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A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

nytimes.com

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Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#111

Post by mmanfrin »

raamdev wrote: post #107

My low-tech deterrent? A lifetime of avoiding deterrents. My body seems to have developed a natural resistance to them. I grew up in New Hampshire, not exactly as extreme as Alaska but a place where there are certainly plenty of mosquitos in the summer. I went camping a few weekends ago in the White Mountains and had 10 mosquitos biting my arm as soon as I stopped moving. So what's my deterrent? My body. It seems to…

I was a summer camp counselor and every week we'd have a 'staff hunt' where we'd basically play hide-and-seek with the staff all hiding out in the woods at night and then the kids coming through in flashlight-laden packs to find us. I chose a small little nook in the ground surrounded by bushes as my hiding spot.

When the horn sounded for the beginning of the game, I started to feel a slight itching sensation on my back (I was wearing a tshirt) and was unsure of what it was. I had to be still and quiet, but I managed to swat the lower half of my back (and only the lower half). The itch began to grow, but I couldn't do anything else risk being caught. After 12 minutes the horn sounded again and I was able to get up and out of the nook. I made my way to the buildings and found a mirror, and saw that 70% of my upper back was swollen with mosquito bites. There were so many that they simply globbed together in to masses of bite.

After about 20 minutes I checked again and they all had disappeared. Now, whenever I get bitten, I will notice it, but within 20 minutes the bite will be gone.

Natural immunity is neat.

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#112

Post by kkwok »

ultimoo wrote: post #53
grecy wrote: post #29

Spend a summer up in the Yukon or Alaska if you want to see solid walls of ravenous mosquitoes. I get bitten while riding my bike, bitten while my arm is out of the car window driving at 30km/h, and bitten through jeans. 100% DEET (you can get it in Alaska) does the trick for about 30 minutes before you have to re-apply - and it's nasty stuff. This past weekend I was camping at a music festival and slapped my arm cas…

Wow, this is not something I knew about Alaska. I did a simple google image search for 'Alaska mosquitoes' and that is plain scary.

I only know this from reading Hatchet (which is about Canada, but Alaska is basically the same)

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#113

Post by raamdev »

mmanfrin wrote: post #111
raamdev wrote: post #107

My low-tech deterrent? A lifetime of avoiding deterrents. My body seems to have developed a natural resistance to them. I grew up in New Hampshire, not exactly as extreme as Alaska but a place where there are certainly plenty of mosquitos in the summer. I went camping a few weekends ago in the White Mountains and had 10 mosquitos biting my arm as soon as I stopped moving. So what's my deterrent? My body. It seems to…

I was a summer camp counselor and every week we'd have a 'staff hunt' where we'd basically play hide-and-seek with the staff all hiding out in the woods at night and then the kids coming through in flashlight-laden packs to find us. I chose a small little nook in the ground surrounded by bushes as my hiding spot. When the horn sounded for the beginning of the game, I started to feel a slight itching sensation on my b…

That response to the bite sounds exactly like my progression from normal response to near-immunity. As I mentioned above, it's not like I've always been immune and there wasn't one day when suddenly I became immune. Its been a long multi-decade process (I'm 31 now). In my early twenties, I would itch and welt from a mosquito bite for maybe 10 minutes. Now, I don't welt or itch. When I was in my early teens, it was probably more like an hour of welt + itch.

I'm fascinated by bugs. I've always let them bite me for a while (even when I knew they would itch later). The joy of observing them always outweighed the itch for me. I think it's only because I've always let them bite me that I was able to get a sense of how the itching and welting changed over time.

In retrospect, I wish I had kept detailed records of the timing change.

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#114

Post by dllthomas »

lonetwin wrote: post #103
shreeshga wrote: post #43

Never knew this is a "method" worthy of an article. Every one in India[AFAIK] knows this.

heh, you bet ! When I read the article, I was like FFS ! You've got to be kidding me ! Is this really on the NY-effing-times ! ...but then I read the comments ...ah well, first world ignorance of ^low-tech^ solutions. Next thing you know somebody would be 'discovering' water is good to fight dehydration ! :)

Well, clearly we know what's next, then: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8897662/...

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#118

Post by raamdev »

Alex3917 wrote: post #79
pinko wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also don't ever mix it with DEET, because the combination is neurotoxic. Holy crap. I must know 100 people who regularly wear Permethrin-treated clothes and then spray on DEET repellent. I had no idea it was dangerous. (FWIW, I avoid them both due to general conservatism when it comes to toxic chemicals, especially when the stakes are low -- i.e., the worst-case is itching and not malaria.)

I started doing it only because I've already gotten bitten by two ticks this year and have found another half dozen on me. I'm only outside a few hours a week collecting mushrooms though, I'm not lying with it pressed against my skin for ten hours straight in a hunting blind or doing anything that would cause me to sweat excessively. But yeah, at least in the Northeast it's gotten to the point where going out into th…

The tick problem in the Northeast USA seems to vary wildly every year. I've lived here my whole life (31 years, in the southern New Hampshire area) and I've seen tick populations fluctuate drastically from one year to the next.

A few years ago it was particularly bad: I went camping on my dad's land in northern New Hampshire one weekend and we had literally a dozen ticks crawling up our legs within five minutes of arriving. When I awoke in my tent the next morning, the outside of the tent had dozens of ticks clinging to the outside netting, trying to get in. It was impossible to walk anywhere without getting several ticks on you. None of us, including my dad who has lived here 60+ years, has seen it that bad.

In contrast, we were up at the same area a few weekends ago and we spent three days walking through the woods, camping out, and wearing shorts the whole time. The three of us had a total of 2 ticks the entire weekend.

I'm very curious to know what's influencing their numbers.

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#119

Post by jofer »

eksith wrote: post #77
ultimoo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, this is not something I knew about Alaska. I did a simple google image search for 'Alaska mosquitoes' and that is plain scary.

Not living North enough ;) This is mostly a problem further South and West in Alaska. The higher up you go, the colder it is to the point you don't get that many insects at all.

The mosquitoes are pretty rough up on the north slope. They're even worse than the Anchorage area (and bigger, too). Anywhere there's lots of standing fresh water, you'll have mosquitoes in the summer in Alaska.

The wind does make a huge difference though. If it's windy, there's more or less no problem. It's when the wind lies down that they come out in force.

The mosquitoes are bad enough that blood loss due to insect bites is a major contributing factor to caribou calf mortality, believe it or not. The caribou actually seek out drilling pads because they're elevated (~10 feet) enough to catch a breeze and get "out of the swamp", which helps keep the mosquitoes down. Thus the pictures you'll often see (yay, PR spin) of caribou swarming oil production facilities on the north slope.

Re: A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

#120

Post by vacri »

lonetwin wrote: post #103
shreeshga wrote: post #43

Never knew this is a "method" worthy of an article. Every one in India[AFAIK] knows this.

heh, you bet ! When I read the article, I was like FFS ! You've got to be kidding me ! Is this really on the NY-effing-times ! ...but then I read the comments ...ah well, first world ignorance of ^low-tech^ solutions. Next thing you know somebody would be 'discovering' water is good to fight dehydration ! :)

I thought it was strangely higher-tech than the suggested alternatives.
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