Anti-mosquito clothing
Submitted: Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 11:13
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Scubaroo
Anyone tried the anti-mosquito clothing available from a few
places now? Does it help, or is it a gimmick?
Reply By: Member - Coyote (SA) - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 11:40
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 11:40
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..
AnswerID:
148890
Follow Up By: Richard Kovac - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 01:32
Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 01:32
Hi Coyote
Must be a different Defence Force
I was reading last night
"Military research has shown that mosquitoes are attracted to people with a deficiency of vitamin B1. A 10 milligram tablet of B1 taken daily reduces the incidence of biting: the effect takes a week or two to become to take effective.
Maybe this way they love to bite drunks
Richard
FollowupID:
402218
Reply By: robak (QLD) - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 11:43
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 11:43
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.
AnswerID:
148892
Follow Up By: Member - Reiner G (QLD) - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:26
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:26
It killes insects but is harmless to humans?.....hmmm..... smoking was concidered harmless about 40 years ago.
If it kills mossies I'm sure it will kill us......just not as quick ....
Reiner
FollowupID:
402068
Follow Up By: robak (QLD) - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 13:09
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 13:09
I too questioned the "harmless to humans" claim. However I had no problemns with having this stuff on mosquito nets (which were not in contact with our skin anyway).
The deadly mossie repellant (available only from chemists) and the 3 months of malaria tablets were a far greater concern for me.
I guess you have to weigh up the risks between getting maleria or
ross river fever and the adverse effects on preventative treatments.
R.
FollowupID:
402076
Reply By: richopesto - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:37
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:37
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
AnswerID:
148903
Follow Up By: richopesto - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:39
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 12:39
PS It melted my watch bands and sunglasses straps too.
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Reply By: robak (QLD) - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 13:54
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 13:54
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.
AnswerID:
148924
Follow Up By: NedKelly - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 18:57
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 18:57
Yeah it looks like you get the stuff in your system nowadays but just eating and drinking and generalkly normal living. Recentl;y read how bad lanolin is now considered to be because of the huge amount of sprays used on sheep apparently it has a lot of residues and toxic stuff present when tested....and we used to use it on babys bottoms in the good old days. :(
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 00:34
Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 00:34
Hey NedKelly,
Does that mean that by consuming wine, we are actually priming ourselves with mozzie repellent?
Oh boy! I'll drink to that.
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Reply By: Alex H - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 15:10
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 15:10
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
AnswerID:
148930
Follow Up By: ev700 - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 19:11
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 19:11
This must be a joke, but for others here is some info.
The flea collar probably contains diazinon and is dangerous. It is far worse if the flea collar is old because the chemical breaks down into an even more nasty, long-lasting poison.
Read this (copy and paste into your browser):
http://www.ewg.org/reports/diazinon/danger.html
FollowupID:
402159
Follow Up By: Alex H - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 20:26
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 20:26
SORRY...the guy who recommended this to me was either misguided or trying to kill me. DO NOT FOLLOW MY ADVICE. I have ceased using flea collars as of now.
Alex
FollowupID:
402176
Reply By: ev700 - Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 19:24
Monday, Jan 16, 2006 at 19:24
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).
AnswerID:
148985