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_________________________________<br>RF Lauff<br>Way in This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_017A_01D31533.9BD46620 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Randy & All, Aug 14, 2017 I agree; there is no reason to use them. For some 80 years I have hardl= y ever used insect repellants and bites itch and swell only when I am in co= untry new to me (different species I suspect). The body somehow adjusts. For those who routinely use repellents and consider switching, there is= no need for martyrdom. Just endure a few bites before you apply repellant = and in a few weeks you won't itch or swell. Also, if you let Mosquitoes loa= d up on blood most or all of the irritating blood thinner will be removed d= uring feeding. Sometimes I need to work near a wasp nest which I have disturbed and De= et has so far proven effective so I keep some in the pack. My greatest concern with mosquitoes is the absence of them in our yard.= I often sit out in the yard during or after supper and have seen very few = this summer. There are lots in the woods so someone in our neighborhood is = killing them. How can bats recover if there is nothing to eat ? Yt, DW, Kentville ----- Original Message ----- From: Randy Lauff To: NatureNS Sent: Monday, August 14, 2017 2:42 PM Subject: Re: [NatureNS] insect repellents US review I know this goes against the grain, but have any of you tried...nothing a= t all? I realize that there are a very few circumstances where one must go into = mosquito-ridden areas. However, when disease transmission is effectively ni= l (as in NS), can you just not tolerate a few bites? I am now 20 years with= out using repellent, not even once, not on my clothes...nothing. Seriously,= mosquito bites are itchy for a little bit, then no issue. I really think bug repellent companies have turned this into a much bigge= r issue than it really is, and most people think they *need* repellent. I also do not use mosquito jackets...the hoods have some redeeming value,= but the jackets allow *more* access to your skin than if you just wore a l= ight shirt...the weave of jackets is so loose that the proboscis of the mos= quitoes has much less trouble getting through when compared with the tighte= r weave of shirts. I also understand that some people are apparently more attractive to biti= ng flies than other people. However, I also think that like driving (imposs= ibly, we can't all be "better than the average driver"), there are a lot of= people which think that "mosquitoes just love me more than anyone else" I do support the use of a repellent for ticks or biting insects, *if* you= live in an area where disease-carrying critters are a problem. Randy _________________________________ RF Lauff Way in the boonies of Antigonish County, NS. On 14 August 2017 at 13:34, Stephen Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca> wrote: The latest (Sept 2017, page 17) print issue of US-based Consumer Report= s briefly evaluates 24 bug repellents, aimed at mosquitoes but saying that = their tests showed that they appeared also to repel ticks. The scores rang= e from 95 (tops), down to 4 (poor). Six of the top 9 top recommended brand= s contain only DEET, 2 contain picaridin, and 1 contains Oil of lemon eucal= yptus. These are US-based products, unclear if all/any available in Canad= a. The report can be reviewed without a subscription at CR.org/repellents0917 access to which is a bit clunky but worked for me on checking it out. = The CR review doesn=E2=80=99t mention Piactive or icaridin, probably becaus= e the primary focus was on mosquito repellents. The review comes down on p= lant-based =E2=80=98botanicals=E2=80=99, which it says are not EPA register= ed and which they say they found ineffective. Steve (Hfx) On Aug 8, 2017, at 7:03 PM, David Patriquin <davidgpatriquin@yahoo.ca> = wrote: When I am in the "right place at the right time" to get black-legged = ticks, especially the nymphs, I use a combination of light coloured (so I = can see ticks), pyrethroid-treated clothing and a personal insecticide wit= h pyrethrin or pyrethroids (synthetic analogues of pyrethrin) to ward them = off. This summer I began using the Piactive product. I was walking some c= learcuts in early July with a colleague who had sprayed exposed skin but ha= d untreated clothing. Walking the same route, he picked up 5 black-legged t= icks, I picked up none. The Piactive product (which contains icaridin, a pyrethroid) is said = to be good for 12 hours; it doesn't smell bad like Deet, nor does it dissol= ve some synthetic clothing as Deet does. Regardless of whether I have been wearing treated clothing & using th= e personal insecticide I am always on the lookout for ticks on my skin when= I shower. So far so good. View versicolor.ca/noticks for some of my sources. David G Patriquin -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "klantz@ns.sympatico.ca" <klantz@ns.sympatico.ca> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 6:46 PM Subject: Re: [NatureNS] RE: Black-legged Tick and late fall I don't use a repellent for ticks as they are present around my yard = and I would have to apply it every time I go outside. I have tried Piactive= for mosquitoes & black flies, it is 20% Icaridin and seems to be comparabl= e to deet. The label states that it is also effective for Ticks so I suspec= t it would provide some protection. Kevin