mosquitos/sandflies

Cant help with the supplement but can tell you that copious amounts of Gin +Tonic with a slice of lime consumed prior to and during sunset when the Mozzies come out to play will repel them ,, or should they be overly persistant more Gin and you just wont care anyway ,LOL.

G'day Peter,
Yeah, i heard that to, It is supposed to be vitamin b1 or b12, cant remember now.......anyway a couple of years ago i bought 1,000,s for a trip to f n queensland. started taking them a mth before the trip.... and i gotta tell yu.......got eaten.
Just my experience.

Regards...........BIGDOG

One of the best solutions I have heard of is to rub a mixture of rum and sand on your arms etc and then, when they bite they get drunk and throw rocks at each other.

Pooley

Peter C

We live on a canal estate northern NSW. The sand flies are voracious. Not too many problems with mossies.

Sandflies hit my wife badly... they will probably drive us to sell. BUT the mrs finds alot of help with a simple recipe a few drops (6- 8) of citronella essence (from the health food shop not citronella oil as this is largely kero) in a 500 ml pump pack of SORBOLENE. Experiment at first to get the mix of potion right.

The ladies use Sorbolene as a moisturiser anyway She applies to arm and legs and exposed areas andfinds it will last about 3 hours.

She still gets the odd bite that gets through and finds that RID spray applied to the bite/itch ASAP relieves the itch before you scratch a wound out of a small bite.

Hope it helps
SKI'er

Peter,
We loaded up on Vitamin B 30 years back, in Darwin.
The body odour is still stale in my memory.
Our circle of friends diminished rapidly, to be replaced by bities.

Citronella in sorbolene sounds good.
Good luck, and tell us what you find works.
BTW, dettol and baby oil is another one. Dunno mate.
Jeff.

Fishing the Mary River one night with a couple of old hands. I asked them what they used.
They told me that they just ran faster ! (as if)
No wonder we didn't catch anything !!

Just drink a Rum Floater at sunset

Mosquitoes and sandflies tend not to bite inert bodies methinks....lol

Cheers

As has been already said - the folk lore says one of the B vitamins.

I just take the wife as all this biters make a bee-line for her and leave me alone !

G'day Peter,
Try rubbing on a mixture of Detol (say 25%) and Baby Oil (75%) I have herd that this keeps the little blighter's away.

Peter, the supplement you refer to is Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Chloride). Lots of people swear by it. My wife, who is attacked by mosquitoes and sandflies every time she steps outside has tried it at length, with no result.

I did an extensive web based search for scientific evidence of it's effect on insects. I found that despite a number of tests, none have shown any benefit in taking B1. Despite this, many people swear by it, so it is worth a try if you are into that sort of thing.

On a recent trip to the Gulf (fishing), Kathryn tried everything. Apart from Bushmans 80% (which we are reluctant to use for long periods), Dettol, metho and Baby oil in roughly equal proportions is as effective as any, but far from perfect. It has the side effect of leaving you slick and oily all day - not real comfortable, and it needs to be continually applied during the day. We actually suspect it works because the sand flies (or mosquitoes) get stuck in the oil and spend their time trying to escape, rather than biting.

I extended my web based search to find testing of reppelents, trying to find scientific tests, not anecdotes. In controlled tests, the only really effective personal repellents are DEET and Picaridin based products. DEET is the best known and most widely accepted as a successful product.

In a test sponsored by the Australian Army, DEET 80% (Bushman's) was the only tested product to repel all types (4 mosquito families were used I think) for over 6 hours. Some other products repelled some of the mosquito types for extended periods, but not all. It needs to be noted though that the strongest readily available product tested (other than 80% DEET Bushmans) was 12% DEET in Aeroguard Tropical.

In general, I found that research showed that concentrations of DEET below about 6% are not very effective. Above 6%, the higher the concentration of DEET, the longer the protection. That is you need to apply regularly, depending on the insect level and DEET concentration in the product you use.

Other research from Canada and the USA suggests that higher levels of DEET are more effective, but that above 30 to 40%, there is little improvement in repellent success for higher DEET concentrations. In Canada it is illegal to have more than 30% DEET in any product due to health concerns. This is the only country I can find with such regulation. The US FDA says they can find no health risk from DEET>

So, a product with 30 to 40% DEET seems (based on my reading) to be ideal. But there is no such product available in Australia. Once you drop below Bushmans 80%, the next I am aware of is Bushman's 20%. then you come down to a lot of 'Tropical Strength' products around the 12% level.

I recently picked up some info (not substantiated) that Bushmans is working on a product that will have 40% DEET. Based on my research it could be a winner if it becomes readily available.

In the meantime Bushmans 20% or any of the 12% odd products are as good as you will get. Just be prepared to apply every couple of hours depending on the variety of mosquito and how much you are getting bitten.

All this is based on reading available information - not on any personal expertise in the field. Also, Ive written this from memory based on my research- but I'm confident that this post represents my findings.

Gday Peter,

I read in Ausfish a while back that a mixture of Avon Skin Milk (??) and water to spread easier, maybe 50/50 is very effective. I havent tried it myself as yet, but the guys there seem to think it works well. Maybe a search of the Ausfish forum would give you some more info.

Regards

Chris

thanks for all your help.mossies arent a problem in melbourne at the moment but they shore give me curry when i'm up north. i will try the sorbolene while waiting for the bushman 40%. peter

Hi Peter,

It is definitely Vitamin B1 you are looking for. The best way is to take it is in liquid form first for about 4-6 weeks and then continue with tablet form if you prefer. Starting this time of year would probably be best.
Our daughter suffers terribly from bites and through my herbalism studies and working at a health food shop, i have found this to be most beneficial.
Taking a liquid ensures that it is more readily absorbed by your body and you will get the optimum results.
For a spray, we use miessence natural insect repellent available through most health food shops.

Good luck,

Trace.

Yep, have tried B group vitamins and it didn't work. Doesn't mean that they don't work at all, just don't work for me. I have tried just about everything as I have severe reactions. The only thing that I have found that really works is DEET containing products, preferably in an oily base like Bushman's lotion. This isn't the best stuff to be slapping on all the time though. I use it in high risk areas.

You can decrease the number of bites by avoiding highly scented deoderants/perfumes etc. Having a drink at the pub at sun down seems to help too!

Treatment depends on how badly you react. Plenty of the home remedies using Dettol work ok. There is any number of pharmacy lotions and creams that work well. I usually use them and an anti histamine as soon as I get bitten. Consult your GP before using antihistamines in this way. They can have unexpected side effects and may react with other drugs.

Steve

Peter C


I use Telfast. It is a non drowsy anti-histamine.

Works well




Tjilpi

Try Phenergren or spelt something similar, talk to your pharmacist.
Cheers Lyndon