Amazing mosquito chaser

[altivo]

Yesterday Gary handed me a strange-looking plastic gadget about the size of my two fists placed palm to palm. (Maybe one fist if you have big hands, I don't.) It had a big curved hook to go on your belt, and a slide switch on the front. Turns out it's a mosquito repellent gadget marketed under the familiar "Off!" trademark. There's a small battery powered fan in it, and you insert an air filter thing with a tiny capsule of oily looking repellent that very slowly oozes onto the filter. The claim is that it works better than spray on repellents and doesn't have to be on your skin. I was skeptical.

But I tried it today while doing barn chores. The breeze was very light, so whatever the little fan put into the air around me didn't blow away instantly and I'm sure that helped. But it really does work. They claim the unit will clear a cube ten feet on a side, though they don't say how long that takes. It did work best when I was standing in one spot or staying within a small area for several minutes. Even moving around at ordinary speeds it seemed effective, including in some very bad areas, like the duck yard and the pasture gate, where there are usually swarms of mosquitoes just waiting for me to show up. I have no idea what it cost or what the refills cost. One refill lasts 12 hours if running continuously, or up to 14 days if the unit is turned off. Presumably putting it into a zip lock or back into the plastic box it came in would help reduce evaporation while turned off. The active chemical is called metofruthin, something I've never heard of, rather than the usual DEET used in spray ons. Supposedly it is a pyrethrin derived substance, of low toxicity to mammals but very toxic to invertebrates and aquatic life, so you don't want to drop it into your fish tank or pond. It was approved for marketing to the public in 2007, under one of the laxest administrations for regulatory action that we have had in my lifetime, so I'm suspicious of the claims. But I can't deny the functionality of it. If you were sitting on a lawn chair or something stationery, it would probably keep you completely free of bites after the first 20 seconds or so.

Tail waves and whinnies to Flare, who is here as close as O'Hare tonight, stuck waiting for a flight home and worrying about whether he can get his bag on board to avoid paying to checked luggage. I would have enjoyed seeing him but Thursday is the worst day for such a thing to happen for me. I can't be away from here for more than a couple of hours at a time because of leaving all the animals alone. I worry too much about what could happen, I suppose, but I'm alone on Thursday, and have to be up early on Friday too to do chores in the morning before going to work. Alas, getting through traffic and then security just to park at the airport would take so much time that it just doesn't work within my rigid schedule for a Thursday. Likewise, for him to get out closer to here by public transit, though possible, is a scheduling nightmare unless he could have stayed overnight and gone out in the morning. With a 5 am flight and the need to be there to get through security before that, it just didn't work out well at all.

Still upgrading software at work, still with the same problems each time. Oh well, only two more machines to go with this level of complexity. The remaining five are much simpler because they operate in kiosk mode, and shouldn't require so much intervention.

OK, time to feed dogs before they eat each other, or me.

Comments

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

I have seen the adverts for those repellents and you are just one more positive review. Glad to hear it worked for you Tivo, no one likes to be eaten my skeeters. ;)

*snorts* I hate the damn fee for checked bags. I was accustomed to flying Southwest and it seems they are about the only ones out there that do not charge you that fee for the first bag. The airlines enacted some of these fees when fuel was so high but now that prices are down do they drop the fee? Of course not. I would have thought Flare would have been better off heading out of Midway. I shudder to think what a spur of the moment flight cost him.

[aerofox.livejournal.com]

Pyrethrin derived substance? Hmm, I remember reading the word "Pyrethrin" on a pet shampoo bottle I once had for my big-white-fuzzy.

Anyhow, I've heard of this new mosquito repellent and wondered how effective it was. Now I know it has a chance of working if there is no breeze.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'd have thought Midway too, but I know next to nothing about air routes and rates, having refused to fly a commercial airline for the last 30 years now. (And that's not likely to change, given the state of airports and such today. I have absolutely no respect for TSA and you know they'd figure that out and abuse me every which way they could. No way are they getting such a chance.)

Yep, the "Clip-On" as they are calling it really does seem to work. Nothing is 100% effective, but let me tell you, in the environment here right now this thing is just plain amazing.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Even in a moderate breeze. In still air it would be really good, but there was some breeze today and it was quite amazing. More than 90% effective, I'd say. I got no bites, but the occasional skeeter did whine past my ear while trying to exit from the affected zone.

And it has no smell! I hate the "scents" they add to the spray on repellents.

Pyrethrin is a synthetic version of the natural flea and insect repellent and poison found in Pyrethrum sp., a group of wildflowers in the composite family, related to daisies.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

Southwest serves Midway but I have no idea where they go in regards to where Flare lives. I will tell you though that Midway has some extremely short runways so if you do fly then you never want to be landing there in bad weather. :P

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Pyrethroids are (relatively) safe for most mammals and birds, but they're highly toxic to cats.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

That does sound rather useful. We don't usually have a big problem with mosquitos here, but I'll have to remember this if I ever move to another region where they're more rampant.

I hope the dogs didn't end up eating you, too! :)

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Do you use Aeroguard or Rid?
They may not be available there.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Good point. I knew that but had forgotten. This has the usual "keep away from pets and children" warnings, of course.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm too tough and stringy for them, really.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The brand names are not familiar, but the active ingredients might be.

There was something called "Rid" here when I was a foal, back when the leading home pesticide was called "Flit" and advertised with the motto "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" ;p

The most effective mosquito control is too expensive for me. Those are devices that burn propane to create heat, moisture, and carbon dioxide in imitation of a large animal like a cow or horse. Sometimes they also have a chemical attractant of some sort. These are accompanied by a battery powered fan that sucks the mosquitoes into a trap where they just dry up and die. A good one can keep an acre of space relatively clear, but they are costly to buy and operate. They would also starve our swallows, who depend on mosquitoes for food. (And are eating all the blood the mosquitoes suck out of Tess and me, come to think of it.)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*s* I'd hope that those aren't the only reasons they didn't (and wouldn't) eat you.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, I doubt they have the foresight to realize that if they ate me then no one would feed them tomorrow. On the other paw, the cats are easier to catch and they could eat those first. ;p

[schnee.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I'd hope that that kind of foresight also wouldn't be the only reason they wouldn't eat you.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, they couldn't snuggle up to me in bed either, or on the sofa. But they do that with each other. Sarah even does it with the cats.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Oh, why couldn't they?

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it's still DEET based,
http://www.rid.com.au/products.htm

Aeroguard is owned by the Mortein company.
http://www.mortein.com.au/product_aero_tropi.php

Other Mortein products
http://www.mortein.com.au/pests_mosquitoes.php

I grew up using the coils :) Mozzie coils ^.^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

DEET is the typical ingredient in repellents here, though there's a popular belief that an Avon brand moisturizer cream called "Skin so soft" repels mosquitoes. I haven't found this to be particularly true, but lots of people swear it is so.

The "Rid" I remember was a pesticide in an aerosol can, rather than a repellent. That was in the 50s, so it might even have been DDT.

I do remember those coil things, but I don't remember them working very well. We also used fat candles scented with citronella that were supposed to work, but they mostly worked by attracting the bugs who would fly into the flame and burn up or get stuck in the melted wax. Grossly ineffective, I thought.