Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board mosquito tech

A newspaper article today referenced a mosquito repellent, IR3535. Having never heard of it, I did some research and found this site.

Seems like a great summary, well referenced, etc. and it mentioned the universe of current methods.

The newspaper article was not all that great but it did mention a lot of new tech coming on stream. A related article had a lot of good information for anyone traveling offshore, how to protect oneself from exotic diseases, etc.

I've used the CO2 attraction factor to foil the swarms when they were especially hideous.

If camped where fires are allowed make
3 very small piles of smoldering pine needles, arranged in a triangle
such that you can sit in the center surrounded by the smoke plumes.

Shifting winds will keep some smoke-CO2- around you to confuse the final targeting approach of the mosquitoes.

It does not take much to confuse them. At least you can eat without swallowing too many.

Carrying 2 bottles of DEET and a bug net hat are sop.

I have settled on DEET (100%) and use it only when I can't handle their attacks any longer. Campfire doesn't seem to help much, but I'll try the extra smoke piles this summer.

Permethrin is not really that great - last summer I treated all my clothes with the military kits, 50 times stronger than the spray you can buy over the counter, and on the very first day in Tuolumne Meadows, bugs landed right on my treated hat and didn't seem to mind... perhaps the stuff was "past due date" so I'll try some over-the-counter spray this year, just on the outer layer clothing. Hope it helps at least a little - I generally hike in early summer and a lot of nice places are just impossible to stop at due to the bugs.

I have yet to find anything at all that works and have resigned myself to the mantra "Don't scratch they'll go away.. don't scratch they'll go away" when dealing with the bites.

I tried many different products last year (including wearing long sleeves while hiking which I DONT like to do)... the result was bigger Mossies who could get me THROUGH my flannel shirts....

I just read somewhere that the little buggers like bright colors like pink.

I read somewhere that they like dark colors...

can't win

As an aside, still bug oriented, I learned many years ago from a Bee-Keeper that flannel long sleeved shirts actually ATTRACTED bees, no idea what they do to Minnesota's National Bird...........steve

A good friend of mine just got back from a bear hunt in Washington State and used one of these with great success. Probably not for ultra-light folks but I'm going to pick one of these up before my next trip up to the Sierras.