Reminder for the #WHY2025 attendees: There are two main chemicals used in mosquito/insect repellents, #DEET and #icaridin (aka picaridin). Both are about equally effective.
In case you don't have a preference for either, my recommendation is icaridin. That's because DEET is a solvent and can damage plastics, synthetic fabrics, and other things. I've once permanently damaged my tent simply by touching it with DEET on my fingers.
Also, DEET interacts with sunscreen, making it ⅓ less effective.
Yesterday, a #horsefly almost succeeded at biting through my sock.
I had actually sprayed my sock with #icaridin but apparently I missed a spot. I felt it bite and gave it a good ol' clap but ugh; I don't want to have to think about this..
I see this as a declaration of war: Time to treat my clothing with #permethrin!
This stuff is kinda expensive though: one 12€ bottle for 4 T-Shirts.
Is it possible to apply it partially? Like, just the shoulders of your shirt where it lays flat on your skin?
More bad news:
I just went to the local #DM to get more of the "sensitive" one that's at least okay ..aaaaand it's gone.
It's not deliverable either. It appears to have been discontinued.
Arrrgh!
All the ones from the #Rossmann store brand I tried stank too.
Any other #drugstore that might have insect repellant other than the ones I've tried? (OP was #Ballistol 20ml.)
Why is there not a single #icaridin #InsectRepellant where it's not been made to stink horribly‽
PSA: I just found out that this is misinformation.
I didn't read closely enough. This contains 20% #Ethylbutylacetylaminopropionate (#IR3535) as its active ingredient, not #icaridin!
IR3535 evidently also does not smell but apparently it's not quite as good as icaridin, at least w.r.t. certain kinds of mosquitoes.
That might be tenable but it supposedly also dissolves some plastics, including some synthetic fibres and I don't want to risk damaging my clothes or laptop.
The search continues..
While browsing in a few stores for this stuff I also noticed that different sprays claim wildly different durations for which they supposedly remain effective against certain types of bugs, despite most of them containing the exact same same concentration of the active agent #icaridin (20g/100g); only some differing by ±5g/100g.
My hypothesis is that this is just artificial product segmentation and/or other marketing BS.
Side note: While writing this I could hear a mosquito buzzing next to my ear—hovering in confusion—while I continued to write entirely unbothered.
God I love this stuff!
Update:
This one worked quite well for me and repelled lots of nasty bugs over the past month.
It does have a tiny smell but it's not at all intrusive.
What I don't like about it is that it's got something else mixed into it that makes it a slight bit thicker/sticky? It's also milky in colour rather than transparent, so there's definitely something in it.
This effect is slight though and very much preferable to odour.
Make sure you buy the "Sensitiv" variant; the other ones stink!
Just bought this one from the German drug store chain #DM and actually thought to try it in the store.
It basically only smells like alcohol with perhaps a tiny other flowery smell added but not anywhere near as bad as lemon.
Quite cheap too at 4€/100ml.
I'll update this should I find that I do get annoyed by the smell in actual usage.
I just want make-insects-go-away-stuff diluted in water/alcohol/whatever for application via spray. How hard can it be?
Seriously, can you just buy #icaridin raw somewhere and mix that with water to make your own bug spray?
So I bought bug spray based on #icaridin to try out because I'd like to not be bothered by #insects all the time when I'm outside but also not smell.
I bought it explicitly because the active ingredient supposedly does not smell.
I previously thought that bug sprays had to stink but apparently, that's not the case and a 2018 meta review found that #icaridin is at least as effective as the smelly #DEET.
I just tried the one I bought and they added a strong fucking lemon scent.
W H Y
Is Google broken? I'm trying to search for:
__ skin burning Autan __
without any quotation marks, and all I'm getting is links to buy Autan!
Has anyone here ever experienced #burning sensation on the #skin after having applied Autan - or any other popular #Icaridin / #Picaridin / #Saltidin based mosquito #repellent?
