Avoiding mosquito attacks
Q. I feel like a mosquito magnet. Seems like every time I go on outings with my troop, I’m the only one who gets bitten. What can I do? Help!
— Badly Bitten Ben, Smyrna, Ga.
A. Luckily there are some things you can do. First, wear long pants, a long-sleeve shirt and a hat. If the mosquitoes can’t find your skin, then it’s harder for them to bite you. There’s even clothing with a built-in mosquito repellent called permethrin. Try Ex Officio’s Buzz Off long-sleeve tee ($34; exofficio.com) and Buzz Off Air Strip pants ($75). I tested this stuff in the Yukon during an expedition recently where the mosquitoes were big enough to carry off a house cat — and it works!
Wear light colors, too, as mosquitoes seem more attracted to dark colors, and lay off scented shampoos and soaps because some bugs love the smell.
As for insect repellents, look for products that contain either DEET or picaridin as the active ingredient.
if you don’t be carful you can get parasites from dem
I’ve used suntan oil with amazing success. Just the cheap stuff works great. It kept both mosquitoes and biting flies off me. I was camping for a week and forgot repellant. After being eaten alive by biting flies and mosquitoes, I asked a camper from a neighboring camp if they had any to spare and they handed me the oil. He said, “Believe me, it works!” And it did! That’s what I use now.
Bright colors work well to minimize the skeeters but Listerine isn’t a good idea; it will attract other animals if you use it on an overnight. Permethrin does come in a spray bottle and can be applied on your existing clothes; a bottle large enough to spray 6 sets of clothes costs about $20.00 and will last for 6 washing’s or 30 days. I also like to catch May-flies and put them in my tent, another great Mosquito eliminator.
I’m a former DEET fan who has switched to Picaridin. It works just as well, doesn’t smell as bad (although not exactly the greatest smell), and doesn’t ruin leather, etc.