DEET Alternatives
While it is possible, the probability of being attacked by a bear is low. Meeting a swarm of hungry female mosquitos is very likely. I thought I should plan for them before I left home.
Obviously, bug sprays with DEET comes highly recommended, but I really don’t like to put it on my skin. Also, I must confess, we don’t bathe that often when we’re on the road. While we do have running water, we only have 40-gallons and we have to turn on the heater then wait for the water to heat up. It is much easier to find a creek during the hottest part of the day and wash off once a week or so. But DEET-ing a whole creek while bathing is even worse than DEET-ing myself. I prefer to skip the DEET. Besides you need to repel mosquitos at night then wear your DEET until the next afternoon. DEET doesn’t seem like a good plan. We will carry some, but I’m looking for a better solution.
I prefer physical deterrents because I don’t have to worry about what is being absorbed through my skin. Obviously, this category includes long sleeves and pants, staying in the jeep, or hiding in the tent with the door zipped.
But we aren’t in the woods to hide in the tent, so we have head nets. Wearing mine makes me feel like a Victorian lady in mourning. In other words, a little ridiculous but it works.
It can be very handy when worn with my hat. When I don’t need it, I can tuck my bug veil up over the brim. Then when it is needed, it only takes a couple of seconds to deploy.
But it's basically a bag over your head. And you can’t enjoy your dinner that way.
I have been wondering if I could put fringe on my hat then, when bugs try to land on my face, I could just shake my head to swat them away. That might be more ridiculous than my bug net.
In my research, I read that some essential oils repeal mosquitos. Citronella was the first recommendation, but I’ve had a bad experience with putting that on my skin. It looked like I had a sunburn and it itched. Another article(1) suggested cinnamon, lavender, or cloves. I happen to have some cinnamon extract and a lavender spray. I might as well try these. On different days of course. I suspect they won’t work or these would be well known solutions.
I was thinking in combination with long sleeves, I would try the scents around my hands when I am cooking, brushing my teeth, or other tasks where I can’t wear gloves.
I did spot a problem with this plan. Do bears like cinnamon? I know they don’t notice lavender or we would wake up to find a bear frolicking in the lavender patch by our front door.
Our Lavender Patch
I’m thinking I’ll be careful to not get the smell on my clothes then carefully wash my hands before bed.
A friend sent me a suggestion for after I’m bitten.
I immediately checked the ingredients.
While I don’t have any idea what a “Nootka Tree” is, I know exactly what catnip is and that there are mountain lions where we are going. They are just as obsessed with catnip as house cats. My conclusion about this product is, if used near a mountain lion it’s 100% effective at making you forget about your mosquito bites.
No Mountain Lions Here
We have other chemical repellents. We have a Thermocell. It uses a battery to emit still different chemicals from a small pad inside the device. We have used it in the past. I couldn’t really say one way or the other whether it works.
I also read that eating garlic or beans causes you to emit smells that repel mosquitoes. I think the author might have been trying to repel people along with mosquitoes.
If I find an answer better than staying home I will post about it here.
Update: The Thermocell device works well. You need to replace the pad about every 4-6 hours of use. They turn white when they need replaced so it is easy to tell. You need to stay within 4-6 feet of the device, downwind is best.
We also found out they are very difficult to light at altitude. We haven’t had a problem on this trip so below 4,000 ft, but at 7,600 it doesn’t light.
Cinnamon oil works great. But it could be mosquitoes don’t want to land on oily skin where they will get stuck. Which points out that you end up with oily skin. You have to watch what you get the oil on. I like to use it on my legs because I normally would put lotion on them anyway, so one product, two uses.
Still testing.
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(1) https://www.healthline.com/health/kinds-of-natural-mosquito-repellant