Mosquito/Bug Jacket

[Fisherman]

After this weekend up N/E of North Bay I have come to the rapid conclusion that anything short of 100% deet just doesn't work.  Mosquitos the size of Hummingbirds and a stabbers just about as long.  The Thermacell units worked pretty good but as soon as you were out of the "zone" you became fair bait.   Does anyone have any recommendations for a 1 piece bug jacket.  Thanks.

[BillM]

100% DEET would melt plastic, lol no thanks.

[chris.brock]

I'd buy a cheap bug jacket to start and see if you like the bug jacket concept.

I don't like bug jackets. They restrict my vision and make me feel claustrophobic, for lack of a better word. 

I like spraying the hell out of my hat and clothes with bug spray. 

Chuck showed me this, if you're stationary (sitting around the campfire or something) light a bunch of pics around the perimeter and mainly upwind. The regular, old school pics, not the citronella ones.

Edited June 10, 2019 by chris.brock

[kickingfrog]

I just had my wife by some bug spray in the states. That high concentration deet can't be bought here, but ya, it doesn't go anywhere near plastic. I went to the Arctic 20 odd years ago and tightly woven nylon clothing is the only thing that kept me sane. (The added benefit it's great for sun block and dries quickly) Long sleeves and pants cover most of you and then deet on the exposed skin. Somewhere I have a photo of me from that trip. I have so many mosquitoes on my back it looks like fur. Sometimes I hear a buzz at just the correct frequency and get shivers.

[Fisherman]

43 minutes ago, chris.brock said:

I'd buy a cheap bug jacket to start and see if you like the bug jacket concept.

I don't like bug jackets. They restrict my vision and make me feel claustrophobic, for lack of a better word. 

I like spraying the hell out of my hat and clothes with bug spray. 

Chuck showed me this, if you're stationary (sitting around the campfire or something) light a bunch of pics around the perimeter and mainly upwind. The regular, old school pics, not the citronella ones.

I had the bug net hat for the weekend,  I'm claustrophobic(ask me about an MRI episode, lol) but the bug hat was fine.  It's that space between but net hat and shoulders that gets hammered.  Had to wear socks over pant legs.  I may try a cheap one for now.

[Fisherman]

58 minutes ago, BillM said:

100% DEET would melt plastic, lol no thanks.

Makes excellent fire starter, plastic melter and works pretty good for the bugs.  I've still got a couple of little containers from army days.  Just for applying to clothes.

[smitty55]

We all grew up using Muskol, it was always like 98% deet back then. Pretty sure I have part of an old bottle somewhere still in a old tackle box. A few years back my sister brought me up 2 each of Repel100 and Sawyer Maxideet, so I'm basically set for life as they are only for extreme conditions. Around home now here in the country I'm trying  Picaridin spray for bugs. It works ok for home use, but doesn't seem to last anywhere near what they claim, not that the Deep Woods 28% does either. When I was picking leeks couple weeks ago I was covered up for the most part but I used it on exposed areas of the head and neck and back of hand and wrist. There were clouds of skitters as I crawled around and I didn't get a bite for the hour and a half we were there.

I've read reports that say concentrations of deet over 30-40% are no more effective, I guess that was the Canadian government's justification for limiting sales to 30% max. Yea right. As this thread goes to prove when things get super nasty the heavy duty repellents do work better.

 

Cheers

Edited June 10, 2019 by smitty55

[aplumma]

When I am up North where the blood sucking creatures are way more active than down here. (meaning I am not used to feeding them). I use a bug suit as needed and 100 % deet on my hat and cuffs to keep them at bay. I also wear latex gloves on my hands when they are exposed to keep them from biting. One of the good things about the little buggers is when you are out fishing and you have a dozen or so dragonflies on the carpet deck on the boat and they attack the incoming horseflies.  Lots of fun watching that when the bite slows down. 

Art

[lew]

Best product I've found and have been using it for years is the OFF Family Care, Smooth & Dry.

Comes out as a dry powder and works great.

No oily mess on your skin, no smell and best of all only 15% deet.

I wander around the woods here at home all the time and walk 3-4 miles every morning and never get bothered by skeeters, even when up north.

 

[AKRISONER]

only thing that works are long sleeves pants, a buff and a hat. basically soak everything in bug repellent and deal with the bites. This time of year at dusk though is literally unbearable, you cant be out standing still it in no matter how much you cover up and soak yourself in bug dope.

Had a moment last year just before the July 1st long weekend we were out in the boat and you could hear the dusk swarm lower down on us. I was covered everywhere but my hands which were soaked in bug dope...i looked down to see no less than 10 skeeters chewing my one hand lol.

[Chrispy]

I picked up Repel 100 from Bass Pro....100% deet.....the regular stuff works on mosquitoes but doesn't work for black flies....and like some of you, I get claustrophobic in a bug jacket and hat....worked great for me but wouldn't want to use it long term!!

Chrispy!

[Fisherman]

4 hours ago, aplumma said:

When I am up North where the blood sucking creatures are way more active than down here. (meaning I am not used to feeding them). I use a bug suit as needed and 100 % deet on my hat and cuffs to keep them at bay. I also wear latex gloves on my hands when they are exposed to keep them from biting. One of the good things about the little buggers is when you are out fishing and you have a dozen or so dragonflies on the carpet deck on the boat and they attack the incoming horseflies.  Lots of fun watching that when the bite slows down. 

Art

Oh ya, love those dragonflies,  not to forget the little brown bats.

[NAW]

These work great....  My buddy uses them, and he even has one for his 2 year old.  Get them at MEC.

 

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5047-909/Original-Bug-Shirt?colour=NOC02&gclid=CLyr2bql3-ICFZe1wAodtgYB-w

[dave524]

Treat your jacket with this stuff, do not apply to your skin. All the guys turkey hunting use it on their camo gear for sitting in the spring for long periods for ticks and other critters.

EDIT: this product contains Permethrin 

https://www.tscstores.com/UltraShield-EX-950ml-P17980.aspx

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by dave524

[wee scot]

My wife and I both use the MEC bug shirt they are awesome ,I do not find them to be to restricting as they stay away from your face quite a bit due to the hat design built in .During high bug season it is a lot nicer than covering yourself in deet .

[MJL]

I fish for trout in some areas that are insanely infested with large mosquitoes (ie. The ones that can bite through most clothing). As some people mentioned, DEET will melt through a lot of things (Like expensive camera equipment and Synthetic clothing). Here are some things that I use as an alternative to DEET (because I do have camera equipment):

 

For clothing:

 

When things get really bad, I wear a bug jacket (I have an older version of the Elite edition bug shirt):

https://www.bugshirt.com/

 

Pros – It works well as advertised.

Cons – If you have skin right next to the ventilation mesh, they’ll still get you. If you’re the claustrophobic type, you may not like it.

 

I spray a few shirts, a few pants, a few Buffs, socks and my hat with Sawyer’s Permethrin:

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/sawyer-permethrin-insect-repellent-for-clothing

 

Pros – It works pretty well. Bugs might land on you, but they don’t bite through the clothing. Minimizes the amount of repellent you need to spray on yourself. It’s supposed to last 6 weeks after applying (if hand washed).

 

Cons – Doesn’t seem to be available in Canada (My sister picks it up from the States when she goes shopping). It’s relatively pricey for what you get. It is recommended that you always hand wash the clothing so the repellent stays on – nobody ever has time to hand wash clothing.

 

I have a few factory shirts infused with Permethrin (Simms BugStopper shirts).

https://www.simmsfishing.com/shop/bugstopper

 

Pros – It actually works well (mine was supposed to last 52 washings which was pretty close to accurate). I believe newer shirts now can last 70 washings. When the repellent wears off, you’ll still have a decent shirt to wear in the sun.

Cons – It’s expensive and you really can’t tell when the repellent has worn out till the bugs bite through your clothing.

 

Repellents:

 

The last 2 years I’ve been experimenting with 20% Picaridin (Non-DEET repellent which apparently is just as effective as DEET but doesn’t melt things). I’ve tried

1. PiActive Mosquito shield
2. Watkins 20% Icaridin spray.

 

So far I haven’t seen a problem with either. They are reported to be non-greasy, however I would say they leave a film. They feel similar to DEET on your skin. If anything PiActive leaves a weird tacky feeling on your skin – It also has a funky smell for a few minutes. I prefer the Watkins spray (picked up at Sail Outdoors). I haven’t tested either sprays out on black flies. I would guess it’s less effective for black-flies based on the recommended times for re-application (at least compared to mosquitoes).

[pics]

I have the woods jacket.. pretty effective but you can't see through it worth a damn. Does anyone use the vitamin B patches?.. 

[dave524]

12 hours ago, MJL said:

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/sawyer-permethrin-insect-repellent-for-clothing

 

 

Pros – It works pretty well. Bugs might land on you, but they don’t bite through the clothing. Minimizes the amount of repellent you need to spray on yourself. It’s supposed to last 6 weeks after applying (if hand washed).

 

 

Cons – Doesn’t seem to be available in Canada (My sister picks it up from the States when she goes shopping). It’s relatively pricey for what you get. It is recommended that you always hand wash the clothing so the repellent stays on – nobody ever has time to hand wash clothing.

 

MJL, check the label on the livestock spray I  posted, same amount of permethrin as the Sawyers and as close as your neighourhood TSC.

https://www.tscstores.com/UltraShield-EX-950ml-P17980.aspx

 

[SirCranksalot]

I have a jacket that is mostly fabric that  I hardly ever wear. Too warm for most times. Just took my mesh hat to Algon--OK, but my neck and shoulders suffered badly. There are other jackets that are all mesh. I would recommend 1 of those. May buy 1 myself if we go back in the spring. 

When camping, standing the the smoke from the fire will give your clothes a good bug repelling aroma. 

 

also, they are attracted to carbon dioxide, so it's OK to inhale in but try not to exhale.?

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by SirCranksalot

[aplumma]

I am not sure who makes this one but it really sucks.

 

Art

[SirCranksalot]

Made by "Skin so Itchy"

 

[AKRISONER]

Sweet mother of god it’s bad up in pointe au baril. It’s worse than I have ever seen it, last night I drenched myself in bug dope and tried to go do a couple of things in the boat sitting at the back of the cottage, by 8pm I was done, I couldn’t take it anymore, a swarm of about 1000 blackflies plus a swarm of about 100 mosquitos had found their way to my stationary ass and proceeded to dive bomb me like pearl harbour. 

I even ran to the house and tried to shake the bugs off and jumped inside, I think one 1 or two mosquitos snuck in but the amount of black flies that had stuck to me and come in was literally in the hundreds. I then spent the next 20 minutes vacuuming all of the windows in the house to suck up the swarms of blackflies that had collected on them. 

 

Gotta love that special time of year where two different types of biting flies are at their absolute peak lol.

 

[Cando]

On 6/10/2019 at 8:07 PM, MJL said:

I fish for trout in some areas that are insanely infested with large mosquitoes (ie. The ones that can bite through most clothing). As some people mentioned, DEET will melt through a lot of things (Like expensive camera equipment and Synthetic clothing). Here are some things that I use as an alternative to DEET (because I do have camera equipment):

 

 

 

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/sawyer-permethrin-insect-repellent-for-clothing

 

 

Pros – It works pretty well. Bugs might land on you, but they don’t bite through the clothing. Minimizes the amount of repellent you need to spray on yourself. It’s supposed to last 6 weeks after applying (if hand washed).

 

 

Cons – Doesn’t seem to be available in Canada (My sister picks it up from the States when she goes shopping). It’s relatively pricey for what you get. It is recommended that you always hand wash the clothing so the repellent stays on – nobody ever has time to hand wash clothing.

 

 

 

So far I haven’t seen a problem with either. They are reported to be non-greasy, however I would say they leave a film. They feel similar to DEET on your skin. If anything PiActive leaves a weird tacky feeling on your skin – It also has a funky smell for a few minutes. I prefer the Watkins spray (picked up at Sail Outdoors). I haven’t tested either sprays out on black flies. I would guess it’s less effective for black-flies based on the recommended times for re-application (at least compared to mosquitoes).

I wonder if this would work. It says it is for plants but it is Permethrin and can get it in Canada

 

https://www.urbannaturestore.ca/garden-protector-permethrin-spray-500ml-concentrate/

[TimWestley]

Apologies for reviving this old thread, but I’d like to give my two cents. I totally feel your pain when it comes to those pesky mosquitoes. They can turn any outdoor adventure into a battle zone! As for bug jackets, check out brands like Sawyer or Coghlan's. They have some great options that provide excellent protection against those pesky bugs. Also, if you're looking for additional help in the fight against bugs, consider reaching out to specialists who provide flea pest control and other pest removal services. They have expertise in dealing with various pests and can offer advice on effective solutions how to tackle bug and mosquito issues. Stay bug-free and enjoy your outdoor adventures!

Edited May 26, 2023 by TimWestley

[Freshtrax]

I'm immune to mosquitoes I welt for a day but zero itch. (Also immune to poison ivy)   however I hate the buggars.    Thermacell. And Deep woods off.  They will hover but not land .   Works for me. 

 

Lol edited apologies for my part in digging up old thread. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Freshtrax