I actually held my breath for 4 minutes. The Gnats are ( Still Guessing ) attracted to salty sweat and eyes.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Every once in awhile you hear about some unusual bug repelling products like Skin So Soft etc. I don't know why that works for some people in some situations but recently on the BMT I was having some major league biting nanoseeum and gnat problems after I had run out of stogies and a small .475 oz spritzer of Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Bug Repellant. I dabbed good amts of some Bert's Bees Lip Balm that contains beeswax and eucalyptus oil on my neck, ears, and face(especially around the nostrils and well above and below the eyes) and that kept the nasties from biting and buzzing too close around there. I also had a .63 oz tin of Tiger Balm Ultra Strength that I was using as a muscle rub topical analgesic on my knees and calves. I know the Tiger Balm version I was using contained camphor, menthol, cajuput oil(made from a tree that is related to the tree species that Tea Tree Oil is derived from that Aussies have a multitude of uses for), cassiia oil, clove oil, dementholized mint oil, and Paraffin petrolatum. The gnats, noseeums, and to some extent the skeeters, would not land on or near places where I had applied either product. I think it was partly because of the contained oils but also because the insects didn't want to get stuck in the stickiness of these products when thickly applied. I think a similar thing might be occurring, at least to some degree, when folks thickly apply Skin So Soft. So, when you run out of commercial bug juice products and you feel like you are about to go crazy from the biting and buzzing you might try out some of these bug repelling techniques and products. You just might find that it's not always necessary to lather yourself up in DEET. Of course DEET or some other bug juice is more convenient and that's what most folks tend to flock to - convenience.
Wiping/washing away ammonia containing sweat, which some biting nasties are attracted to, can help too.
Ditto on the on the cigar smoke. I was a Pest Control Operator for over 2 decades in my former life and when we had to do honeybees, Yellow-Jackets or bald-faced hornet jobs (Especially if up on a ladder), I always lit up a stogie and created a cloud of smoke around my head while applying the insecticide.
On another note, I live in the hills of SE PA and bicycle a lot. I noticed that this summer has been horrific for gnats, deerflies and horseflies while biking up long hot hills at about 2.5-3MPH (think hills about a mile long). The biting flies are the worst. You cannot get a away from them and you cannot tell when they have relanded on you until they bite you again (since you can only take 1 hand of the handlebars without crashing). SO here you are lungs screaming, hot as hell and you cannot outrun them or wave your arms without crashing your bike....)
.....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....
get some skeeter beater. best stuff out there. made from plants. i pretty sure it has no chems
Being from Savannah, dealing with Gnats is a way of life here, I mean our minor league baseball team is named the Sand Gnats for a reason. There is a product I've seen sold in ACE Hardwares here called No Natz, which is made from all natural ingredients and actually works. The business is out of Dublin, GA and they sell it on line as well. Highly recommend it.
We brought some with us on a four day section hike in GA earlier this month, but didn't use it due to the very fortunate reason of having to deal with very few bugs.
Hiking in the winter time will also help!
Had my first experience with gnats when we move to VA, we'd go for a walk in the woods and I always ended up with the gnats, finally learned my wife was sneaking up behind me and slowly swatting down, all the gnats left her and stayed at my head, I started returning the favor, it became a contest of gnat give away.
Originally Posted by canoe
could you do me a favor read the first three ingredients.... cant find it on the web.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Hey Toolshed nice to have something in common!
Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 07-29-2013 at 20:57.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Hike when the gnats are gone. A killing frost will do the trick.
Moses
1) 3M ultrathon slathered on the hat brim or bandana/sweatband
2) downy dryer sheets tucked into each of your pack's shoulder straps - these work well for deodorizing your sleeping bag, tent, and dirty clothes bag, too!!
3) my hiking buddy usually treats his outer clothing and bandana with permethrin (sp??) in a ziploc bag a week or so before starting a hike and this works well for him
I had lots of gnats in Vermont this year. A headnet guarantees no gnats in the eyes, ears, and nose. I sometimes have a hard time seeing with the net on, especially in very technical terrain. For the most part, I wore a boony hat with the brim treated well with permethrin. It helped a lot. I know permethrin kills gnats, because about a 100 got in my tent one evening when I left it open for a short while. By morning, there were a hundred dead gnats on the tent floor. The tent was treated both inside and outside before my hike.
I just hiked in the 100 Mile wilderness SOBO which starts out with what seems like 40 miles of swamps. I used a headnet that was treated with permetherin. I kept it in my pocket. I often could pull the net up onto my hat and the bugs would still stay away.
Whether you think you can, or think you can't--you're right--Henry Ford; The Journey Is The Destination
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