Insect Repellent and Bite Relief Cream

Road Ranger · Senior Member

Insect Repellent and Bite Relief Cream

Basil Faulty · Guru

I've tried everything from creams potions to citronella sticks, all to no avail. Got a U beaut insectocutor from Aldi and that works but not in the tropics as the insects are so plentiful that it just shorts out....
Sandflys don't bite you to cause the distress they do, they pee on you, little buggers.
We found the best repellant was to see the Dr before we went for some mega vitamin B1 got a shot then a tab each day and that seemed to work............

JRH · Guru

G'day Basil,

We (my wife and I) have used Vitamin B1 for quite a number of years now and found it works very well, only one small problem for us is B1 makes our ankles swell, stop taking the B1 and the swelling goes down and the itching starts, resume the B1 the itching stops and the swelling starts. Ah well can't win them all.

John

dave06 · Guru

what does the B1 do

JRH · Guru

dave06 wrote:

what does the B1 do

G'day Dave,

I believe the B1 gives off a slight odour that insects such as mozzies and the like simply do not like thus acting as a repelent. I have never noticed any odour on another person but the insects have a much better sense of smell. It will make your urine smell a little but quite frankly who cares and any overdose of B1 is simply passed out of the body without any detrimental effect in the urine.

In 1997 we met a lady from Victoria in Kalbarri and the poor womans legs were covered in what we call sandfly bites, (in reality a sandfly does not bite it simply urinates on your skin and it is this urine that causes the nasty itching we have all experienced at some time or another), anyhow we introduced her to Vitamin B1(thyamin) and after about a week her legs had cleared up beautifully, I have never met a happier person, her and her hubby were actually considering giving up caravanning because of the insect problem.

The next time we met up was in Coral Bay some 5 weeks later and they both reported that they had not experinced any more insect bites and were quite happily continuing their caravanning lifestyle indefinately

John.

xina · Guru

Dettol on mossie bites works . Living on Cape York 20 odd years ago, we used to use a mixture of Baby Oil and Dettol to repel Mossies and Sandflies. I think it was a 2-1 ratio, Oil - Dettol.
Another good repellant at night when you have a mossie buzzing around your head as you try to go to sleep, is a few drops of Eucalyptus oil along the edge of your pillowcase.
Cheers,
xina.

Road Ranger · Senior Member

They say Mozzies home in on the carbon dioxide you breathe out, so.... drink a bottle of rum they get so pissed they can't fly and you get a good night's sleep

dave06 · Guru

oh!! I just thought B1 looked after B2,...................... I'll just slip quietly out this way will I Hmmm!! yeah!! thought so!

Bridgee · Senior Member

Like road ranger I carry my bottle of first aid in my bag and I swear by it, cheap as chips but worth its weight in gold............what is it?? no laughing please............roll on deodorant..yeah right you may say, well let me tell you a story..........

some years ago we were camping in the middle of nowhere, we were with friends and one of our friends is very allergic to bee stings (as is our daughter) and as we all know those who are allergic to bee stings attract the bees, anyway here we are in the middle of the bush and our friend gets a bee sting on her neck......panic sets in, she is gasping and yells out for some roll on deordorant, of course we all thought she had gone completly mad however I found a roll on deodorant (NOT SPRAY CAN) and in front of our eyes she rubbed the deodorant over her neck and lo and behold she started to breathe normally and the rash that was travelling up her neck ceased..........we stood there with mouths wide open trying to take in what we had just seen.

I have seen my daughter swell up something shocking from bee stings and I have tried all sorts of remedies all to no avail (including antihistamines) then one day I said try the deodorant and instead of her foot swelling up three times it's normal size it was just like a little mozzie bite, I was sold!! so now my daughter carries a bottle with her as do I. Now the secret to what makes this work, so I'm told, is the ingredient aluminium chlorohydrate. I am not a pharmacist so don't know how it works I just know it does.

Basil Faulty · Guru

Bridgee wrote:

Like road ranger I carry my bottle of first aid in my bag and I swear by it, cheap as chips but worth its weight in gold............what is it?? no laughing please............roll on deodorant..yeah right you may say, well let me tell you a story..........

some years ago we were camping in the middle of nowhere, we were with friends and one of our friends is very allergic to bee stings (as is our daughter) and as we all know those who are allergic to bee stings attract the bees, anyway here we are in the middle of the bush and our friend gets a bee sting on her neck......panic sets in, she is gasping and yells out for some roll on deordorant, of course we all thought she had gone completly mad however I found a roll on deodorant (NOT SPRAY CAN) and in front of our eyes she rubbed the deodorant over her neck and lo and behold she started to breathe normally and the rash that was travelling up her neck ceased..........we stood there with mouths wide open trying to take in what we had just seen.

I have seen my daughter swell up something shocking from bee stings and I have tried all sorts of remedies all to no avail (including antihistamines) then one day I said try the deodorant and instead of her foot swelling up three times it's normal size it was just like a little mozzie bite, I was sold!! so now my daughter carries a bottle with her as do I. Now the secret to what makes this work, so I'm told, is the ingredient aluminium chlorohydrate. I am not a pharmacist so don't know how it works I just know it does.

I'm not a phartmacist, I do however keep the PBS ticking over. Alumnium salts, suphate, hydroxide etc clorohydrate etc is the main acvtive ingredient in "Stingose"

Cruising Granny · Guru

It seems as though we've all had the sandfly experience.
When I planned to head to the Kimberleys to work on stations I started taking Mega B, and still do, 15 years later.
My first run in with sandflies during my first stay in Broome raised small blisters and the itch was unbearable, until I washed the area with cool, fresh water. It washed the urine off and there was nothing left to affect me.
The roll-on deodi is a good one, vinegar will also help.
I don't like using those repellants on my skin but I do spray my hat brim to keep bugs away from my face and ears. Bushmans with sunscreen is good. I hadn't tried it until I won some from a camping mag.
Citronella, Dettol or eucalyptus mixed with baby oil will also deter the little bighters.
In camp I burn citronella oil in my hurricane lamp very successfully. Light and insect repellant.
Happy scratching. Cheers Granny

dave06 · Guru

we've only ever used bushmans all over the joint, worked with the sandys up in the kimberleys and the marchys in the simpson, as well as the darwin mossies, doesnt deter the crocs though, the mossies in the swamplands of Karumba and Kakadu are something else but the bushmans kept them at bay

once bitten or peed on or whatever and it itches, we always carry a bottle of pure alcohol, as well as the drinking kind, put a bit of pure alc on and it will stop, stings a bit though, if you havent got any of that whack a wee bit of whiskey on the trouble spots, dont waste too much of it,

mostly we wash the effected area with solvol soap and water and that I do know does work, mossie bights that swell and expand, stop scratching them and they will be fine

if you have a fire going or are using a lantern then put a cow pat or a bit of diesel in there, the smoke will keep everything away apart from the ants, and thats what the talcum powder around your camp is for

we trampled all over the simpson and many other deserts as well as topped big red with a large and very well prepared and supplied vehicle, it's a great veiw but if you hang around the top too long you will be run over by another vehicle driven by an idiot with no brains

we spent a couple of weeks up on the cooper just back from the dig tree when a mob of midgees came through, had to end up shifting camp twice, nothing kept those little buggers away unless you sat right on top of the fire

JRH · Guru

dave06 wrote:

oh!! I just thought B1 looked after B2,...................... I'll just slip quietly out this way will I Hmmm!! yeah!! thought so!

Sorry Dave the B1 doesn't wear pyjamas, nor does it drop bloody great big bombs on the mozzies. Lol.

John

Road Ranger · Senior Member

JRH wrote:

dave06 wrote:

oh!! I just thought B1 looked after B2,...................... I'll just slip quietly out this way will I Hmmm!! yeah!! thought so!

Sorry Dave the B1 doesn't wear pyjamas, nor does it drop bloody great big bombs on the mozzies. Lol.
John
Or you could drive over them with a B 61

JRH · Guru

Road Ranger wrote:

JRH wrote:

dave06 wrote:

oh!! I just thought B1 looked after B2,...................... I'll just slip quietly out this way will I Hmmm!! yeah!! thought so!

Sorry Dave the B1 doesn't wear pyjamas, nor does it drop bloody great big bombs on the mozzies. Lol.
John
Or you could drive over them with a B 61
Can't afford the fuel. But I can afford a Red Bull and maybe C**P on them.

John

-- Edited by JRH at 13:37, 2009-03-09

pudnboof · Newbie

My querie is not about sandflies and flies or mossies, it is about keeping bugs and dust out of your van. We have only been on the road since New Yar but the bugs are driving me insane at times. I thought someone may have some suggestions?? I thought maybe if I wiped the screens with lavender or something similar it might work. Any suggestions kindly received with thanks

Pudnboof

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

pudnboof

mrs wombat uses one of those electric things that you just plug into a power point, seems to work, think you could get them from Coles or Wollies.