Picaridin vs. DEET in the war against sand fleas.

[tridacna]

I work in a little town called Deadhorse, Alaska.
Anybody who has spent any amount of time outside in the arctic knows the bugs can be very very bad.
We are issued mosquito patches instead of DEET and they work great.

What kind of patches are these?

 

[tridacna]

I've read that mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out and the lactic acid in our sweat.

True? False? Partially true?

Not sure how scientifically sound these conclusions are...

What attracts mosquitoes?

Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide from the breath of humans and animals helps mosquitoes to find their prey. A burning candle or other fire is another source of carbon dioxide. However, CO2 alone is not enough to attract mosquitoes.

Lactic Acid
Everyone of us releases lactic acid when exercising or consuming particular foods. This chemical is used in some of mosquito traps as an attractant.

Octenol

When people and animals breathe, they exhale mixture of carbon dioxide and octenol, which is actually a type of alcohol. Octenol is sometimes described as 'cow’s breath in a can', and is a remarkable lure for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes and other biting insects have extremely-sensitive receptors that can detect this chemical from almost 100 feet away.

Body heat
Circulating blood in animals and humans radiates body heat. As mosquitoes have sophisticated heat sensors, they follow body heat and exhaled gases and fly to their target. The exact temperature depends on the type of mosquito.

Moisture
During breathing people also exhale water vapor and perspiration is produced during active movement. Even small amounts of water will attract mosquitoes as it could mean possible blood source or possible breading site.

Movement
Mosquitoes can see their victims from within 30 feet by locating the changes in waves of light around them, caused by moving objects.

Color
Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors, so wearing dark is not the best thing if you want to avoid being bitten. Dark foliage is another attractant.

Sound
Although some of mosquito trap manufacturers state that they use mosquito attracting or repelling sounds, scientists have proven there is no particular sound frequency that would be interesting to mosquitoes.

 

[RTBDiver]

Not sure how scientifically sound these conclusions are...

.

Then why bother posting? Why not stick to things your sure of or that can be reasonably supported?

 

[RTBDiver]

I work in a little town called Deadhorse, Alaska.
Anybody who has spent any amount of time outside in the arctic knows the bugs can be very very bad.
We are issued mosquito patches instead of DEET and they work great.

Any name brand, active indredients?? Without such things this is useless information

 

[tridacna]

Then why bother posting? Why not stick to things your sure of or that can be reasonably supported?

Your rudeness is is matched only by the lack of information and total bias that you provide in most of your posts. :mooner:

 

[tridacna]

Any name brand, active indredients?? Without such things this is useless information

Why ask again? Do we need your imprimatur to make it a valid question?

 

[RTBDiver]

Your rudeness is is matched only by the lack of information and total bias that you provide in most of your posts. :mooner:

Lets see, you post admitting you have no information about the validity of the information and you feel I provide a lack of information?? Odd.

 

[RTBDiver]

Your rudeness is is matched only by the lack of information and total bias that you provide in most of your posts. :mooner:

Please give me a rundown of the bias i show in most of my posts so i can try to improve.

 

[Hank49]

What sandflies are in Roatan? The white wing (day time) or the other one, (morning and evening.....and pretty much all day but at lower levels)?
I was there in 04 but I don't remember. We have both here but the white wing is more out on the cayes. Blood spot with a red circle around it.

 

[RTBDiver]

What sandflies are in Roatan? The white wing (day time) or the other one, (morning and evening.....and pretty much all day but at lower levels)?
I was there in 04 but I don't remember. We have both here but the white wing is more out on the cayes. Blood spot with a red circle around it.

The sandlies on Roatan can be problematic any time of day. Maybe a bit more at dawn and or dusk according to some but that has not been my experience. Never took the time to look at them under a magnifying glass to see the color of their wings