To a mosquito, I am the equivalent of a flesh-flavored Popsicle. If there is one of these holy terrors within
an acre of me, I will get bit. Anyone
else have this amazing talent? All over
North America these buzzards of the bayous have wreaked havoc on hunters and
fisherman alike. Tics and mosquitoes are
typically more lethal than many apex predators when it comes to humans
world-wide.
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Mosquito Life-Cycle |
Let’s start with some facts!
First of all a mosquito on average has a life-cycle of about 10-20
days. They get all their business on the
reproduction end done quickly. The males
feed on plant nectar and it is the females who do the real devastating as they
require a blood meal to reproduce the 100-200 eggs they will lay. The females are attracted to your heat
signature, your sweat and the CO2 you put off.
How many of you have heard someone say, “Boy, I sure hope we
get a cold winter to kill the mosquitoes!” BAD ANSWER! Mosquitoes have the amazing ability to simply
stop their development until conditions are more favorable whether being
completely frozen or too dry. This is
why in places like Minnesota or Alaska, snow pack does not equate to low
mosquito populations. In the south when
we have a dry spell, the mosquitoes seemingly go away. In reality, it only takes one decent rain
shower and they are all back completing their process again.
So the real question is how can we protect ourselves without
ruining our scent while deer hunting?
Two schools of thought say go odorless protection or something that
protects but also give off a natural scent.
Let’s take a look at these two lines of thought.
Camp #1 – Odorless
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Coleman Skin Smart |
There are many different products to choose from when
looking for a spray or squirt repellent but not many of these are
odorless. The products I introduce here
are known to work but I cannot guarantee success for you individually.
Cutter Skinsations Ultra Light says it is an odorless type
of spray on repellent. It is non-greasy
and allows your skin to breathe. Active
ingredient is Picaridin which is nice due to the health concerns Deet has
caused over the years.
Coleman makes a line of products called Skin Smart. It too is Deet free with the active
ingredient being Picaridin. It is
odorless but does have an aerosol smell as it comes out of the can but that
goes away quickly. It too is non-greasy
and boasts 8 hours of coverage.
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Sawyer's Permethrin |
Permethrin – This stuff is fairly amazing. You spray it on your clothes (NOT YOUR BODY)
and let it dry before putting your hunting clothes on. It is designed to work for up to 6
washings. The warnings are quite
frightful for Permethrin. Things like do
not let it touch your skin, come in contact with any part of your body,
etc. It doesn't repel see...it kills! As a father of a 2 year old, I
simply cannot risk the hazards. If you
have the ability to control the substance, this stuff works. Be diligent to follow the instructions. We don’t want stuff to start rotting off your
body…right?
Camp #2 – Natural
There are a myriad of natural insect repellants. Some work better than others and you should test
for yourself if all natural is the way you want to go. Most anything herbal is not going to be overly
offensive to deer particularly if the smells are natural to your area already.
Cutter makes a Natural Repellent with theactive ingredients: Geraniol (5%), Soybean Oil (2%), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (.4%), Potassium Sorbate (.1%)
A new-comer I found while doing the research is called
Insect Defend Patch. It uses Thiamine
(B1) technology to give you a shield of natural protection lasting a whopping
24-hours.
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Thermacell |
All Terrain makes a repellent called Herbal Armor with the active ingredients: Oil of Soybean 11.5%, Oil of Citronella 10.0%, Oil of Peppermint 2.0%, Oil of Cedar 1.50%, Oil of Lemongrass 1.00%, Oil of Geranium 0.05%. Not sure how the deer will take this concoction.
Another great option is Thermacell. This tried and true repellent uses a small
butane chamber to heat a scented pad that mosquitoes hate. Hunters mostly use the earth scent to keep
the deer from catching a strange scent.
It gives 15 square feet of coverage and can run for 12 consecutive hours
using the extra butane tubes and pads.
One note of interest with Thermacell is that when in a ground blind you
can begin to taste the stuff if you run for a good while. Be sure to turn it off and allow some fresh
air in from time to time.
Be safe from the real predators and happy hunting!
References - Mosquito Facts – Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito