What you do to fight Mosquito??

A

achiinto

Guest
Hi, I really hate herping during the Summer in Southern Ontario. I get up to 50 Mosquito bites after one trip in the forest. However, the forest is the only way to go to check out vernal pool and ponds for Frogs and Salamanders.

I know that DEET is the best way to drive the bloodsuckers out. However, that also harm amphibians when I have to handle them. I tried to avoid using any chemical to repel the bugs, but it is dangerous to get so many bites and at least it can makes a fun herping trip into a terror.

What do you use? How to you handle these nasty bugs?
 
While camping or doing other outdoor activities I generally use a product called, Jungle Juice which is distributed through R.E.I. I have no idea if it is safe to handle amphibians while wearing this product though, since I tend to just look at them from a distance rather than get up close and personal.
 
I have used Cutter brand insect repellent all over the world with great success. It uses Picaridan as it's active ingredient. It succesfully repells 'skeeters everywhere I have been, from all over North and South America, to those crazy huge African and South East Asian bloodsuckers. Believe me when I say, if it can stop African, Panamanian, and Pennsylvanian mosquitoes, it will even stop those nasty helicopter sized ones you have up there.;)
 
I've pinned clothes dryer sheets(Bounce etc.) to the back of my kids jackets. It seemed to work. It also works to repel rats in the attic.
 
Before I knew better I swore smoking a big fat cigar was an excellent mosquito repellant.
 
salt,that is solution plain salt......try it and u will see
 
After nearly a year, I am hiking in the bloodsucker's active season again to go herping. I have been trying mosquitos netting cloths, however, I still got like 20 bites through my cloths. My lower body with jeans seems to do okay against the bugs, with rubber roots to complete the protection.

And looking at the chemical solution, it seems like all chemical will have side effect to amphibian skin. I worry that even air borne effect might be harmful to amphibian. Other than that, chemical that drive off mosquitos will also drive off dragonfly and butterfly, which I like to photographe as well.

So, after a year, I wonder if anyone of you have tried anything new as you go herping to prevent those bloodsuckers from biting you. Have you noticed any negative effect on the amphibians you observed?

Also, I do handle amphibians for photography occasionally. In this case, I have learned to wash my hand off any chemical by rubbing against soil. Dont know if that really help.... I have also read about using latex gloves. Any one have any experience to share about the gloves? if you have DEET on the hand, how would you put on gloves without having any DEET getting on it.
 
The handling of amphibians with both latex and nitrile gloves has been linked to deaths in some species. Best to use am alcohol based hand sanitizer.

As for mosquitoes, other than netting and a canvas shirt, you can try an electronic repeller. Personally, I can hear them and find them more annoying than the bites.

Mosquitoes are attracted to heat and CO2. This males them hard to stop as a mammal.

My advice is to wear a few loose layers of light colored clothing where up are still getting bitten.
 
Luckily, we have very few (if any) mosquitos in my area. If you are worried about herps reacting negatively, why not just take the bites? Sludgemonkey has the right idea, loose and light clothes.

I had also heard the 'drier sheet' method and would say it will not harm and amphibians unless them came in contact with it.

Field herping, can't win 'em all :/
 
I do the layered thing with a hoodie and mossy net covering and hat.. Hot as heck. pants Either jeans or some sort of tough camo pants and a under shirt layer of some sort.. Plus the rubber boots and top it off with garden gloves.. Pain in the butt is the camera work part.. WOrk really fast as those suckers love to bite when your taking a shot.. No latex as reccomended.. Anyhow you sweat ur **** off but very few bites :> Anyhow great advice people:>
 
I don't have much experience with it, but try Repel eucalyptus oil spray. It's all natural and supposedly keeps mosquito's away. I'll try it over the summer while I hike in the woods in CT and will give feedback asap. :cool:
 
Yes, disease is the main concern, but being bitten everytime is not fun as well.

SlugeMunkey, As for latex gloves, I have researched and found this link regarding the use of Latex gloves to handle amphibian.

http://www.srd.alberta.ca/ManagingP...nts/protocol/amphibian_class_protocol_003.pdf

It suggested that you need to use talc free gloves. If gloves has talc in it, it might kill amphibians. Did you mean this problem with latex? Or there are some other concern?

As for the Ultrasonic mosquitoes repellent, I think none of them work.....

As many have suggested, DEET is bad choice if you will handle amphibians. There are some other chemical, which might be less deadly.

How about Picaridin? Anyone tried that?
I found this link: http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/picaridin.pdf
One test item shows that they have tested picaridin on Rainbow trout, and Daphnia. Result from Rainbow Trout shows that it is moderately toxic. Tests on Daphnia shows that it has no effect on the crustacean.
If it is moderately toxic to Trout, I guess it is not a good choice for amphibian.

The other one is Allethrin, which is used in the product called Thermacell. I heard many good review about Thermacell. But the label also say that it is potentially dangerous to Fish, amphibian, and reptile. A few notes about it effect on health, environment and bugs is found in here:
http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/prod_back_allethrin_facts.doc

The good thing about the report is that this natural chemical will biodegrade on land in 1 to 2 hours and water in less than 8 hours. So, I am planning to use the Thermacell for my camp site, away from water. And the dose used by Thermacell is much less than the dose used for the tests.

In term of Hiking, I still can't find a good solution. I might just strength my clothing choices, wear hat for the Black flies, Boots for ticks, and netting to cover all bugs.

Btw, I think some researchers were researching using natural chemical from Frog skin as a repellent. Don't know how that is going yet. If that work, it might be an amphibian friendly repellent:
Mosquito repellents in frog skin — Biology Letters
 
O
achiinto said:
Yes, disease is the main concern, but being bitten everytime is not fun as well.

SlugeMunkey, As for latex gloves, I have researched and found this link regarding the use of Latex gloves to handle amphibian.

http://www.srd.alberta.ca/ManagingP...nts/protocol/amphibian_class_protocol_003.pdf

It suggested that you need to use talc free gloves. If gloves has talc in it, it might kill amphibians. Did you mean this problem with latex? Or there are some other concern?

pAs for the Ultrasonic mosquitoes repellent, I think none of them work.....

As many have suggested, DEET is bad choice if you will handle amphibians. There are some other chemical, which might be less deadly.

How about Picaridin? Anyone tried that?
I found this link: http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/picaridin.pdf
One test item shows that they have tested picaridin on Rainbow trout, and Daphnia. Result from Rainbow Trout shows that it is moderately toxic. Tests on Daphnia shows that it has no effect on the crustacean.
If it is moderately toxic to Trout, I guess it is not a good choice for amphibian.

The other one is Allethrin, which is used in the product called Thermacell. I heard many good review about Thermacell. But the label also say that it is potentially dangerous to Fish, amphibian, and reptile. A few notes about it effect on health, environment and bugs is found in here:
http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/prod_back_allethrin_facts.doc

The good thing about the report is that this natural chemical will biodegrade on land in 1 to 2 hours and water in less than 8 hours. So, I am planning to use the Thermacell for my camp site, away from water. And the dose used by Thermacell is much less than the dose used for the tests.

In term of Hiking, I still can't find a good solution. I might just strength my clothing choices, wear hat for the Black flies, Boots for ticks, and netting to cover all bugs.

Btw, I think some researchers were researching using natural chemical from Frog skin as a repellent. Don't know how that is going yet. If that work, it might be an amphibian friendly repellent:
Mosquito repellents in frog skin — Biology Letters
Click to expand...

The brand Cutters I suggested and use is Picaradin. I swear by it. I admit I am one of the lucky few that does not get a reaction to mosquito bites. I use repellent to keep deerflies and ticks away.

As for the latex/nitrile issue I suspect the sulfur used in making the rubber stable is to blame. I am not a chemist though. There are a few threads on here discussing this in detail.
 
To the OP,

If your main interest is amphibians, and you like to avoid mosquitos, why wait so long to get out into the field? The best time of year for finding salamanders in Southern Ontario is March and April, long before the bugs are out. With the heat we've been getting, all you're likely to find now are Eastern Redbacks.... which should never be handled for any reason.

You aren't likely to turn up any Ambystomids in late May, especially with the temperature in the high 30s (Celsius). Try starting a little earlier next year.

Dan
 
thinkinfeller said:
To the OP,

If your main interest is amphibians, and you like to avoid mosquitos, why wait so long to get out into the field? The best time of year for finding salamanders in Southern Ontario is March and April, long before the bugs are out. With the heat we've been getting, all you're likely to find now are Eastern Redbacks.... which should never be handled for any reason.

You aren't likely to turn up any Ambystomids in late May, especially with the temperature in the high 30s (Celsius). Try starting a little earlier next year.

Dan
Click to expand...

Hi Dan, Thanks for the advice. I am well aware that Mole Salamanders are most active at the ground level during March and April in Southern Canada. I have been actively observing them this year. There are many reasons that I still want to search for the most amphibian friendly repellent.

1) I can never get enough to observe Salamanders in the wild
2) There are still frogs in Summer, although not likely require handling. But careful handling help with photography.
3) Many repellents may potentially damage Camera casing.
4) I fear the residue of the repellent may be introduced to my collection at home. I really hate putting chemical on my hands, especially knowing that those chemicals are harmful to amphibians. I regularly need to dip my hands into aquarium water to take care of my newts.
5) I still like to go out hiking, camping, observing the well-being of the vernal pools in the summer, so I still will go out even after salamander season
6) There are still salamander larvae and tadpoles to observe. This require even more careful handling.
7) There are other lungless salamanders in Ontario, ones that are least common than Red Back. And they might be active during summer.
8) I also have been to many Salamander Survey volunteer with Conservation organizations, they always arrange the surveys in May. I have in many case observed mole salamanders in those trips.

But you are right about the temperature. This year is particularly hot. I noticed that my favorite vernal pools was almost dried off in Early May. Luckily a week of heavy rain in Mid May saved it. And in this year warmer spring and irregular weather pattern, I seem to observe less breeding activities this year in my favorite sites, fewer eggs mass. Whether interesting to observe vernal pool long term relation with the weather pattern and how its ecology behave each year. :D

Anyway, these area why I still prefer not using chemical repellent and keep searching for solutions. But thanks for the advice and I might considering using repellent when I least expect encountering amphibians on bugs heavy trips.
 
I just have to say: Mosquitoes in the continental US have NOTHING on the mosquitoes in the boreal forest. I was woozy by the end of the day from blood loss. A combination of bug nets and Cutter barely slow 'em down. They even bit through Carhartts!

That being said, while in Alabama, I have yet to resort to bug spray. But mosquito season is definitely ramping up. And the ticks are in full swing. I killed at least a dozen yesterday. If you use a spray with a pump-action versus an aerosolized spray, you can control where it goes a little better, and just put it on parts of exposed skin. Then wash your hands well at your vehicle before going out in the woods.
 
Squize out a whole lemon in half a glass of water, spray it on you ;)
 
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