Best insect repelent

[THOMAS]

Hi all,

Can anyone sugest a good insect repellent for use in the UK?

Thanks

[bohXI]

Midges or mossies I have good results with Avon skin so soft....

[JonnyP]

Anything with a high concentration of DEET in is meant to be best, but its nasty chemicals and will melt plastic, so use with care.

I was gutting a rabbit this evening and had a load of horse flies pestering me. I tried to gut the rabbit fast, but ended up taking a nasty slice out of my finger.. Now the sun has finally come out, so have all the biters.. I also have chigger bites too..

[barnes3126]

Permethrin is quite good. It will not harm clothing, boots, tarps or bedding.

[THOMAS]

Thanks all!!!

[SimonB]

Not everyones cuppa, but eating yeast extract is supposed to be a good repellent.......

[FishyFolk]

Smoldering pine cones. Throw them in a tin with some meths burning, or in the embers of your fire, on you barbecue etc...at least keeps the midges and mozzies away from camp.
Does nothing for flies though...

[Reaps72]

Midges or mossies I have good results with Avon skin so soft....

with bohXI on that one!

Also eat shit loads of garlic, deters everything & everyone!

[Silverback]

Midges or mossies I have good results with Avon skin so soft....

another vote for Skin So Soft

[CanadianMike]

Shotguns loaded with birdshot work best on the mosquitos over here, over there, how big are yours?


Kidding. Lol

[AL...]

Big enough to carry off cattle Mike!!! lol

Cheers
AL

[cuppa joe]

Cover yourself in a 2 inch thick layer of mud from head to toe...keep moving around though and don't let it dry.

[biker-bri]

+ 1 for garlic and as I am off up to Scotland, "the home of the wee Scottish fighting midge", and it's out of season for midge shooting I might try Avon skin so soft.
Re, Midge shooting rules of engagement, 1, Only single shot rifles to a maximum of 303 calibre aloud. 2, A maximum of 20 rounds per day ( you may then use as many rocks / stones as you can find ) 3, Competition may only begin after a
half a bottle of 12yr old Scotch has been drunk by each competitor ( anyone found cheating I.E drinking more will become the target) 4, Clean head shots "only" the Scottish midge shooting society does not condone cruelty by the winging them
style of shooting that has become popular with other clubs, midges only have little legs therefore it is deemed unfair to reduce them to walking. 5, The use of any other weapon - i.e tennis racket, sword, kitchen sieve or heaven forbid a fly swat will
not be aloud until after nightfall. 6, The drinking of Scotch may only resume after the first midge has been killed cleanly.
THE RULES OF THE SCOTTISH MIDGE SHOOTING SOCIETY ARE NOT OPEN TO INTERPRETATION BY ANYONE SOBER OR LESS INTOXICATED THAN THE COMPETITORS THEMSELVES, ONLY MR ASHLEY CAWLEY, THE HIGH SHERIFF OF OUR
MOST ANCIENT AND BLESSED SOCIETY MAY REMAIN SOBER "AS IT MAKES HIM DO SILLY THINGS" ( :Sorry: ash ) ALLEGEDLY ?

[RobbC]

Soming called Smidge, used it in peru and in scotland. Works brilliantly, and theres no nasty deet :)

[FishyFolk]

Shotguns loaded with birdshot work best on the mosquitos over here, over there, how big are yours?


Kidding. Lol

Here they operate in pairs. One will hold you down while the other bleed you dry :-)

But a Robot 70 usually takes care of the problem...

http://www.svenskafreds.se/sites/default/files/imagecache/stor/rbs70.jpg

[TreeCamper]

Just come back from a night on Dartmoor in the pine forests.
Very wet and boggy was worried about mozzies but hardly had any.
Thought that was lucky and then this morning while packing up the midges attacked, tiny little things. Driving us crazy.
Will definately be looking for some repellent for next time. The worse thing is you don't even hear them like mozzies. You just feel them.
As we were stealth camping we were packing up in the early hours and still a bit dark in the forest especially with the thick mist. You can't even see these little buggers.
They were getting in our ears and everywhere. It was our quickest pack up to get the hell out of there.
Don't mind cold,rain,wind,wet ground or most anything but have never had anything like these before.

[Martin]

They were midges mate, not mozzies. They are vicious biting little beggars aren't they? Next time, pack a head net and wear long sleeves. Personally, I hate the feeling of greasy insect repellent on my skin and it never seems to last very long anyway. A physical barrier to them is the best way in my opinion. :)

Martin

[CanadianMike]

Here they operate in pairs. One will hold you down while the other bleed you dry :-)

But a Robot 70 usually takes care of the problem...

http://www.svenskafreds.se/sites/default/files/imagecache/stor/rbs70.jpg

Looks like the good old hand slap works well enough, based upon your picture. "Don't fire yet.... SLAP!!! Ok, clear to fire, got the little prick!" ;)

[JonnyP]

I highly recommend reading this booklet about midges. Its a good read (really) and very informative.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midges-Scotland-George-Hendry/dp/1841589381/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343803980&sr=1-1

I would like to have a go with one of those guns Fishy..

[TreeCamper]

They were midges mate, not mozzies. They are vicious biting little beggars aren't they? Next time, pack a head net and wear long sleeves. Personally, I hate the feeling of greasy insect repellent on my skin and it never seems to last very long anyway. A physical barrier to them is the best way in my opinion. :)

Martin Yes headnet is the way to go I think.
I use one in Oz as some of the Mozzies carry nasties there. English mozzies don't seem as dangerous but when they get you it can sure bloody itch.
It was too windy to smoke the midges out.
We still had a good trip despite the weather. Went to take a look at Wistmans Wood near Two Bridges, very interesting and beautiful place. Nice easy walk for anyone wanting to take a look.
On the way back we saw a nice big Adder on the footpath. Biggest one I have seen for many years. My aussie mate was very lucky to see our only poisonous UK snake.
Glad to be hammocking too as the ground was not the place to be.

[FishyFolk]

Looks like the good old hand slap works well enough, based upon your picture. "Don't fire yet.... SLAP!!! Ok, clear to fire, got the little prick!" ;)

T^

[NeedABrew]

Smoldering pine cones. Throw them in a tin with some meths burning, or in the embers of your fire, on you barbecue etc...at least keeps the midges and mozzies away from camp.
Does nothing for flies though...

I did almost exactly this last weekend whilst out with #2 daughter. The ground where we were was dry peat so there was no chance of a fire but I started by throwing a few pine cones into the frying pan of my trangia and putting it over the burner. This didn't really work so I broke up a hexamine block and put it in with a covering of cones and sparked it up. It worked brilliantly. There's an initial high burn as the hex blocks flame up but the resulting embers were able to keep cones smouldering as we dropped them on.

The smoke seemed quite light too (I'm a smoke magnet) which was nice as I didn't end up with streaming eyes and a cough like a bear with flu.

[delboy]

Never really had a big problem myself with being bit, but the missus is like a magnet for any insects. She tried just about everything, but eventually stuck with brewers yeast tablets after I found a snippet on a military forum about them. She hasn`t had a problem since.

[moontanboy]

I got hold of some Citronella essential oil for about £2 a little bottle. You need to dilute with olive/veg oil or vodka before using on bare skin though!
I wandered round midge filled woods with streams etc all day and only got bit on my elbows, which I missed when spraying my citronella olive oil mix on meself.

Was fairly impressed with results, have also heard the Avon 'Skin So Soft' works well, haven't tried yet and the yeast tablets etc sound interesting!