Gloves as mosquito protection

[Matthew / BPL]

obligatory first post…

[Matthew / BPL]

I’m heading out to the Sierras this summer. I had a bad experience with heavy mosquitos last year and wish to not repeat that event. I’ve invested in an Original Bug Shirt Elite which should be a pretty complete (albeit slightly warm and heavy) solution for my upper body.

Now I need a solution for my hands and I’m curious if anyone has any ideas about what the lightest and coolest mosquito-proof glove option might be… I’ve got some thin goatskin gloves from Ace Hardware that I use for yard work that would probably do the trick but I’d like to hear other ideas.

I’m not willing to use DEET and I have not found permethrin or picaridin to be effective. I want a physical barrier to mosquitos.

[d k]

Maybe make some mitts out of supplex or a similar woven nylon fabric. Or even noseeum?

[Link .]

. BUG MITTENS I  have never used them so I can’t tell you anything about them, I do use my Montbell windshirt when mosquitos are bad( weighs a couple of ounces)and I have never had one bite through it and a Peters headnet that combination has worked great for me.

[Matthew / BPL]

DK – Suplex mitts make sense to me and would be cooler than leather.

Link – I’ve used my Tachyon Anorak as insect protection as well but I get really hot in the sun in even moderate temps because of the dark grey color I purchased. I wonder if the yellow anorak would make a difference? Or maybe the white jacket version with mesh panels… Which model and color do you have? Have you worn it in the sun at 70°? Has it been comfortable?

[David Thomas]

Stuck in “looks like you’ve already said that” Purgatory.  I’ll PM Matt.  He can post it here if he wants.  Maybe?

[Matthew / BPL]

From David via PM:

“In a pinch (i.e. without planning), you can wear your extra socks or your sleep socks on your hands for warmth, sun, or bug protection. No added weight. Good to keep in mind.

Yeah, when the bugs get really bad, your hands are hard to protect. Those bug mittens that Link posted seem like they’d be 93% effective – there would be a times when it’s pressed to the skin, but they are also cooler than other options. If you have extra-long sleeves on your shirt / wind shirt, you can pull your fists up inside the sleeve. We had an exchange student who grew up poor and always did that in winter instead of using warm gloves.

Rather than a purpose-built bug shirt, I use a head net over a hat I bring anyway, and a wind shirt over a t-shirt. It’s annoying to be so clothed when it’s in the heat of day, so try to hike early and late and take cover in a tent or on a windy ridge mid day.

One afternoon on a New Zealand river bank, I watched the kids swim and tested 30% DEET versus eucalyptus oil – one on each leg. Both worked well (5-10% landings versus untreated), with the eucalyptus oil slightly better.”

[jscott]

I use Sun Grubbies. they do leave your fingers exposed but if you’re holding poles it seems a non-issue. The fabric–polyester?–seems impermeable to the little suckers. I have also spritzed Deet on the grubbies. I can’t tolerate Deet. But on the back of the Grubbies it doesn’t get inhaled. Then I remove them to eat.

I’ve also used bug net gloves sold at REI, but they were awkward. Better than mosquitoes though!

I also use a  Sun Precautions neck drape hat in skeeter season. The drape is huge. You can velcro it up over your nose and still breathe fine. then when you leave the mosquito cloud, un-velcro the drape and let it hand down around your neck. Excellent sun hat too. Impermeable to probosc–usses? probosci?

[David Thomas]

“the little suckers. . . .Then I remove them to eat.”

This is even better than gathering berries and ground squirrels to save on carried food weight.  Let the food come to you!

[Greg K]

white color for a shirt is coolest.  Or very slightly off white.  I’ve used a cream colored long sleeve cotton poly dress shirt for years and find it more comfortable than a white nylon long sleeve shirt.  White or cream color is the way to go for shirts and pants if you’re going to be in the sun (like above timberline in the mountains) and the air temp is above mid-50’s.

[Stephen Parks]

Unfortunate that picaridin hasn’t worked for you. I’ve had great success with it, though I haven’t tried it in the Sierra. Has it worked for you elsewhere?

[Link .]

I use the old no longer sold Montbell UL windshirt and yes it is a very light green heading toward a yellow color and I have used it 70s and above if the mosquitos are bad enough, but as has been suggested a lightweight, light colored tightly woven shirt will work also.

[Bob Shuff]

I haven’t faced the Sierra mosquitoes yet, but I really like my Rail-Rider eco mesh pants and vented shirt.  Both have soaked in bug deterrent.

I’ve heard you can send clothing to a vendor back east that will apply the same professionally.  Then it’s good for 70 washes.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I always wear a breathable windshirt for sun and bug protection.  I buy them as large as possible so I get sleeves long enough to cover my hands.

When sleeves aren’t long enough I carry a pair of these:

They are DIY items created by cutting off sleeves from worn out windbreakers.  I use similar ones to cover that mosquito vulnerable gap between the bottom of my pants and the top of my shoes.

I have winter versions for warmth that are cut off of worn out insulated jackets.

These items are part of a long list of clothing items especially made for the careful dresser.

[Jean-Francois Jobin]

I use similar leather glove,2-3mm nopren glove or OR versaliner in northern Quebec.Only way to go in really infected area.Take glove long enough.

I like leather glove more because durability and no more skin scratch in bush and useful for  fire  cooking too.

 

bugshirt elite is  sometime too hot in sunny day.I have one. i will do some modification by adding strip of mesh in the  rear cap.

Mosquito is sweet and funny to eat without DEET but sadly not really nutritive!

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Adding mesh to the back of the hood seems like a great modification.

[David Thomas]

“I’ve had great success with it, though I haven’t tried it in the Sierra. “

I notice that different mosquito species are out in different seasons.  The big, slow, dumb ones come out first around my house, around May 1 when there’s still some snow on the ground.  The first couple of Springs up here, I thought, “Man!, I’m good.  I can swat these guys out of the air before they get to me!” only to get nailed by the smaller quicker ones a month later.

So I’d theorize that the differences of what repellent works best may be a function of WHERE you are but it might depend as much or more on WHEN.

[Kelly G]

I bought a Coleman headnet. Had a circle of fabric in the center that would be the top of head/hat. Bottom edge had elastic. Cut out the fabric circle and was left with a rectangular length of netting. Cut that into two rectangles, and sewed each up the long edge, to form an open tube with elastic at one open end. Cinched up the non-elastic end. Voila. Pull each over the hand, and elastic up the arm keeps it in place. Couple bucks maybe? Light, cheap, works.

Kelly

[Matthew / BPL]

Kelly, so basically a bugnet sock for each hand?

[David Thomas]

30 years ago, I was selling Army surplus mosquito headsets in a backpacking store (for about $3 alongside the lighter, backpacking versions for $8).  You could tell the British Army ones from the US Army styles because they had a buttonhole stitched in front of one’s mouth for a pipe.

[BC Bob]

For my hands I use light weight fingerless biking gloves.  I don’t get bit on the exposed finger tips. It’s the back of my hands where I would mostly get bit without gloves. I also like them to prevent blisters when using my trekking poles.

 

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