Puss

I tried it once. Waste of time and money, for me.

Given the rave reviews of Avon's Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus Insect Repellent w/SPF at keeping the tsetse flies at bay, I ordered a few bottles for an upcoming trip. The 4oz lotion is $4.99, and the pump spray is $5.99/each. The website says they are normally $10 & $12.

If Terry C was still posting, he'd be able to tell me if this was a good deal or not (Terry...you out there???)

If you order, get more then a few, as the 4oz bottles sure are small. Website is http://shop.avon.com/avonshop/default.asp, do a search at the bottom right of the webpage on "Bug Guard".

I just heard about, and tried, wiping a dryer sheet on your skin to repel mosquitos and it worked very well. if any of you think about it, throw a couple in and try them on tsetse flies. We may have something here.

I knew I'd get abused for this post! I'm gonna pack it...I'll let you know if a use it. But seriously, it's basically SPF 30 sun tan lotion with bug repellent that others here have said keeps the tsetse's away better then DEET. And at these prices, cost about the same as sun tan lotion, which most guys need at least in the beginning of a hunt. And who wants to end up looking like a wrinkled old prune.

I will say up front that I have not been to Africa or dealt with Tsetse flies so my story might not be very useful...

But once on Prince of Wales Island my brother and I were being eaten alive by whitesocks flies. Now a familly friend on the island gave us these long speeches on "don't bring "mainland" outdoor gear and expect it to work on the island, it won't work here, use what the locals use its the only thing that works. Don't use those rubber boot, all the locals use Extratuff boots, use them... Don't use that insect repellent with Deet, it doesn't work, THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS AGAINST THE POW FLIES is Avon Skin so Soft. Every local carries a bottle of it." So we took some along, though he almost didn't let me that that "inferior" deet stuff I had. Well crouched down in the saw grass waiting for bears we were again being eaten by flies. So we squeezed out liberal portions of the Avon stuff and covered our selves with it. It worked, for about 15 minutes... Then we were being eaten again. So we put more on, then it stopped working again. It was simply the worst insect repellent I have ever used. I threw it away and went back to Deet. It worked and kept the flies off. My brother got a nice blackie on that trip.

We wondered why all the local guys would carry a bottle of it, then we thought there were not that many women on the island so then we thought maybe it wasn't about the flies...

The stuff is great for Tsetse flies, soso for mosquitoes. Just remember...if you miss a spot, the Tsetse flies will find it!

Another hint is to spray all the corners of the cruiser, like where windshield meets the dash, behind the seats and especially under the dash, with Permethrin. The little bastards like to fly into the cab, hide for a bit, then nail you while you are distracted by things like game up ahead. That stuff really works. I've watched while a fly walked across an area I had sprayed a week earlier. In 15 or 20 seconds the thing started siezing then flipped over and was dead as canned lobster! Great!

Geronimo

My wife is going to use it in Zim in four days...Also the lotion is better then the spray..Thicker coating...But Deet is also included and I also sprayed clothing with pyrethin...

Mike

Geronomo - that's a good tip, thanks, you've obviously been-there-done-that. In April, after being bitten on the way to Chewore, we finally rolled up the windows and tuned on the AC. Like you said, I was still killing the dang things until we arrived at camp a few hours later. The ones that are full of blood are easy to hit as they can barely fly - but boy they make a mess on the windows when you whack them! The cab of the truck looked like a killing field. I ended up with a high-fever the next day and I don't know if it was from the tsetse bites or something else that the Doxy knocked out. They were not bad at all where we hunted thankfully, and I don't think I got bit again until the way back out. But I'd like to be somewhat prepared next time.

Mike - good luck to you on your hunt. I didn't know your wife was going along - that's great!

Bill C,

Don't listen to Will, the Tsete flies are the only people/things who ever give him attention so he doesn't want to stop a good thing

I hunted the Chewore North concession in Zim (same place/camp where Will usually hunts) and the T-flies were Thick! I was using the 99.9999% DEET that I brought and it seemed to be an appetizer for those little devils. My wife had brought a tube of AVON Skin-so-soft and I ended up using it one day. We were sitting in the cab of the LandRover and we had about 100 T-flies in the cab with us. They would fly over to me, take a quick whiff and then fly over to my PH, Ian Gibson, and bite him. He sitting right next to me and was bit about 30 times while I was untouched.

We only had a few days left on the hunt, but I ended up using the Avon SSS each of the remaining days. Because we didn't have much left and my wife and I were headed to Zambia for a week long photo safari, I never offered to let Ian use the AVON SSS. He was a bit bitter about that.

Ian and I met up the following year at the SCI show and he said "bring me a tube of that bloody stuff". I brought him a couple of tubes and send him a few each year. He says it work on the T-flies and he spends months in T-fly country each year. I'm taking a few extra with me on my trip this year (leave next week, August 12th).

It worked great for me on the T-flies but didn't do Sh_t on the Mopane flies.

Tim

Just take 2 garlic pills 4 times per day. It helps....

Bill,
I used the Avon Skin So Soft Expedition Spray on the trip to Zim and the lotion inTanz and it is a lifesaver! I offered it to Buzz and Sean and they agreed it was the best they had seen at keeping tetses at bay. I could only get an hour or so out of it because of the walking and sweating but it helped. The little bastards tatooed me pretty hard when it wore off!
I agree with the post that the lotion worked better than the spray but maybe the tetses were meaner in the Zambezi Valley than Masailand. Who knows? I'd definitely take it with me on every safari as part of my kit though!

I like the individually wrapped wipes they sell. you don't need to pak the bottle around with you. One wipe lasts a whole day usually.

We just came back from the Zambezi Valley and the only spot the Teste flies hit were the areas not covered by the Avon Skin so Soft.

The Assitant PH tried the stuff one day and we left him with two tubes. PH said in September and October nothing will work.

Anyone else out there like me? I haven't been to Africa yet so I don't know about the Tsetses, but I almost never get bit by mosquitos. Even when everyone around me is getting nailed I don't. In a heavy mosquito area I might get bit once for everyone else's 12-15 bites. If I do get a bite it usually won't swell up or itch. Therefore I don't bother with bug repellents. I must be a mutant, the little guys just don't like me very much.

In a malaria endemic area it's not about how many bites you don't get. Any one of them could be the BAD one. So even if you don't get bit frequently, you still want to minimize your chances of being bitten. Besides, the mosquitoes that carry malaria aren't like those at home. You may not even hear or feel them bite (ie. no seeums). You should also sleep under a net, because even in a closed tent you may wake up peppered on exposed skin without one.

Geronimo

Ding-Dong, call your local Avon lady.

WILL THIS REALLY HELP?i'M GOING OVER NEXT WEEK TO A INFESTED AREA!! HELP!!

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Just take 2 garlic pills 4 times per day. It helps....

On my last trip to Tanzania I used
Skeeter Beater... Smells like citronela..Took the two kinds they offer an oil base and a water base.. The oil very oilly and have to double bag them..The water based one was the best and I can tell you it held those buggers at bay and even PVT put some on after his failed to stop the biting...
I also took a fly swatter and bagged quite a few tsetse flies while riding in the truck and the trackers got a hoot out of me smacking the flies..

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
Given the rave reviews of Avon's Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus Insect Repellent w/SPF at keeping the tsetse flies at bay, I ordered a few bottles for an upcoming trip. The 4oz lotion is $4.99, and the pump spray is $5.99/each. The website says they are normally $10 & $12. <br /><br />If Terry C was still posting, he'd be able to tell me if this was a good deal or not <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> (Terry...you out there???)<br /><br />If you order, get more then a few, as the 4oz bottles sure are small. Website is <a href="http://shop.avon.com/avonshop/default.asp" target="_blank">http://shop.avon.com/avonshop/default.asp</a>, do a search at the bottom right of the webpage on "Bug Guard".

And you will smell so nice!

For the truck try smoking a cigar. The Tsetse's don't react to cigarette smoke but cigar smoke will drive them out of the truck. No good in the open though.

JPK

quote:

I hunted the Chewore North concession in Zim (same place/camp where Will usually hunts) and the T-flies were Thick! I was using the 99.9999% DEET that I brought and it seemed to be an appetizer for those little devils. My wife had brought a tube of AVON Skin-so-soft and I ended up using it one day. We were sitting in the cab of the LandRover and we had about 100 T-flies in the cab with us. They would fly over to me, take a quick whiff and then fly over to my PH, Ian Gibson, and bite him. He sitting right next to me and was bit about 30 times while I was untouched.

This has been my experience too, but I don't use bug juice. It just seems that the flies like the PH's better.

JPK

I used it in Makuti in early June and it worked for me. I will tell you that I live in one of the buggiest places in the world and I am more tolerant than some. The bugs seemed to bite my PH more than me and he didn't use anything while I used Avon...mostly for the sunscreen in it.

You can sweat any type of spray off eventually. We use 100% DEET up here when the bugs are real bad and you eventually have to reapply. That 100% stuff makes your mouth go numb and will destroy your floating fly lines

Nothing really works.

But IMH experience, 100% DEET applied directly to the flesh, combined with Permethrin sprayed liberally and often to the clothing, will keep them at bay until safe blood transfusions can be had back in the First World.

I must say I have been lucky in not yet experiencing real bad season for the Tsetse fly.
Which is good because from what I have heard about sleeping sickness, it not a great sickness to get.

I took both the Avon product and the deet product to TZ last year. The area was lousy with the tse tse. The Avon product worded well.

I leave next week. I'm only taking the Avon product.

I've used the Avon SSS several times I think it helps a little bit but I still got eaten by tsetses pretty good every time.

I believe it makes red bumps smooth and cuddly.

Honestly, I had such poor luck with it here I wouldn't consider trying it elsewhere.

I believe the stuff Bill C is referring to is Bullfrog Mosquito Coast sunscreen/repellent. It seems to work well for me here. It's not greasy, drys and is waterproof. Plus it really does keep you from getting sunburned. Excellent product IMO.

I have used the Avon SSS wipes on a couple trips-- they worked very well for me -- problem is that I gave them away on my last trip to Zim and now can not find them anymore -- wish I had saved/kept them -- Dang!

SSS with spf 30 lotion worked better on Selous tse tse a few weeks ago for me than did Muskol and a few other high end bug repelents that I also tried on the same trip.
lasts longer thru the sweat than some other too.

Used Avon SSS/Sun Block in Zambia and it worked great for Tsetses. Very few bites while me PH sitting next to me spent half the day crushing them. Does need to be reapplied to keep working though.

I also used the Avon sun screen and bug repellent combination. I used the oily stuff in the tube and it worked for about four hours +. I was taking doxy for mosquitoes so the sun screen was important. It worked well for Tse's on exposed skin that was treated, but the only thing that really worked was long sleeve shirt, gloves, bandanna, hat, long pants and gaiters. I have never seen things so persistent. My poor step-son is balding, and they even bit him through the vent holes in his baseball cap! Kudude

I forgot to mention that I was using Doxy also along with the Avon SSS. I didn't get burnt and we spent long days in the sun with little shade.

I always take a couple of tubes of Avon SSS when I hunt Africa. I usually take a tube of deet, but prefer the Avon. Somebody in DSC recommended it. I just know that it always works for me. The protection from the sun is just as important as the protection from bugs. Hey, it smells good too!