MOSQUITOS...Damn them - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Daka · 06-10-2011, 12:55 PM

Here in south Florida it seems the mosquito problem is out of hand.

The county no longer sprays and just walking around outside for a few minutes is enough to get you attacked.
Aside from dousing youself with DEET has anyone come up with a solution?
I just read something about LISTERINE being used to keep them off,,,,??
No, AVON Skin So Soft DOES NOT WORK, BOUNCE sheets do not work...
anyone ....... HELP

Baraka_Guru · 06-10-2011, 01:07 PM

If I didn't want to use DEET, and the problem were bad, I would use citronella oil and/or a mosquito hat. The latter can look ridiculous, so it depends on what you're doing.

Check with the citronella oil. It could irritate the skin, but you might be able to use it on clothing or something.

Hotmnkyluv · 06-10-2011, 04:22 PM

I use a ThermaCell
Keeps them off even when I'm hunting deep in the Florida swamps.

Grasshopper Green · 06-11-2011, 05:34 AM

I never found citronella to be much help (or the Skin So Soft either). We lived in a swampy area of NC and the skeeters were awful. The only thing that I found that helped any was a liberal application of Deep Woods Off - that, and sitting next to my husband. His blood must smell delicious to biting critters because they'd swarm him and leave me alone.

Edit: I guess this answer didn't help much, since Off probably has DEET in it :P

noodle · 06-11-2011, 05:58 AM

I live in north Florida and survive with the DEET-free kids Off or the ones from the natural food store with kids and a dog on the label, can't remember what the name is... But I found that the kid ones are typically better for you and work better, ostensibly so your child doesn't become a bug's dinner.

snowy · 06-11-2011, 07:50 AM

Also, help yourself by making sure you have no standing water around your property, i.e. in gutters and elsewhere, where mosquitoes can breed.

This story may interest you: Dengue Fever, A Tropical Disease, Buzzes Back Into U.S. : NPR

chinese crested · 06-23-2011, 01:01 AM

Just in case - start sipping gin and tonic - it has a little quinine in it - think if you tried for a workable dose using just G&T - pissed mossies would be falling off you and rolling around the floor pickled. Doubtless they will quickly die of liver failure. I had mice once. They started staggering out of a cupboard looking like junkies in search of the chemist to get their methadone. Seems they took quite a liking to my painkillers,from which they had been eating the jelly coating whilst getting their little snouts in the nice white powder - you could see all their organs were shot, and their coats were 'scarey' - bit of walking zombie about them

06-10-2011, 12:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
Daka Tilted Location: Fort Lauderdale	MOSQUITOS...Damn them Here in south Florida it seems the mosquito problem is out of hand. The county no longer sprays and just walking around outside for a few minutes is enough to get you attacked. Aside from dousing youself with DEET has anyone come up with a solution? I just read something about LISTERINE being used to keep them off,,,,?? No, AVON Skin So Soft DOES NOT WORK, BOUNCE sheets do not work... anyone ....... HELP

06-10-2011, 01:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	If I didn't want to use DEET, and the problem were bad, I would use citronella oil and/or a mosquito hat. The latter can look ridiculous, so it depends on what you're doing. Check with the citronella oil. It could irritate the skin, but you might be able to use it on clothing or something. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

06-11-2011, 05:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	I never found citronella to be much help (or the Skin So Soft either). We lived in a swampy area of NC and the skeeters were awful. The only thing that I found that helped any was a liberal application of Deep Woods Off - that, and sitting next to my husband. His blood must smell delicious to biting critters because they'd swarm him and leave me alone. Edit: I guess this answer didn't help much, since Off probably has DEET in it :P __________________ "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king" Formerly Medusa Last edited by Grasshopper Green; 06-11-2011 at 05:36 AM..

06-11-2011, 07:50 AM	#6 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	Also, help yourself by making sure you have no standing water around your property, i.e. in gutters and elsewhere, where mosquitoes can breed. This story may interest you: Dengue Fever, A Tropical Disease, Buzzes Back Into U.S. : NPR __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

06-10-2011, 04:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Hotmnkyluv Tilted Location: Sunny South Florida	I use a ThermaCell Keeps them off even when I'm hunting deep in the Florida swamps.

06-23-2011, 01:01 AM	#7 (permalink)
chinese crested Insane Location: hampshire	Just in case - start sipping gin and tonic - it has a little quinine in it - think if you tried for a workable dose using just G&T - pissed mossies would be falling off you and rolling around the floor pickled. Doubtless they will quickly die of liver failure. I had mice once. They started staggering out of a cupboard looking like junkies in search of the chemist to get their methadone. Seems they took quite a liking to my painkillers,from which they had been eating the jelly coating whilst getting their little snouts in the nice white powder - you could see all their organs were shot, and their coats were 'scarey' - bit of walking zombie about them