Calling All Picaridin Users

I wish I could give you more in depth positive info. I tried some picaridin stuff (no idea what brand) a while back on two short trips. It wasn't too effective on heavy mosquito activity though so I'm back to deet.

I've heard it and citronella are better against black flies and such but we don't have those here.

Also, have you considered permithrine as a clothing treatment? I got a ex-officio bug off shirt and the gnats, ticks and mosquitos run from that thing like crazy. It makes a nice protective bubble around you. Makes life much easier.

Hi JOe:

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually, I currently use a combination of DEET for skin and Permethrin for clothing. I was thinking of replacing DEET with Picaridin.

I recall that earlier Picaridin only had a 7% concentration, but current ones like Sawyer has 20%. Wonder if the higher concentration makes it truly effective against skeeters, gnats — and flies?

nm

A long sleeve hiking shirt is not bug proof. I get mosquito bites through them unless I wear a tighter weave such as in a layered wind shirt or dri ducks jacket.

Thanks John. After I posted my question I did a forum search and found my answer. A tight weave windshirt or supplex would be too hot for my locale. A silkweight base layer washed in permethrin would be ideal but till now I havent actually exprienced any significant bug problem.

I used the 7% solution when it first came to the US and wasn’t too impressed with it. It was nowhere as effective as the 20% DEET I had been using. I had to keep reapplying it and found that it’s just as easy to get sick of the smell of picaradin as it is of DEET. On one very buggy trip, I made the mistake of taking just one BPL dropper bottle of picaridin and ran out half way through the trip. My evenings were spent cowering inside my tarptent.

Thanks for bringing the Sawyer 20% solution to our attention, though. It should be much more effective than the stuff that I tried. Check this out.

Dondo:

Thanks for the link — and sorry that you ran out of bug juice on your trip!

The study you linked commented highly of "Autan (Bayer,
19.2% picaridin)" — comparable to DEET and longer lasting than Sawyer 20%. Any comments from our Aussie members?

Can't comment on picaridin as I haven't used it, but lemon eucalyptus has been great against black flies in my experience here in the Northeast.

i believe the CDC recommends a 15% or higher concentration for Picaridin. My own highly anecdotal experience supports the CDC's position.

I have no experience with picaridin in black country territory. Like others, I have found 7% picaridin not adequately effective against mosquitoes. 20% picaridin seems to have worked pretty well in what I would consider bad conditions we experienced in Yellowstone. Definitely kept the mosquitos at bay and seemed to do when against gnats… but we didn't have lots of gnats to contend with. I have yet to use it someplace where the mosquitoes are truely terrible.

Not as effective against skeeters compared with deet. I got eaten alive. I used it for 15 days last summer and have been trying to get rid the rest of rest of that bottle by using when I am working in my yard – but… it's hard to spray the stuff on me with the OFF sitting right there beside it.

I agree with Andrea about the lemon eucalyptus and black flies. I hiked the White Mtns of New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago with my 20 year old daughter whom the bugs love because she's so sweet,… Awwww. Anyway, a light application of the lemon eucalyptus put her in total comfort after getting attacked at the beginning of the trip.

Granted, it was only a "moderate" day for the black flies but she said it totally took care of her bug problem.

Thanks again, everyone for your feedback. :)