johnthedorf: REI in Silicon Valley is where I shop. What is Fred Meyer? I'll be up in the Seattle area in June, so may stop by Fred Meyer.

Orcas: LOL!

Another thing to remember is that insect repellents are flammable. If camping, you do NOT want to get too close to a Colman stove or open fire.

And yes, you can have allergies to mosquitoes. The cortizone cream really helps if you have this problem.

Scarlett, I love that kitty picture! I also expressed a little concern about catnip oil in terms of whether it was safe, and then thought, "well, it can't be worse than DEET!" It smells pretty nice, I don't know if it smells like regular cat nip since I have two dogs, no cats (not because I don't love cats, but that's just how it all worked out).

When we go to the everglades in May, I'll let you know how the catnip oil stands up. Believe me, I will have no compunction saying that it was worthless against the glades skeeters!

The "product that one sprays on one's clothes" is permethrin. It is a pesticide (ie, it kills them), not a repellent. It is potentially irritating if sprayed on the skin and deadly if inhaled -- and says so right on the label (I'm holding a can as I type). As to whether it is substitute for DEET, let's read its label: "use in conjunction with an insect repellent registered for direct applicaton to the skin."

Its main use is against ticks, which will be killed if they crawl up socks or pants sprayed with permethrin. Once you've been infected with Lyme disease (as I was last summer), you'll gladly risk permethrin's dangers in order to avoid another tick bite.

And as for wristbands, the NEJM article is very clear: "Repellent-impregnated wristbands offered no protection."

Scarlett, What does pup have to say about all this?

Added help is to take Brewer's Yeast. Added benefit of Vitamin B but it does make you taste bad to the little buggers. I've used it forever. It does not offer complete protection but it does help. LMF

Easytraveler,
I'm in Florida and can't give you an address but www.Fredmeyer.com works.

johnthedorf: thanks for the website!

PaulRabe: great explanation! I don't use the product regularly, so don't have a can at home. It's a terrific product and glad it works for you!

PaulRabe--I missed that NEJM article--can you tell me issue number? I'd love to read it. (I ususally read them when my husband is done with them but I must have missed that one.) Too bad they fared badly in a study; they always work great for me! We also put them on kids when we have cookouts outdoors--my whole neighborhood swears by them.

For those unable to get to the URL I posted, the NEJM article is

Volume 347:13-18 July 4, 2002 Number 1

Mark S. Fradin, M.D., and John F. Day, Ph.D.
"Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents against Mosquito Bites"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it didn't look as though the New England Journal of Medicine article tested catnip oil.

Thanks, PaulRabe--very relevant article. Couldn't get the link to work at first, but I finally found it.

I am surprised they only tested 15 subjects, given the fact that they also concluded that not all users are affected equally by the same repellent.
The findings are still intersting though.

It did say that DEET does not pose health risks but that its effectiveness is dramatically decreased in high temps. Never thought temp would really affect the efficacy--I wonder if this is because of sweating? Also--says DEET can break down plastics, like on sunglasses, watchbands etc, so be careful where you apply it!

I'm still sticking by my regular method: Deet Bracelets for regular outside use, Deep Woods OFF for heavier use.

If you are allergic to mosquitoes, there is a good chance that you are allergic to Skin So Soft. I also find that Skin So Soft doesn't work as well as Citronella (try Gardener's Spray from Crabtree and Evelyn -- good for a night sitting outside, not a hike in the woods). So then I have double the problem, a rash from the Skin So Soft and hundreds of bites.

scarlett -- i don't know why your post struck me so funny -- i can't stop laughing!

Interesting article...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...e_me/west_nile

-Bill

I use my personality. Seems to repell everything and was a good form of birth control before I was married.

My husband uses "Jungle Juice 100" (from REI) when he goes into the jungles of southeast asia. It's very effective.

iamq--My husband and his friends use Cutter when they go hunting. I always thought it was one of the OFF varieties! Didn't realize it was different. Interesting article.