[pct-l] RE: bug question

[ruffwork]

My solution is a combination of:
1) bug head net (The OR spring ring head net and Coghlans bug gloves)
2) I treat all my outer-wear with permethrin (pants and shirts and socks) and dry 
    it in the drier to "fix" it into the cloth better
3) Lemon Eucalyptus spray on any exposed skin.

The US Army now uses Permethrin treated clothing and DEET but the DEET melts
all my nylon clothing and plastic gear ;-(

ruffwork
> I don't remember where I read it, may have been a post from someone on 
> this list or a book I read. There was a very scientific study done by 
> the military on what would keep mosquitoes away. They learned that it is 
> not a smell that keeps them away but an altering of the way they find 
> food. So their little blood sucking receptors get scrambled when the 
> come across something like deet. From what I remember they said it is 
> the carbon dioxide that the mossies zero in on to find their "prey", 
> same for ticks apparently. Deet scrambles their finding abilities so 
> they don't really "know" that anything is there and if one gets you with 
> a product like deet it is supposedly by sheer luck not because they 
> could "find" you. The article I read claimed that garlic and citronella 
> and all that other stuff and "home remedies" really didn't do anything 
> to detract mosquitoes.
> 
> I personally think there might be something in a person's natural 
> chemistry to keep mossies away. When I am by myself and unprotected I 
> will have mosquitoes come after me, but if I'm with other people the 
> mossies always go after them first and I might get 2 bites to another 
> person's 20 bites. Guess my blood is just too sweet for 'em. :p
> Kathi