A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent

Post by jofer » Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 12:14 PM UTC

will_work4tears wrote: post #144

jofer wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 inse…

Anchorage is south.

Post by Qantourisc » Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 1:02 PM UTC

sheri wrote: post #170

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…

I agree. I don't think the author has been to India. I lived in Hyderabad, and the mosquito's there were super fast and super aggressive. Fans? Hah. Before sleeping, I'd close all the windows and doors and spray the toxic anti-mosquito product. After half an hour, I'd go in and find all the fallen mosquito's and squish them, since they weren't actually dead, just stunned. After a while they would just get up and fly…

Post by gallamine » Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 1:11 PM UTC

WestCoastJustin wrote: post #87

There is a guy on Youtube [1] that builds large DIY Mosquito fan traps. Well worth a watch if this is an issue for you. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU2kbghz85I

Post by tokenadult » Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 2:25 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #157

NoPiece wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is an incomplete summary of her credentials... Hello! I’m a freelance science journalist living in New York with my ball python, Agamemnon Fang. I spent the last few years as a marine geochemist by day, contributing editor for CBS SmartPlanet at night. Before that, I was a news intern for Nature in Washington, D.C., an editorial intern at Discover in New York, and a reporter for the infamous Point Reyes Light in…

Rather than summarize her credentials, I was attempting to point out that perhaps an intern writer at Nature.com is not someone we can refer to as "a scientist" and reference as such. Yes, she has a degree and experience. No, I'm not prepared to accept interns 2 years out of college as authoritative experts when it comes to planetwide ecological policy.

Post by voidlogic » Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 4:56 PM UTC

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…