From: John De Armond Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.camping Subject: Re: anti-mosquito measures Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 23:16:56 -0400 B Yen wrote: > > I am going to Africa, & want to minimize the mosquito/malaria risk. I > already bought a mosquito net (& will coat it with Permethrin). I will > also use DEET. > > I saw the following at a store: > > - ultrasonic devices (1 AAA battery) No. > - mosquito coils Practically speaking, no. They do emit a little insecticide but unless you're in a VERY tightly enclosed space, not enough to help. Here are some other things and techniques that work. They may not be practical for Africa but they do work. 1. Heat-based foggers. Burgess has made the consumer grade unit for at least 30 years. Both propane and electric ones are available. The fogger vaporizes a permethrin-bearing oil (usually light kerosene) and discharges it to air. This fog is cold and if the wind is not blowing, it will hang around the ground and in foliage for a long time. Since according to research, most mosquitoes that bite you come from about a 100 ft radius, if you gas the area around you with this device, you will have several hours of mosquito-free enjoyment. I've had one for 20+ years. It is an essential part of our outdoors kit, especially when we go to our lake property. 2. Get rid of ALL scents and perfumes. Mosquitoes LOVE scents. I have to prove that to my wife every year. I *HATE* all perfumes and use only unscented toiletries, except for Ivory snow bath soap which doesn't seem to matter. We go outside, she gets bit, I mostly don't. She quits stinking herself up, the mosquitoes quit biting her too. 3. Take the note on emedicine.com about light clothing seriously. It makes a LOT of difference. Red seems to be OK but blue and green as well as the dark colors are not. 4. Avoid anything that emits ultraviolet light. The usual offender at the camp site is the fluorescent lamp lantern. The UV tells 'skeeters "Soup's On!" 5. If you're going to be at a campsite for any length of time, find the nearby standing water and dribble a little kerosene, lantern fuel, cooking oil, etc on the water. This will smother the wigglers (mosquito larvae) before they can mature. A well-fertilized puddle will erupt a daily crop of hungry mosquitoes for days. If you suddenly suffer an epidemic of skeeters at home, look around for that puddle. I found one here over the weekend (actually a garbage can lid) that must have had a zillion wigglers in probably no more than a gallon of water. John From: John De Armond Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.camping Subject: Re: anti-mosquito measures Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 02:08:38 -0400 GonFishin wrote: > Neon John <johngdDONTYOUDARE@bellsouth.net> wrote in > <3B009FA8.A23D8542@bellsouth.net>: > > > 5. If you're going to be at a campsite for any length of time, > > find the nearby standing water and dribble a little kerosene, > > lantern fuel, cooking oil, etc on the water. This will smother > > the wigglers (mosquito larvae) before they can mature. A > > well-fertilized puddle will erupt a daily crop of hungry > > mosquitoes for days. If you suddenly suffer an epidemic of > > skeeters at home, look around for that puddle. I found one > > here over the weekend (actually a garbage can lid) that must > > have had a zillion wigglers in probably no more than a gallon > > of water. > > > > Gee, it seems to me the advice about dribbling oil based products on > water is highly polluting. There may be fines involved if caught > doing so. Better to eliminate the water somehow, IMHO. I kinda figured a comment like this would ooze up sooner or later. I'm sure you didn't bother to read this guy's original post so I'll quote the first sentence "I am going to Africa, & want to minimize the mosquito/malaria risk." Something tells me that in the midst of fighting off malaria, dengue fever, viral encephalitis, yellow fever and all the other goodies that african mosquitoes carry, this fellow could not care less if the remedy leaves an oil sheen on a puddle! Closer to home, "oil based products" constitute a wide variety of EPA approved chemicals that are applied directly to plants, ground and water. That includes my favorite herbicide, 2,4 d in diesel oil. Of course, if your level of education leave you with environmental beliefs that trend toward the mythic, you could use mineral oil which is harmless - or just let the skeeters bite you and suffer the consequences. > > Our favorite method of keeping the Minnesota 'skeeters away is > garlic. The entire family except our youngest ate foods with lots > of garlic seasoning for a month before the start of camping season > and for the duration. Seemed to work for us. YMMV I imagine that since you didn't see the original question, you also missed this link from another post in this thread: http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic540.htm Quoting the relevant part: "Despite the obvious desirability of finding an effective oral insect repellent, no such agent has been identified yet. Neither ingested garlic, brewer's yeast, nor thiamine is effective at repelling insects. The quest to develop the `perfect' topical repellent has been an ongoing scientific goal for years, and has yet to be achieved. " |