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The ticks I especially hate are the tiny seed ticks. I would wear long socks and tuck the legs of my jeans into the socks, and then use a spray with DEET.

 

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If concerns about DEET / Permethrin come up, alternative spray/ lotions are out there.

Here is the recipe for 1 alternative:

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

 

Mix and split into 2 spray bottles.

Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil and real eucalyptus oil are expensive.

 

Avon Skin-so Soft is one of those hate it-love it substances.  It has never been advertised as an insect repellant but has regional popularity.  I just learned from a woman that Avon Skin-so-Soft is a good zipper lubricant. The zippers on your tent might repell insects and you will have Foo-Foo smell.

 

PNWexplorer. Do you know if your blood is acidic, neutral pH or basic?

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9 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

If concerns about DEET / Permethrin come up, alternative spray/ lotions are out there.

Here is the recipe for 1 alternative:

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

 

Mix and split into 2 spray bottles.

Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil and real eucalyptus oil are expensive.

 

Avon Skin-so Soft is one of those hate it-love it substances.  It has never been advertised as an insect repellant but has regional popularity.  I just learned from a woman that Avon Skin-so-Soft is a good zipper lubricant. The zippers on your tent might repell insects and you will have Foo-Foo smell.

 

PNWexplorer. Do you know if your blood is acidic, neutral pH or basic?

 

9 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

If concerns about DEET / Permethrin come up, alternative spray/ lotions are out there.

Here is the recipe for 1 alternative:

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

 

Mix and split into 2 spray bottles.

Avon Skin-so-Soft bath oil and real eucalyptus oil are expensive.

 

Avon Skin-so Soft is one of those hate it-love it substances.  It has never been advertised as an insect repellant but has regional popularity.  I just learned from a woman that Avon Skin-so-Soft is a good zipper lubricant. The zippers on your tent might repell insects and you will have Foo-Foo smell.

 

PNWexplorer. Do you know if your blood is acidic, neutral pH or basic?

 

I would like to know what others recommend using, too.

 

I am allergic to Skin-So Soft. I itch something awful. Found that out when my Mom would use it on us as a bug repellant. I have sprayed it on house and tent screens to keep the No-See-Ums out.

 

Last fall I was treated for Limes after a tick bite that developed that target look. 

I am currently on an antibiotic again. I found a deer tick on my neck after a Mother's Day hike with my dog along a trout stream here in Northern Wisconsin not far from Lake Superior. My daughter pulled it off but what I thought was its head was still embedded. The bite mark did not look good, swelled up and started the same target-thing as last year. Yesterday the doctor said the tick's pincer was attached to a hair follicle deeper in the skin - not the head. It was the first time he had seen that. It took him awhile to dig it out. 

I was the fifth person he had seen yesterday with tick issues. Apparently they are really bad in our area this year already.

 

I do not want to have to stay out of the woods!

 

Also - what is up with those blood types you mentioned? How do you know what yours is?

I am allergic to a lot of beauty products and bug repellants. If I find one I can use I will just stick with that providing they don't change it in any way as in "new and improved" otherwise I have to start over. 

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Is there a carrier oil that you know you aren't allergic to?  Almond, coconut, sunflower, etc.? Sunflower oil would add to the repellent .   If you aren't allergic to the oil, try soaking some oregano in it.  Strain out the oregano and put lemongrass oil into the carrier oil and rub it on.  I use a lemongrass deodorant and found out mosquitoes don't like the scent and don't like me as much.  It's supposed to be pretty good at repelling ticks too.  The downside is that bees love it, so I wouldn't use it in the months that bees are most bothersome (August around me).

 

It may not work 100%, but it's better than nothing for anyone allergic to chemical alternatives.

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1 hour ago, Annie Nore said:

Also - what is up with those blood types you mentioned? How do you know what yours is?

 

Blood type is different than blood pH. Biters want our blood for food. The no-seeums that bite are females and they want blood to feed their eggs.  I am curious about persons who are bug free. Might be blood type. Might be a combo of blood type and blood pH and diet.  Our blood has a narrow range of pH values. Acidic, 'normal' and basic. Trying to shift blood pH can be dangerous  since risk of interfering with heart rhythms exists.  If you have had lab tests recently, there might be a 'CO2' value listed. If your carbon dioxide level is higher than the norm, then there is a chance that your blood is slightly acidic. Your doctor may have your blood type and pH value on file.  Blood type test kits for home use are available on-line.

 

Essential oils may have potential. Individual testing is required. I have read about lemongrass, sandalwood and eucalytus oil.  I use alot of spearmint oil for rodent repelling.

Some Aroma therapy shops cut essential oils with vegetable oil.  An essential oil that has been cut with vegetable oil will bring in a bear. That little bear in my display image taught me that.

 

 

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48 minutes ago, Catmandoo said:

....... Biters want our blood for food. The no-seeums that bite are females and they want blood to feed their eggs.  I am curious about persons who are bug free. Might be blood type. Might be a combo of blood type and blood pH and diet.  ......


Vitamin Super B Complex helps keep mosquitos from biting, but only if you have a companion who doesn't take it daily like you do. A bright red shirt also helps.......if your companion is wearing it and you're wearing white. 
 

Those measures are like the 22 handgun and a hiking companion as bear protection. When a bear attacks, shoot your companion in the knee and run like Hell.

 

White sox? Noseeums? I dunno. I'm still working on them, but I'm out of companions..........

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19 minutes ago, Huntster said:

Vitamin Super B Complex helps keep mosquitos from biting

 

Hunster, as you know, biting is only 50% of the scenario in Alaska. The other part of the scenario is they swarm and carry you off.

I tried sandalwood incense for no-seeums while in Naknek. Didn't work well and they got through the bug screens.

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1 hour ago, Catmandoo said:

 

Hunster, as you know, biting is only 50% of the scenario in Alaska. The other part of the scenario is they swarm and carry you off.

I tried sandalwood incense for no-seeums while in Naknek. Didn't work well and they got through the bug screens.

 

Yeah, the mosquito biting is bad enough, but when yoy can't breathe because you're inhaling them by the dozen with each inhale, you know you're in deep trouble........

 

One September I forgot my gloves on a three day moose hunt. The white sox literally ate me up. My hands were so swollen by Monday morning I was afraid I'd need a few injections of penicillin. 

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30 minutes ago, Huntster said:

 

Yeah, the mosquito biting is bad enough, but when yoy can't breathe because you're inhaling them by the dozen with each inhale, you know you're in deep trouble........

 

 

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I was in Northern British Columbia, and at times the skeeters (they are two feet long there, I swear!) were completely relentless. I got bit so many times that season that I gave up trying to swat them. Growing a thick beard helped. And cigars, to a degree. After a while, I didn't even get itchy anymore. The constant drone of them around you. But I know what you mean about breathing them, and you're not exaggerating. I have swallowed so many in my lifetime that it could feed a small army. I know what they taste like (as I am sure you know, too), and that is one of the main reasons I hate trout. To me, trout tastes just like what they eat - mosquitos. Blech. I'll take a nice ribeye any day. It was such a blessing when the first real cold snap hit.

 

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2 hours ago, Huntster said:


Vitamin Super B Complex helps keep mosquitos from biting, but only if you have a companion who doesn't take it daily like you do. A bright red shirt also helps.......if your companion is wearing it and you're wearing white. 
 

Those measures are like the 22 handgun and a hiking companion as bear protection. When a bear attacks, shoot your companion in the knee and run like Hell.

 

White sox? Noseeums? I dunno. I'm still working on them, but I'm out of companions..........

 

Only the expendables wear the red shirts.

Hmmmm...remind me not to invite you on any expeditions. 

 

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1 minute ago, Annie Nore said:

.........Hmmmm...remind me not to invite you on any expeditions. 

 

 

Yeah, I'm a magnet for disaster, but it always works out with me in the hospital, and my companions free and easy. 

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4 hours ago, JustCurious said:

Is there a carrier oil that you know you aren't allergic to?  Almond, coconut, sunflower, etc.? Sunflower oil would add to the repellent .   If you aren't allergic to the oil, try soaking some oregano in it.  Strain out the oregano and put lemongrass oil into the carrier oil and rub it on.  I use a lemongrass deodorant and found out mosquitoes don't like the scent and don't like me as much.  It's supposed to be pretty good at repelling ticks too.  The downside is that bees love it, so I wouldn't use it in the months that bees are most bothersome (August around me).

 

It may not work 100%, but it's better than nothing for anyone allergic to chemical alternatives.

Thanks! Great suggestions! I will have to look into those. I do use coconut oil on my skin. I have used a few other oils on occasion and as of yet not reactions. I think the chemicals or artificial scents are what I am most sensitive to. I have used things like DEET on my clothes but I have to be very careful when handling it and the clothes or be able to bathe/wash it off quickly somehow. 

3 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

 

Blood type is different than blood pH. Biters want our blood for food. The no-seeums that bite are females and they want blood to feed their eggs.  I am curious about persons who are bug free. Might be blood type. Might be a combo of blood type and blood pH and diet.  Our blood has a narrow range of pH values. Acidic, 'normal' and basic. Trying to shift blood pH can be dangerous  since risk of interfering with heart rhythms exists.  If you have had lab tests recently, there might be a 'CO2' value listed. If your carbon dioxide level is higher than the norm, then there is a chance that your blood is slightly acidic. Your doctor may have your blood type and pH value on file.  Blood type test kits for home use are available on-line.

 

Essential oils may have potential. Individual testing is required. I have read about lemongrass, sandalwood and eucalytus oil.  I use alot of spearmint oil for rodent repelling.

Some Aroma therapy shops cut essential oils with vegetable oil.  An essential oil that has been cut with vegetable oil will bring in a bear. That little bear in my display image taught me that.

 

 

 

Interesting! I will have to ask my doctor next time.

Thanks for that bear tip!

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1 minute ago, Annie Nore said:

Thanks! Great suggestions! I will have to look into those. I do use coconut oil on my skin. I have used a few other oils on occasion and as of yet not reactions. I think the chemicals or artificial scents are what I am most sensitive to. I have used things like DEET on my clothes but I have to be very careful when handling it and the clothes or be able to bathe/wash it off quickly somehow. 

Look into permethrin for your clothing. 

 

I may have to get @Madison5716 one of these:

 

image.jpeg.9a6efc10c63e29a340d0f63a8ee05470.jpeg

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I've a heart arrhythmia problem, so my outdoor jaunts have been curtailed.

But friends are recommending the trick of wrapping duct tape around your ankles, sticky side out.

 

And of course tuck your pants cuffs into your socks, and tuck in your shirt. Try to keep the demons on the outer surface of your clothing.

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