Skeeter Proof

[jbo_c]

Is the 1.9oz nylon thick enough that mosquitoes can't bite through it?

I suppose it must be or having the noseeum only on top would leave a lot of lumpy, mosquito bitten bodies.

Jbo

[amac]

Please excuse me while I respond to your post without actually answering your question. It sounds like you want to make sure our little winged friends don't pester you. Consider soaking your hammock in Permethrin. It's reported to be a safe insecticide (but you should do your own research on it). Many folks soak everything they have in it, clothes and hammock and suspension. I soak everything except base-layer and sleep clothes. Once your hammock is soaked and dried, it ought to be good for the whole season, obviously depending on how much use it gets.

[jbo_c]

I've read that and while I'm probably less paranoid about chemicals than most, it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I sleep with my mouth open. What if my tongue lolls out and lays on the hammock? or what if I sweat and it is dissolved in the sweat? What if I have that dream about eating a giant marshmallow and wake up to realize I've ingested my (permethrin laden) pillow?

Also, it is only a killer, not a repellant, right? What then keeps them from landing, biting me, then dying? If they've already bitten me, it just seems spiteful to kill them.

Thanks for the quick response.

Jbo

[amac]

I've read that and while I'm probably less paranoid about chemicals than most, it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I sleep with my mouth open. What if my tongue lolls out and lays on the hammock? or what if I sweat and it is dissolved in the sweat? What if I have that dream about eating a giant marshmallow and wake up to realize I've ingested my (permethrin laden) pillow?

Also, it is only a killer, not a repellant, right? What then keeps them from landing, biting me, then dying? If they've already bitten me, it just seems spiteful to kill them.

Thanks for the quick response.

Jbo

I completely understand about the concerns with chemicals, like everything else, we each have to decide on our own level of risks. As far as landing, biting, dying, they won't bite through a material that's been Permethrin treated. I was in Maine last year and the skeeters were horrendous. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them land on my shirt, make a couple attempts to stick there needles in me through the shirt, but they all just stopped trying and flew away.

[Albert Skye]

[Permethrin is] reported to be a safe insecticide (but you should do your own research on it).

Permethrin toxicity

Depends what one means by "safe"; I wouldn't touch the stuff (though in some cases, mosquitoes carry a greater health risk than Permethrin). In any case, as amac says, do your own research.

[jbo_c]

How about the original question now that we're done with the sidebar(Thanks for the responses.)?

Can they bite through the single layer of nylon? I know they can bite through some materials.

What I'm weighing is the idea of a net a la HH or BB vs a cocoon. If I'm going to need a net to keep from getting bitten on the backside, I'd as soon skip the "built in" and just use a cocoon.

Thanks, again for the responses so far.

Jbo

[Albert Skye]

There are existing threads which address that question (search and ye shall find). In short, the fabric does not prevent mosquitoes from penetrating. You are also likely to need some kind of insulation, and that probably will stop them (though in South Georgia, perhaps a layer of nanoseeum would be warm enough).