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Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET

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avatar New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 09, 2011 07:06PM
ScienceDaily (May 9, 2011) — Imagine an insect repellant that not only is thousands of times more effective than DEET -- the active ingredient in most commercial mosquito repellants -- but also works against all types of insects, including flies, moths and ants. That possibility has been created by the discovery of a new class of insect repellant made in the laboratory of Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology Laurence Zwiebel and reported this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110509151244.htm
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 09, 2011 07:23PM
This should make the boy happy. As it is, we have to use 100% DEET to keep the mosquitoes at bay. They just love him. We are both actually allergic to their bites, but he is much worse than I am. His get really scary looking.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 09, 2011 09:19PM
Quote
itchbay
This should make the boy happy. As it is, we have to use 100% DEET to keep the mosquitoes at bay. They just love him. We are both actually allergic to their bites, but he is much worse than I am. His get really scary looking.

Can we rent him for our trips? I love having someone around to take all the bites. Grinning Devil
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 09, 2011 09:42PM
Seriously. Before I met him, *I* was that person in the group.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 10, 2011 10:37AM
Quote
itchbay
Seriously. Before I met him, *I* was that person in the group.

Love at first bite?
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 10, 2011 06:29PM
Can't wait! I hope the smell isn't too bad. I have tried many different repellants, and I can't seem to get anything to work except the 100% deet (well, 98.1% or whatever, the brand is Repel). And I can't stand the way it smells or feels on my skin, but better than being a food source I suppose.

Any other suggestions in the meantime? I read a few years ago about the lemon eucalyptus stuff people on this site were giving props to, and it did not work on me at all (I was a mosquito buffet). But it did smell better!
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 06:19AM
My best suggestion for this problem is to hit the High Sierra in August when there are not enough mosquitos to even think about. I've had to resort to this as one of those "happy meal" targets for the little buggers even when standing in a crowd. Deet works fairly well for me but I hate putting it on. It's bad enough I have to spread sunscreen goop on me. Doing it agin for mosquitos goes over the top.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 11:10AM
Quote
robinjayp

Any other suggestions in the meantime? I read a few years ago about the lemon eucalyptus stuff people on this site were giving props to, and it did not work on me at all (I was a mosquito buffet). But it did smell better!

I've found that for me, 3M's Ultrathon works best and lasts the longest. It's DEET-based, but unlike other DEET-based product, its effectiveness will last more than a few hours. It basically lasts all-day, in my experience. It's available at REI and other outdoor outfitters stores.

3M Ultrathon Product Page
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 11:14AM
Quote
plawrence
Quote
robinjayp

Any other suggestions in the meantime? I read a few years ago about the lemon eucalyptus stuff people on this site were giving props to, and it did not work on me at all (I was a mosquito buffet). But it did smell better!

I've found that for me, 3M's Ultrathon works best and lasts the longest. It's DEET-based, but unlike other DEET-based product, its effectiveness will last more than a few hours. It basically lasts all-day, in my experience. It's available at REI and other outdoor outfitters stores.

3M Ultrathon Product Page

http://bit.ly/iflsXb
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 01:09PM
Thanks so much for the suggestions! You all have always been so helpful (and interesting and amusing). I will try the 3M Ultrathon out in my local hiking spots. Hopefully it works on people like me who have allergic reactions to bug bites (I feel any and all bites unlike most people)! The Repel works somewhat, but stinks and feels icky. I also hate the way it eats away the Ziploc baggy I keep it in (and distorts the directions on the back of the container). I fear it has a similar effect on my skin that soda has on the hood of a car....

Visiting Yosemite (valley and TM) in late July, so no avoiding mosquitoes I suppose, especially at TM.
.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 06:00PM
Quote
robinjayp
Thanks so much for the suggestions! You all have always been so helpful (and interesting and amusing). I will try the 3M Ultrathon out in my local hiking spots. Hopefully it works on people like me who have allergic reactions to bug bites (I feel any and all bites unlike most people)! The Repel works somewhat, but stinks and feels icky. I also hate the way it eats away the Ziploc baggy I keep it in (and distorts the directions on the back of the container). I fear it has a similar effect on my skin that soda has on the hood of a car....

Visiting Yosemite (valley and TM) in late July, so no avoiding mosquitoes I suppose, especially at TM.
.

It's some sort of time-release mechanism. I used to have a dog, and 3M sold some sort of time release flea dip that contained Dursban (Chlorpyrifos). I don't think they sell it because the ingredient is now banned in the US for non-agricultural use. However - they probably have the time-release mechanism down pat.

As for the stuff eating away at things - that's just DEET. I've heard of spills in luggage that ruined synthetic clothing or various objects made of plastics. Some plastics aren't affected by DEET, such as nylon or polyethylene (which is a typical container for DEET). Other plastics can be dissolved by DEET. Ultrathon contains DEET, so it'll probably cause similar problems.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 06:27PM
Quote
robinjayp

Any other suggestions in the meantime? I read a few years ago about the lemon eucalyptus stuff people on this site were giving props to, and it did not work on me at all (I was a mosquito buffet). But it did smell better!

How to prevent bites:
1. Wear tight weave clothes. Mosquitoes will go right through knits. Long sleeves and long pants. Wear a hat. Watch your socks area as socks are knit.
2. Spray a little OFF on your palm, rub your hands together, apply to your face and neck then to the rest of your hands by rubbing the stuff around the back of your hands.

Repellant does NOT keep mosquitoes from landing on you but it WILL keep them from biting. I go through a can of OFF about every four or five years and rarely get bitten.


Old Dude
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 11, 2011 07:10PM
Quote
mrcondron
How to prevent bites

Be one of those persons mosquitoes don't bite.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 12, 2011 04:17PM
I am NOT one of the persons mosquitoes don't bite. They love me, and not in a good way. I do usually wrap up pretty well and only seem to get bit on my exposed legs and arms. I remember getting munched on pretty bad last year (early July) with the 100% deet on at Sentinel Bridge/meadow area. Worth it I suppose because we were watching a bear pose for pictures...

I do appreciate all the suggestions and will try them out. Thanks!
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
May 12, 2011 06:45PM
I don't like applying DEET, but will when I have to. A lot of summer days in the Sierra, I find the afternoon winds blow mosquitoes away (especially if I set up camp away from meadows as I should anyway). Evening becomes a problem, but if I can put up with it I can go to sleep without smelling of DEET, and I plan for it anyway by putting most of my stuff in the tent before the afternoon winds let up (minimizing the opportunity for mosquitoes to enter the tent). Mornings are where I lose it, because otherwise I find it impossible to enjoy having breakfast and morning coffee (it's hard to eat and drink through a head net!).

When I went to Katmai NP (where my profile picture was taken) I noticed at King Salmon's airport that most of the people standing outside waiting were wearing headnets. I had bug dope, but I took the hint and looked around the airport, found, and bought a headnet before leaving. Best $4 investment I've made.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2011 06:46PM by ttilley.
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
June 03, 2011 07:43PM
Some discussion of this on Science Friday today: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/sciencefriday/scifri20110603-hr1.mp3
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avatar Re: New Insect Repellant May Be Thousands of Times Stronger Than DEET
June 06, 2011 12:45AM
Quote
eeek
Some discussion of this on Science Friday today: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/sciencefriday/scifri20110603-hr1.mp3

For those who just want to listen to the mosquitos repellent segment, fast-forward to the 34:00 minute mark of the show.
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