Until this evening when I went to pick up a new can of mosquito repellent, I had no idea there was another chemical besides Deet that works well at keeping the bugs off you. I'll be hunting a new tract this year and got eaten up by red bugs/chiggers when I was there recently doing some scouting. I noticed the active ingredient in this new can is a chemical called picaridin that is reported to work just as well but is odorless, and most importantly, will not interact with plastics and make them tacky.

Yes, as good as a Thermacell works at keeping bugs away when you're not moving, there are times when a conventional spray is a must.

Pic of the can?

Tests show that the two chemicals are equal protection agains skeeters. DEET is better against ticks, but supposedly not as good against other biting insects. Chiggers were not specifically mentioned in what I read.

Picaridin won’t eat plastics and isn’t greasy, and is the favored repellant in Australia and NZ since its introduction in 1998.

"WON'T DAMAGE GEAR"

Sawyer has been making it for years, they also have a lotion version that lasts a lot longer.

In fact they advise using a layering system. For clothing use permethrin and picaidian on skin.

I bought the half gallon jug for the kids

Thanks for sharing.

When comparing products, it appears a 20% solution is the most available, as opposed to Deet products that may be as high as 100%.

I ordered a can of the Sawyer spray off Amazon since it's easy to pack and will cover skin and clothing alike. Just a matter of personal preference for sure.

For chiggers, permethrin on the clothes is definitely the way to go.

I have severe reactions to DEET so have to look elsewhere.
I've been using Cutter Natural insect repellent and it works well but the smell is pretty strong.
It works on mosquitos and ticks very well, but you have to put down a pretty good layer from knees down to keep chiggers at bay - and heaven help you if you squat down or are in waist deep weeds...
I only use it hunting when the wind is strong and in my favor.






Permethrin is a contact kill insecticide, not a repellent.
It's also listed as a medicine used to treat lice and scabies.....

Luckily, the Texas heat does a number on the chiggers right about now!
And since it's been hot and dry, mosquitoes aren't bad either.

thanks for sharing. I remember 30+ years ago the craze with some Avon product and men asking wifes to order for them.
I'm gonna order some Sawyer

My wife is allergic to picardin. She gets a good rash when she uses it, so she has gone all natural with citronella and “something” spray. I like the permithrin on clothes I am going to hunt in, works well, and thermacell. But times when thermacell dies right when the hunting is good and making noise to take it apart and put it back together are annoying.

Put a tick on clothing treated with permethrin and they will immediately remove them selves.

Regardless of how it’s classified it's what every clothing mfg uses for their big repellent clothing. It simply works

Not arguing, just saying what the manufacturer says it is an insecticide, not a repellent but the bugs are smart enough to know it's not good for them.
One of the cool things about THF is the knowledge base here.

At one time Dioxin was the herbicide of choice used by everybody until they found out how bad it was.
So they switched to Glyphosate as the next latest, greatest and safest thing and we know where that is going.

Sorry misunderstood you. Ironically glyphosate will eventually be ruled safe after it goes to a judge where scientific facts are actually relevant

I had a guy show me this stuff, works great.

https://www.avon.com/product/skin-s...qA8gu-tdC0aAgkmEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks for the reminder. I've never tried it, but a lot of guys swear by it to even reduce the bites of tsetse flies in Africa. Those things are like getting attacked by hypodermic needles.

ok I'll try the Sawyer