Insect repellant
Myself and my partner are shortly to begin a number of hikes around fiordland and the west coast. What insect repellant would people recommend to best ward off the sandflies? Any other tips appreciated
If you don't want to get bitten use one with 30% or 40% DEET, such as Repel Ultra. (beware, it dissolves plastic eg watches and plastic bags.) I have been tramping in NZ for 10 years & am an absolute magnet to sandflies, and have not found anything else that works. Cover every exposed part of your body and reapply at least every 4 hours. I do this and have not died of poisoning yet :-)
Apparently taking vitamin B for two weeks in advance actually works to keep away sandflies. I've never tried it....
Explorers used to drink kerosene I believe, and I've never tried that either.
The Vitamin B thing only works for some people.
The cheapy option is to buy nothing, and hope for some wind (which you will get on the West Coast).
Why wind? If its blowing over 15-25km/hr sand flies can't handle, so blow away. A different story if your inside a hut, generally, if the winds up and your outside they won't bother you.
Similarly to the wind, if you are walking, the sandflies won't catch you. I once spent a couple of hours walking circles around a car park in Lewis Pass waiting for a bus.
Do put it on before three wire crossings. How about those insect repellant wrist bands!
Do try B1 tablets:I take one 100mg tablet twice weekly(have done for 2 years).Short of eating a jar of Marmite every day,B1 tabs really work,unless you`re a sandfly!
They still bite,but there`s no swelling or itching.I checked with our doctor first and there`s no side effects,other than the great confidence it gives you.We spend bulk time in the outdoors and I don`t use insect repellent at all.If you read the label on some of them,some of the active ingredients are quite scary.
In Enland there is a (hand)lotion/moisturizer that is officially nog an insect repellant, but it does the job. It works better than anything else, is relatively cheap and contains no scary chemicals. The brand is Avon.
Once a bridge was build somewhere in a swampisch area in Scotland (I believe), for miles all the shops ran out of lotion because the bridgebuilders bought the lot.
If you've got Avon in NZ, give it a try!
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| Forum | Gear talk |
|---|---|
| Started by | maurice |
| On | 2 February 2007 |
| Replies | 20 |
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