Mosquito Repellent soaps?

S

Sid Post

Joined
Oct 14, 1998
Messages
4,675
I was looking at Ugainics.org out of Uganda and their Malaria fighting Mosquito Repellent soap and wondered what my options were in the USA at a reasonable cost. I have run across some ~$10/bar options but, that seems excessive unless you are in some high-end shopping mall specialty store.
 
I've not found any of the "essential oil" based repellants to be all that effective. Granted if the mosquitoes are bad enough to bother me, we are usually talking swarms thick enough that you start talking without opening your teeth. I've found that permethrin treated clothing is pretty effective, craghoppers makes some good stuff in that category, and when I was working outside all day it was better than soaking in DEET. I think the main factor is time, we would like a 24hr solution, but in reality its more like 2hr one.
 
Unless you know the ingrediants you could be absorbing DDT through your skin.When i use to hunt in Big Cypress (Florida Everglades) we wore our bug nets(pants,top and headgear)
 
FatRat1 said:
Unless you know the ingrediants you could be absorbing DDT through your skin.When i use to hunt in Big Cypress (Florida Everglades) we wore our bug nets(pants,top and headgear)
Click to expand...
DDT doesn't make a very good repellant, But I think I get where you are coming from. It's why it's important to know at least some of the chemistry behind what you are wanting to use. When I was growing up you could still get DEET in 99.5% bottles. Turns out that it doesn't work any better than 24% after a couple of hours. The other main repellant Picaridin doesn't work as well, needs higher concentrations more often, and how it's metabolized in the body is less well known. Permethrin is actually broken down in the first layers of skin, so it doesn't work as a repellant directly on the skin, but keeps bugs from landing on you and biting through clothing, mostly via them being dead. It's used for treating certain things like scabies, is particularly toxic to cats, and is destroyed by UV. Sometimes the "worst" chemicals are also the ones we know the most about. And to your other point, if it's on your skin, it's in your body. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but it's better to presume it's true than guess it might not be.
I'm all in the mesh camp, but full "no-see-um" mesh in the tropics can still hold enough heat to be miserable, and it's not practical when walking through the Aussie bush. So as with most things, custom solutions all around.
 
FatRat1 said:
Unless you know the ingrediants you could be absorbing DDT through your skin.When i use to hunt in Big Cypress (Florida Everglades) we wore our bug nets(pants,top and headgear)
Click to expand...
They don't use any DDT or DEET. Coconut, Palm, Olive oils, Beeswax, and essential oils.

I'm trying to avoid mosquito bites through my shirts, jeans, socks, etc. on my legs and arms in addition to my head/face. Wearing heavy enough pants and shirts to stop them risks heat stroke where and how I work in addition to being really uncomfortable.

Permethrin, Deet, Picardin (sp?), and similar chemical sprays are what I'm trying to cut down on. Occasional use I'm not too worried about but, weeks or months of use are a concern to me so, alternatives are under consideration.
 
gadgetgeek said:
DDT doesn't make a very good repellant, But I think I get where you are coming from. It's why it's important to know at least some of the chemistry behind what you are wanting to use. When I was growing up you could still get DEET in 99.5% bottles. Turns out that it doesn't work any better than 24% after a couple of hours. The other main repellant Picaridin doesn't work as well, needs higher concentrations more often, and how it's metabolized in the body is less well known. Permethrin is actually broken down in the first layers of skin, so it doesn't work as a repellant directly on the skin, but keeps bugs from landing on you and biting through clothing, mostly via them being dead. It's used for treating certain things like scabies, is particularly toxic to cats, and is destroyed by UV. Sometimes the "worst" chemicals are also the ones we know the most about. And to your other point, if it's on your skin, it's in your body. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but it's better to presume it's true than guess it might not be.
I'm all in the mesh camp, but full "no-see-um" mesh in the tropics can still hold enough heat to be miserable, and it's not practical when walking through the Aussie bush. So as with most things, custom solutions all around.
Click to expand...
Thanks GadgetGeek, spot on!

Mesh around my head is about as much as I can take normally.

Biting flies are their own kind of problem versus mosquitos but, mosquitoes are the thing I'm focused on mainly as they are the worst where I live. I've had Scabies once so, that is something best avoided as well just like fire ants!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top