Bugs, Critters and other ikkle beasties!

[Jenna]

Its been touched on in another thread but i thought it needed its own so here it is.... midges!!!

there seams to an increasing problem with midges, mossies and everything that bites with wings over the last few years so I wondered what if anything people are using to combat the critters.

From looking through tinternet there seams to be many cures including the wild and wacky, these are some of the more plausible!

Marmite (hate the salt content in your sweat!)
Catnip... yes catnip!
DEET... SBK under another name!
Skin So Soft.... yep Avon SSS dry body oil (as used by the MOD!!)
DMP(shoo)... a geeky solution
Bog Myrtle extract.... another traditional one
vitamin b or it may have been d in large amounts.

on a commercial scale there seams to a lot more of the Midge Off co2 units about but some say they work and others say they dont?

[Jenna]

missed off citronella oil/extract.

[Mabels Old Man]

I got some 100% DEET to go to Canada last year, tried it once and it worked. However I felt like I'd been covered in cooking oil, it was horrible. Haven't used it since.

[bigbogdog]

I can tell you the skin so soft dident work worth beans at the last place we were at, I think the midgies veiwed it as Human Gravy.
Bog myrtle, helped a bit but I think after a while they developed a taste for the stuff....
DEET, if you dont mind being covered in dead midgies.... & yer lips turning numb cause you accedently got it on your mouth (yes, washed hands, screatched bites on wrist.. oops, stuff back on hands..Gah!)

[Boris]

I got some 100% DEET to go to Canada last year, tried it once and it worked. However I felt like I'd been covered in cooking oil, it was horrible. Haven't used it since.

Deet is horrible stuff (I use 30-50%) and as you say it does leave a sticky residue but for me at least it works. It also turns some metals a funny colour and dissolves some man made materials so keep it away from your jewellery, threm-a-rests and jackets. In fact a small bottle lives in the bike at all times.
I also found after prolonged use (weeks) it make my skin very dry.

I've read up about skin so soft and opinion seems to be polarised about it as it's either great or useless. I can't comment as I haven't tried it personally.

[Jenna]

we used DEET out on the rallies in both Poland and Finland in the lakes and i think it worked but it did bleach out/rot any fabric it came in contact with and it smelt nasty!

The Avon stuff is apparently a re brand of an old product that they did used to market as insect repellent however under new and stricter rules they cant/wont do that now.... never used it but if the MOD is buying it there must be something to it... oh and its cheap at the minute if you buy it from Avon online

why does this thread seam to leave me wanting to scratch

[DaveS]

I used Avon Skin So soft, McVicar provided me with some a few years ago when we were at the Red Squirrel Campsite in Glencoe.

There were midges everywhere.
I had some Lidl's special anti midge repellant stuff which I used first which didn't really help and I got bitten.
Tried the Avon stuff from then on and it seemed to work fine after that, no more bites.

[Boris]

It appears skin so soft is a range of products so which ones deter the beasties and which ones are human gravy?

Jenna mentioned the dry body oil that works

bigbogdog and DaveS what worked / didn't wotk for you?

[Boris]

Its been touched on in another thread but i thought it needed its own so here it is.... midges!!!

Marmite (hate the salt content in your sweat!)

Some of them love it though. Marmite is like that.

[Jenna]

this the one that i was told about and the the one the MOD was using.

skin so soft soft and fresh dry oil body spray

it was previously called Woodland Fresh