Mosquitoes!!! ARGH!

[Scutter01]

Strange as it may sound, take the inside of a banana peel and rub it on your skin. I have no idea why it works but it does.

I already do that just for fun. I guess I could try that on mosquito bites, too.

 

[Kingrat]

im sharing your pain man, i got bit by delayed reaction radioactive river mosquitos or something, 4th, didnt notice any mosquitos, 5th, no signs no itching, i didnt even leave the house, 6th 7th 8th, itchy red mosquito bites! sons of bishes

 

[Jack Ryan]

I've seen the Thermacell marketed in a few places. Can anyone else confirm its efficacy? Hate to spend the money to find out it does nothing to repel the little buggers. I'm also not a huge fan of spraying Deet all over my skin, as it may be toxic when used heavily*.



*Is DEET Bug Spray Safe - Toxic Insect Repellent and Natural Bug Spray Alternatives - The Daily Green
ATSDR - DEET - Health Effects in Humans

Yes, I'm on my second thermocell and they work, they work good. - side, it's not cheap. + side hardly any oder, it works, don't have to smear yourself with stinky, greasy chemicals.

Ever try mosquito coils? Round coils you burn like incense? All the good points of the thermocell but it smells more, but it's cheaper to use. I wouldn't use coils while deer hunting but I've used the thermocell while hunting with no noticable affect on game animals.

 

[Scutter01]

I don't think I've used the coils since I was a kid. I don't recall those ever working. Kinda like those useless citronella candles and tiki torches.

 

[public servant]

Gnats were everywhere though.

Sigh...

We spent 5 days camping at Lieber SRA over the holiday weekend. There were no mosquitoes there...I think the freaking gnats ate them all...

And horse flies as big as half dollars.

 

[spasmo]

Speaking of banana peels. They do not really cook in a fire. I had a banana that I wanted to cook on the fire this past weekend to see what it would taste like. It just made the banana soggy and the peel got a little thinner but that's about it. I thought that was strange.

 

[spasmo]

The thermacells come in different varieties. There is the lantern and then that personal carry thing. Probably other varieties too but would it matter which one I picked up?

 

[Jack Ryan]

I don't think I've used the coils since I was a kid. I don't recall those ever working. Kinda like those useless citronella candles and tiki torches.

I'd used them about 20 years ago and don't recall thinking much of them back then either until I tried them again a couple weeks ago. They just might have changed the insecticide or formula in the last 20 years. I know I can sit outside with one burning for a couple hours where I could barely stand to walk there and straight back to the house otherwise.

$5.77 for 4 coils/refills, I suggest you give them another shot. I've got the Off brand coils. I never use the dish or any of that. Just light it and hang it on something near where I'm sitting.

 

[dtkw]

The local hardware store here sell those clip on motor spinning device to keep the bugs away. They're all sold out. I guess it must be working pretty good.

 

[finity]

The thermacells come in different varieties. There is the lantern and then that personal carry thing. Probably other varieties too but would it matter which one I picked up?

Thermacells work really well. I've heard they're used by the military. I can neither confirm nor deny that, though.

I've never tried the lantern but I'm sure it will work as well as the personal one. You can use the personal one the same as the lantern so I would probably get the personal one (& I did ). As a word of warning: to carry the personal one with you they make a "holster" for it. I found mine for around $13 so it does add to the cost a little. And sometimes the refills are hard to find & can also get a little expensive but it works good so it's worth it.

 

[HandK]

Perhaps this will help with the itch!!

 

[LeeStreet]

When they bite me, I just dab on a little fresh cow manure. I can't always have fresh, so I keep some in a jar & moisten it with a little alcohol. I leave it on for 10 minutes. Around the house I spray Ortho Home Defense Max on the grass & shrubs. That does a good job keeping the little blood suckers away.

 

[Scutter01]

I'd rather have an itchy bite.

 

[tyler34]

3 things that work for me.

1. do not eats bananas if going outside. there is a chemical in them that attracts mosquitoes.

2. try something like sting-eaze that has benzo/lido cane to numb the area.

3. I have not been bitten in almost ten years, the trick? leukemia! if you can handle the fact that this fool proof treatment might kill you then your golden. apparently they they don't like blood that is full of chemo.(one of the drugs is a derivative of mustard gas)

 

[Blackhawk2001]

We were at a friend's wedding up in Zionsville a couple years ago. They got married at a golf course and the mosquitoes were thick. That friend suggested cheap hairspray. We stopped at a 24 hour Drug Store on the way home and bought the cheapest hair spray we could find. Worked like a charm to take away the itch.

 

[finity]

Also, I've read vitamin B1 will ward off mosquitos. You have to take it for a few days to build the levels up in your blood before going into an exposure area, though.

 

[spasmo]

3 things that work for me.

1. do not eats bananas if going outside. there is a chemical in them that attracts mosquitoes.

That explains us having the mosquito bites. I took bananas with us and we ate them. Also tried to roast them... So roasting them probably even made it all that worse. hehehe That's what I get for trying to eat healthy.

 

[Scutter01]

The banana roasting was from the previous trip. And I ate none of the bananas this trip. I think I'm just naturally attractive to mosquitoes.

 

[Charlie]

Going fishing in Canada this week. I'm taking a Thermocell with me so I'll find out if it works or not.

 

[printcraft]

If I'm ever bitten and the itch is too much for me, I use mud. Most people just use mud for bee stings, but I find that if I mix a little dirt and water, then make a "mask" of sorts, it helps me immensely, if only for a few hours.

Good news is that it's a dual use repellent.
It will also make you invisible to Predators.
So there's that.