I have several bottles of Avon Bug Guard Plus. It seems to work very well on our over grown mosqitos and other pesky bugs here in Florida. Does anyone know if this stuff works on tsetse flys? I hate to bring it all the way to Tanzania and find out it doesn't work.

Thank you.

No

Wear long pants and tuck pant legs into your boots. Wear long sleeve shirts as well.

Sorry, but I disagree withn the last post. I took it to Zambia and we had a pretty heavy cocentration of flys in the Buffalo area. I applied it every 2 hours or so and got very few bites, usually only on an unapplied area. My PH was the control subject and had nothing applied and he tool a fly bite a minute the whole time. Of course he didn't seem to mind.

I do agree with the long pants though. I sprayed mine with Permithrin and had no bites through them.

i found diesl fuel works.......just hope to god no ones smokeing near you.

i take a thin strip of cotten fabric and dab diesl on it wrap around my hat and im off keep horse flys mosqitoes and people away from you.

tryed in in africa it worked also but i must admit i saw little to no bugs far to dry for them.

Avon Skin so Soft worked for me in the Zambezi Valley of Zim and Masailand in Tanz. Both have major league tetse's! You have to reapply every hour or so when the tetse's are at their worst but it is the only thing I have found to slow them down. I will be carrying it with me in the Luangwa Valley in a couple of weeks... serves two purposes... sun block and bug repellant! My PH's always remark it is one of the most effective repellants they have come across.

Try "Jungle Juce", it works until you sweat it off. I must admit that after a while I just let them bite. Too much trouble to put the stuff on.

You might ask Rodgunbuilder about this I think he is the Fundi. I seem to remember that he soaked his chloses in something or other.

Don't know about you but I can't stand to wear pants (as opposed to shorts) in hot weather.

Brett

Mr. Shores,

I know for a fact that it does not work for all people but I've found it to be very effective. This is the specific product that I've used:

http://shop.avon.com/avonshop/default.asp?department=shop

I use it in combination with permethrin treated clothes.

Carefully applied, one bottle will last me about 10 days. After wiping down arms, face, and neck, and there is still a light film on my hands that hasn't dried yet, I put fingers into each ear and give a few twists. I find this will keep mopanes out.

Maybe you would want to take one bottle which wouldn't take up much space and if it works for you, you will be glad you have it.

Edited:

I can't get the link to lead to the product. Go to:

outdoor protection > bug guard plus

SKIN SO SOFT BUG GUARD PLUS IR3535 Insect Repellent Moisturizing Sun Block Lotion- Cool 'n Fabulous SPF 30

Good tips about the diesel and elephant dung.

It works somewhat, but not for long periods. If you're out in the bush all day, you'll tire of fooling with it and just go with protective clothing and swatting instead.

A useful tip (from the old days)to keep them away from you when you're in the truck is to have an old pan or hub cap etc on the roof rack or in the bed of the truck and just light a piece of dried elephant shit and drop it in the pan, one piece will smoulder for an hour or so, it works a treat....... It also sounds a lot less girly than telling people you use a product called skin so soft when you go home.

My recent experience was that it works, but as others have said, it is only effective for a short period of time. Must be reapplied every 2 to 4 hours.

Regards,

Terry

Another recommendation that it works, but not for very long. 1-2 hours seemed to be the extent.

Permetherin cream works too, but it is as thick as axel grease.

After a week or so, I just say, screw it, and let them bite me. Take a bug jacket to wear in the evenings and anytime the Tsetse seem bad.

When I was a kid growing up, in east Texas, on the Trinity river, we had a fly they called Buffalo knats.They were very mean and nasty creatures. The Avon products were the only thing that would repel them.

My Father always said if you wanted to keep knats out of your face, cut a hole in the seet of your pants. I've never tried it but the theory is sound.

Deep Woods Off has worked very well for me for mosies, ticks and tsetses.

465H&H

I personally believe that the old wives tales of prevention dont really work, but we all have our preferances and personal experiences.

PS: From my personal experience I am badly effected by tsetsi bites and get really bad lumps and swelling around the bites

This is an excerpt from the XPERTS. I know some of the things they say are not possible for hunters to do BUT the information is informative

Cheers, Peter
--------------------------
Personal measures to avoid tsetse flies
Measures to reduce exposure to tsetse flies include:

Protective clothing:

Wear thick clothing that reduces the amount of exposed skin, such as heavy long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes. Avoid wearing bright or dark-coloured clothing as these colours attract tsetse flies.

Screens and bed nets:

Sleep inside screened areas, under a net or in an air-conditioned room. Use bed nets that are rectangular in size, impregnated with permethrin* every 6 months and tucked tightly under the mattress before dusk

Other measures:

Avoid riding in the back of open vehicles as tsetse flies are attracted to dust churned up by moving vehicles or animal herds. Check the inside of all vehicles for tsetse flies before getting in. Stay away from bushy areas especially during the heat of the day. Tsetse flies rest in bushes during high heat periods and can bite if disturbed.

Insect repellent has not been proven to prevent tsetse fly bites.

Just returned from the Zambezi River valley, both Chewore and Dande. Skin-so-soft works well and is good for about 90 mins. At least it keeps them off your arms and neck.

Dak

I found Skin So Soft to be largely ineffective on tse tse flies, so I had to use DEET as a backup plan.

There is a mosquito repellelent I picked up in India called Odomos.
I've used this in Africa to ward off tsetse flys and it worked very well.
You can probably find it for sale on the Internet somewhere.

Larry, on this last Kigosi hunt, the tsetses were bad. The Avon product worked fairly well for 60-90 minutes. I used gaiters to tuck my pants legs into to keep the tsetses from climbing up inside my pants-legs. Be sure to take a face-net too. The bug-proof jackets with the webbing under the mesh-netting worked well.
The tsetses in the cab-- you can't just slap them--they have to be squished and pinched to kill themm. a fly swatter would never kill a tsetse. The ones who are succesful in getting your blood without you knowing it--they get a swelled up purple belly and are known as "Raspberries'. DON'T SQUISH A RASPBERRY!! Blood will squirt everywhere! Roll down the window a bit and push them up and out.

I found Avon's SSS product with sunblock very good. It seemed to help with the tse's and did help with the sun. I agree that long sleeves, gloves, gaiters and a bandanna around your neck to minimize the exposed area is a good thing. Everything else slather with SSS. Kudude