doing more good?

John Purbrick					jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA
{...decvax!genrad!  ...allegra!mit-vax!}  mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg

I can personally testify to the effectiveness of garlic (specifically, garlic
oil capsules) in repelling mosquitos. It passed the Assategue Island test --
when I was living in the Washington DC area we frequented the nude beach
there (since closed - :-( ), which had some really vicious bugs.

Garlic oil capsules are extremely effective. They are available at most
health food/vitamin stores. Don't get garlic tablets, they don't work.
Take one about a half hour before exposing your tender flesh. Sure, your
breath gets bad, but it sure beats insect repellant. If you can't taste
the garlic on your breath anymore, it's time for another.

I'm also told that vitamin B-1 is supposed to be an effective repellant,
but I haven't personally tried it.
-- 
Joe Buck		Entropic Processing, Inc. (epi)
	  {allegra,decwrl,hplabs,ucbvax,gatech,ihnp4}!twg!t12tst!epicen!jbuck

John, at one time, before they moved to Pennsy and now use
different water, I had great luck with the drinking of a
can of Schaffer beer in the evening.  Now it may have all
been in my mind, but my neighbor who drank Millers was always
covered with the beasties while they avoided me. (I should 
think about that).  Seriously, avoid wearing blue colors.
Observations made of Jersey skeeters seem to point out that
they are attracted to blue, at least in Jersey.  To make a cheap
repelent, mix 3 parts water with 1 part Avon Skin-so-soft.  I
hear it works just as well as the higher priced stuff and does
not leave you smmelling like the floor of a garage.
T. C. Wheeler

> It's the season to be....bitten. What methods exist, apart from the application
> of diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) in large quantities, to protect oneself from 
> biting insects? In particular, are there any foods one can eat that would repel
> them? I have heard that garlic is exuded through the skin (and breath) and that
> insects dislike it, but that eating bananas will attract them. And there is a 
> company selling a product they call "skeeter tabs" that claim to be an "oral
> repellant"--has anyone tried it? And is it safe for humans, apart from its 
> effect on bugs? I'm more interested in this subject this year because I'm 
> going on a 10-day canoe trip in central Canada in July, and I can't see hauling
> a 55-gallon drum of Off along, nor do I want to hear my girlfriend's usual 
> remarks about how I have the aroma of a Sunoco station. Itching, of course, is
> no fun either.
> 
> John Purbrick 
> {...decvax!genrad!  ...allegra!mit-vax!} mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg

I have heard that Avon Skin-so-soft works very well against even black flies.  
Several different people have told me this, but I have never had an occassion to try it myself.

I believe that someone has "discovered" that if you ingest more vitamin B-?
(well, one of them, anyway) than your body needs, the excess is dissipated in
your perspiration and the scent it exudes repels insects of all sorts.

Hey, who knows, it's worth a try, and there's not much danger of a vitamin B
overdose, since the excess *is* gotten rid of (unlike vitamin A, which you *can*
overdose on).

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl