Mosquitoes Biting Through DL

[Mountain Gout]

Ok..... Not to beat a dead horse or anything but.. Are you telling me that I could possibly do without a bug net if I treat my traveler and other gear with this stuff?
Please remember I am in Michigan ...

[JaxHiker]

Not if you value your life. I've heard horror stories about Michigan skeeters.

[BillyBob58]

Ok..... Not to beat a dead horse or anything but.. Are you telling me that I could possibly do without a bug net if I treat my traveler and other gear with this stuff?
Please remember I am in Michigan ...

Well, maybe not but maybe some cautious experimenting is in order? Last oct in the Sipsey(yes the mosses were still out), I did without a net and had no bites and they did not even swarm near me.(I had a head net but did not use it) And my dbl layer hammock was not even treated just my pants and shirt. At bed time I applied 20% picaridin to my hat face and hands. I was camped right next to some stagnant water(drought). I'm thinking a person could treat hammock and clothing plus use some bug spray, then try it with net open and see how it goes? If they are trying to carry you away to their dining room, then zip up the net.

[Hangandy]

Anyone know where you can buy it in Canada? Heard it was not approved by Health Canada. Just a myth?

+1 Sturgeon. Looking for a supplier in Canada. Canadian Tire has insecticides w/ it but I don't know how easy it would be to work with it as it only contains Peremethrin.

[Happy2Camp]

Here is the chemical free solution that has worked for me....A wide double layer hammock (e.g. Dutchware wide double layer 1.6 Hexon). The double layer hammock keeps mosquitoes from biting underneath or from the side. With a single layer hammock if one or two mosquitoes gets (slips) into the bug net and gets under the fabric you can't get to them to kill them and they will torment you. You can use a full surround bug net like the Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Shelter to keep the net away from the bottom of a single layer hammock but again if you get a mosquito in the hammock (e.g. getting in/out of the hammock in the middle of the night to use the restroom) they will torment you. The wide hammock has enough fabric to cover my elbow (sleep with my hand under my head with elbow sticking out) and the side of my feet (sleep with my feet crossed when laying on my back) where the bugnet comes in contact with the side of the hammock fabric. Also a surround type bugnet with a bottom such as the Thermarest brand allows me to put a pee jug in the bottom of the hammock so that I don't have to exit and re-enter the hammock at night for bathroom breaks (I'm over 50). If you do have to enter/exit keep the headlamp off. Mind you my setup isn't for the Ultra Light crowd but I go canoe camping so weight is not a big factor. I live along the gulf coast of Texas and in the woods the mosquitoes can be very thick at times.

[OMark]

Yup Permethrin is the only way to go.

[photomankc]

Yup Permethrin is the only way to go.

That stuff changed my life. We have a 40 acre rural property I hunt, shoot, and camp on. The summer months were just about impossible there though. Between the ticks and chiggers I was almost unable to be there after late May till October or beyond. My body HATES chigger bites. I will have welts for over a month from them. After one bad trip I was thinking I might sell the place because I can't endure that every summer. The other resident is the Lone Star tick, and the place is full of them. Given their role in transmitting a serious meat allergy I'm not at all interested in suffering many bites from them.

Treating my shoes, socks, and pants made it possible for me to have little concern over ticks/chiggers now. I can walk the fields in summer without (much) concern and not worry about the ticks in the woods much either. It is not however a repellent. It kills the stuff that comes in contact with it but it does not keep them away at all. Lucky for me mosquitoes are a minor issue there so I generally can avoid wearing DEET much, which I hate the feel of.

I target a 1 to 1.2 percent dilution for treating clothes and gear. I picked up a big bottle of 30 percent concentrate from Amazon. I can treat gear for years using that at a tiny fraction of the cost of the Walmart spray bottles. I use a garden pump sprayer and apply to clothes while hanging so they get a good soaking from it. I think it takes about 3 ounces of concentrate to make a gallon of treatment.