One of the things I found curious about the packing list supplied by my outfitter for a pending trip to Tanzania, was the explicit request not to bring Deet based insect repellents. (He suggested purchasing "Autan" which is aloe based.)

Since every other thing I've read about traveling to this area recommends Deet, I'm left to wonder: What's the reason(s) behind his preference? Is this due to import rules, the nature of the insects in his particular hunting areas, or the products' overall effectiveness?

Has anyone had similar requests or experiences?

Hedge your bets, take both your preference and his (if available)

And I suggest you ask him why.

AD

Take skin so soft and don't worry about anything else. It works

Another vote for Avon Skin-so-soft. I got hardly any bites using it (which is saying a lot because bugs love to eat me for some reason). The last day of my hunt I used only deet and the bugs had a field day eating me.

Well Skin So Soft sure didn't work in the Adirondacks. The black flies and deer flies thought it was icing, they licked it off then bit me! Muskol, 98% Deet, so what if it goes through vinyl like the creature's blood in Alien.

If you are talking about tse tse flies, some people seem to attract it more than others.

Skin So Soft does work, and when we ran out of it, I made our own concoction.

It is basically in 3 equal parts.
1 part DEET
1 part Mosquito repellent
1 part 50 SPF sun screen

This seems to work just as well as Skin So Soft, if not better.

I was a skin so Soft doubter until a November 2011 safari in Mozambique and in Zim, on the Zambezi. Hot,Hot, Hot and sunny. the SPF rating of 30 worked well,with one AM application. In 3 weeks in the field I could count only one mosquito bite. I'm a believer. Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
If you are talking about tse tse flies, some people seem to attract it more than others.

Skin So Soft does work, and when we ran out of it, I made our own concoction.

It is basically in 3 equal parts.
1 part DEET
1 part Mosquito repellent
1 part 50 SPF sun screen

This seems to work just as well as Skin So Soft, if not better.

Saeed,

To us in Alaska Deet is Mosquito repellent. What is an example of your second ingredient?

Cheers
Jim

Jim,

We use a concoction called Mossie Dose and it really works on mosquitoes.

I think it is the DEET that stops the tse tse flies, the sun screen helps to protect against the sun.

I went to the Avon web site and found dozens of different products called Skin So Soft. Which one is best for repelling mosquitos/tsetse?

I wished I would have taken a picture of the PH's Landcruiser door where the paint had been eaten of by DEET. If it eats the paint off a Landcruiser, I don't think I'll be using it. Skin So Soft works for me.

Sweat and friction wear paint of of truck doors--trust me I have seen thousands of old trucks where arm wear was on the top of the door. Seriously doubt DEET had anything to do with it. DEET works and generally considered very safe.

SSR

Yes, DEET is pretty vicious stuff that has ruined many gunstocks, fishing lures, sunglasses, binoculars and other synthetic items. At least some types of lens coatings are also at risk...think about that when you are standing just downwind of someone hosing himself down with an aerosol can of the stuff.

Cross,

The Landcruiser was almost new, about 3,000 km on the clock. The paint looked like it was blistered, not rubbed off because of arm wear. Just saying.

Guys this is the stuff 21 days of proofing. In the Selous. Deet Melts hearing aides!!!

Mike

I used to use a lot of Ben's 100 doing field work and on paddling trips in northern Canada. It is pretty nasty stuff that will melt some plastics (like those used for pens and mechanical pencils) on contact. It does rude things to cheap ponchos too. Canada now has regulations regarding the max DEET concentrations allowed in bug repellant (~40% I think). I think it is a good regulation and don't miss the old 98% DEET at all. The 40 % stuff doesn't melt things, hurt like hell when it gets into a cut or is mixed with sweat that rolls into your eyes. I haven't seen any difference with effectiveness on bugs either other than Ben's would sometimes last longer. Mostly you sweat of the DEET off before it loses its effectiveness, so I found that advantage more theoretical than practical.

Dean

I have a bumper sticker on one of my gun cases, put there by my PH in Zambia, that has a picture of a tsetse fly on one end, and reads, "I GAVE BLOOD IN ZAMBIA"!

Man that sticker was sure telling the truth, because by the time I got back to the USA the sleeves of my shirt were soaked with blood from scratching the bites. I was useing Cutter"s Deet! It worked for the Mosquitoes but not for the tsetse flys. Deep woods deet works for mosquitoes in Alaska and Canada, but just barely unless you re-apply it often.

I haven't found anything that will even phase tsetse flys.

3M Ultrathon. Time release protection - up to 12 hours, splash & sweat resistant and tested and developed for the U.S. military in mid-1980's and still issued today. Works on mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, chiggers, gnats & fleas, deer flies. 34.34% DEET.

3M Ultrathon: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/po.../Ultrathon/Products/

Anecdotal evidence from my hunting partner, an MD, and I in both Zambia and Mozambique in the mid-2000's indicates it greatly reduced the bites of the Tetse flies.

DEET: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/...s/chemicals/deet.htm

Has anyone tried the unscented Skin So Soft? I hate the odor. I see Avon offers the unscented version but I wonder if it works as well.

Deet has one big draw back it melts plastic, hearing aides and takes off gunstock finish. The SSS with the picardin does work on geeting nasties off.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
I went to the Avon web site and found dozens of different products called Skin So Soft. Which one is best for repelling mosquitos/tsetse?

I use this type so I get sun screen and bug repellent:



You should see "Bug Guard" on it.