Member - Coyote (SA) replied:

personally I think it's a gimmick. I am in the Defence Force and before we deploy to a known malaria infested area we dip out uniforms in a soloution designed to deter mosquitos. This is all well and good and stops them biting through your clothes (apparently) but unless every square mm of your skin is covered in this stuff then it's a waste of time. Add to this the treatment only last for one or two washes before it wears off. I'm not sure what the manufacturer of the mosquito proof clothing uses, it would be interesting to find out...
Next issue is the fact that this is in fact a insecticide which you have now placed against your skin long term.. ."agent orange is OK for you.. don't worry" rings loud in my ears at this point.. I per4sonally have a problem with having clothing with insecticide impregnated rubbing against sensitive parts of my anatomy.. so perhaps I should wear additional clothing to keep the mossie proof clothingoff my skin.. then htis defeats the purpse of the mozzie proof clothing as the can't bight through two layers nayway..
so in short persoannly I think they are a gimmick, I admit I don't know what chemical they use to prevent the bites, but I sure woud like to know and how "wash proff" the treatment is.. personally I'll stick to using mozzie coils around the camp and wear insect repellant on my skin in small quanities (interestingly enough if you read the side of the can it says only to be used in small quantities - after having to coat ourselves in the stuff for weeks on end we though we would ask aeroguard what they considered small quantities, their unoffocal response was no more than a small amount once or twice a day) boy was that wake up call.. having applied insect repellant that melted my watch band clean off 5-6 time a day for week on end.. I shudder to think what its done to my skin..

robak (QLD) replied:

Scubaroo,

I'm guessing the clothes you are talking about contain permethrin. It kills mosquitoes and other insects on cantact but is harmelss to humans.

When we traveleed through south east Aisa we had mosquito nets with which were impregnated with permethrin. We bought our net new already impregnated but you can buy permethrin at good camping stores, like Kathmandu or Mountain Designs, or at agricultural stores.

For us it seemed to work. It last for up to three months or about 6 washes. After that it needs to be re-applied.

R.

richopesto replied:

Scubaroo,

I used to use the "Tropical strength" version of a well known mozzie product. Until I also read the warnings on the side. (After having used it every day for over 4 weeks !!)

I refer you to the MSDS for Permethrin: http://www.bayercropscience.com.au/products/resources/msds/Perigen%20Defence%20Residual%20Insecticide.pdf

Take coyotes warnings - no chemical company (far as I know) designs stuff which KILLS THINGS but allows you to immerse thoroughly in it.
They keep promising safe products - you know- DDT, PCB's, MDF glues, VOC's, etc. etc. etc. All subsequently proven carcinogenic, mutagenic and generally pretty nasty. As the previous poster noted....even smoking was promoted as 'harmless' by people who knew well better.
Suffice to say, if a company can make a profit and you don't die in the interim (thus removing their profit stream) or can otherwise connect thier product with your childs congenital deformities, then they'll keep pumping that product out the door.
Long sleeves, stay inside at dusk and dawn (as strongly recommended by Top End health authorities) and the odd red scratchy welt aren't too much to deal with.

Im with Coyote, Im back to mossie coils.

cheers
richopesto

robak (QLD) replied:

Well, I've searched about permethrin on the web and this stuff seems to be the new DDT. It's used absolutely EVERYWHERE. It's used on most of our friut, veges and cereals. It's been given to our pigs, cows, goats and chickens ("Residues were reported in milk and butter, meat, liver and kidney"). It's also used in wine production and to kill head lice, scabies, termites, and other demestic insects.

R.

Alex H replied:

Slightly off-track, but in tick-infested areas I use cat flea collars around my ankles to stop the little b*ggers crawling up my legs. Works for me, but I'm not sure about any side effects.
Alex

ev700 replied:

Baby oil with Dettol is good for mozzies and midges. About a tablespoon Dettol in a bottle of the oil. Use in a spray bottle if you like.

I reckon if you put some lavendar oil into the final rinse for clothes it would repel insects. This might or might not not be a challenge for the new army (only kidding).