Midge help

[zedjack33]

Not sure if this is the correct place to post...but anyway...

U mob prob been asked this a millions times.......,Im heading up the cape next yr and have a mate coming from SA...Im ok with the sand flies...but this bloke get so hammered he gets massive whelts/boils/lumps...poor bugga....!!

I need to fond out if there is a sure-fire repellent/remedy for these little blokes...????...

I do the oil with eucalypt spray...is that the best???....Trying to stay away from the market stuff......


Any help would be appreciated....

cheers.....zedjack33

[JEKS]

hi dettol and baby oil is good

[STUIE63]

+1 for 20% dettol and 80% baby oil can even be the home brand stuff doesn't have to be the brand stuff
Stuie

[tigermullet]

And if a few get past the oil/dettol mix have another spray bottle with half and half metho and very strong black tea. Settles residual itching very quicly - although undiluted dettol on a cotton swab is very good too.

[Marlin_Mike]

when we were little nippers at Crookhaven/Orient Point, grandma used to cover us in olive oil with a splash of Kero...........stunk but kept the insects away....

[Mrs Ronnie H]

Hi
there is a previous thread on here but I just can't locate it.

The Avon bug guard works ok. Rid in the purple bottle. Some say baby oil.
I to suffer from welts and big red lumps when bitten and find the best thing is just to cover up with hat, long sleeves and light pants.
When i was up north in Darwin it was a funny thing-- I never had a problem with them and all i mainly used was Rid Repellant. I did take vitamin B tabs and ate vegemite-- some say this also works.

If I do get biten now I try not to scratch- get out the Pinetarsol / Calamine and maybe into some Antibiotics as sometimes the bites become infected even if I don't scratch.
Best of luck
Ronnie

[mmmouse]

go for long sleeve and long legs in light breathable material, those southerners find it warm on the cape even in winter, as for repellant go for "off" or bushmans with the highest concentration of "deet"..... you said you want a surefire way!! i lived at the tip for 5 months in 2010 and worked as a fishing guide on the jackey jackey and sandflies weren't that bad. worst at the boat ramp but surprisingly few in the mangroves...every year's different though, good luck!

[wayno60]

Not so much as a cure but bushmans seems to work pretty well as a repellent and around the camp burning citranella candles or i think its an areogaurd product, you have a small tea candle burning under a tab and they work well.
ill try and find a link.

[Barry Ehsman]

Mate i put up a similar thread a little while back (on page 7 in camping chat) & received some very useful info,Check it out.

Cheers Baz

[wamjam]

Be careful with the oil based ones in the sun. Could end up burnt.

Scott

[Pirate Pete]

Friend has the same problem, when we went up the cape a few months ago he got stuck into the vitamin B tablets before and during the trip and didn't have a problem.

Pete

[TheRealAndy]

Get Rid, the the purple bottle, all original, and cover yourself with it. Use it like sunscreen. No spray on treatment even comes close. The rid has to be the cream, not the roll on or spray crap. Stinks like shit, feels like crap, makes you appreciate a shower.

I tried Lucky Phills crap mix of chemicals with dettol and baby oil and shit and its crap. Go the rid. Even keeps fraser island march flies away.

[wamjam]

I was at the Cape in Sep and had no worries with midge's either.....I seem to cop it the most, where the sand is dirty and red in colour. Or around the mangroves. Ive had best luck with Tropical Strength Aeroguard, spray it on until it runs off, if you think this sounds bad, you haven't been towelled bad yet. Don't wait till you feel them bight because its to late.

Scott

[banshee]

Bushmans cream/gel in the green tube,it's eighty percent deet and has the advantage of having sunscreen in it as well.The main down fall is that it wrecks plastic (back of the legs on vinyl seats will open your eyes) and doesn't do braided line much good either (wash the palms of your hands but not the top) if like me,you feed the line through your fingers occasionaly to put a bit of tension back on the spool.Also can't be used on kids but when everything is said and done it's the only thing that works for me when I go to Turkey Beach.

[Chimo]

Zeedjack33

100% Tea tree oil dabbed on the bites helps to soothe them for me; if I've been too lazy to put SSS on ...........

I use Avon Skin So Soft (SSS) as my repellent of choice. Got onto to it after my B in Law was issued it by Oil company he was working for in the wilds of Russia where the bitties are said to be very keen. Cheap, not hard on your clothes or skin and wont break the bank.

Cheers
Chimo