Posted by Pablo on December 15, 2015, 12:41 am, in reply to "Re: Something Not to Talk About?"
184.66.18.142
From what I've been reading and remember from my entomology, unless the delegado were to spray every day for the noseeum larvae, they would probably be wasting their money. A lot of high-end resorts, especially in the Caribbean where noseeums are almost inescapable, will spray but most municipalities don't have this in their budget/mandate.
The larvae absolutely must have water/continuous wet to survive, so until it dries out a bit more, they will likely remain a nasty nuisance. I noticed this advice on not to use a lot of DEET with sunscreen:
You Can’t Beat DEET
Fortunately, the chances are slim that you’ll die from a nosee- um bite, but if you are a person who experiences strong reactions to bee stings or mosquito bites, chances are you’ll also react strongly to these.
The first line of defense is dousing yourself with insect repellents containing at least 30 percent DEET. Some divers report success with cactus juice, a repellant sold in Roatan that comes in a brown bottle and smells like Citronella or Avon’s Skin-So-Soft, although Consumer Reports recently found the latter offered no protection at all against the aedes mosquito, an aggressive species that can carry dengue fever. Most likely, the people who found these questionable remedies helpful wouldn’t be prone to attacks anyhow.
A more aggressive measure is applying concentrated doses of DEET. Generally, the higher concentration of the chemical DEET, the more effective the repellent. Consumer Reports’ top-rated Deep Woods Off with 98 percent DEET kept the aedes away for 12 hours. Products with 30 to 34 percent DEET protected for at least five hours, while those with seven percent DEET lasted only an hour against the aedes.
The CDC recently recommended two other active ingredients to fight bites. One is picardin, which is odorless and non-greasy. Consumer Reports recommends Cutter Advanced, which prevents bites for two to three hours for aggressive species, eight hours for less so. Another is oil of lemon eucalyptus, which the CDC says is as effective as DEET. Consumer Reports tested Repel Lemon Eucalyptus spray against another repellent containing 10 percent DEET and found that Repel prevented bites for four to seven hours for aggressive mosquito species, and more than 12 hours for less aggressive mosquitoes, longer than the DEET repellant and picardin.
DEET Plus Sunscreen a No-No
While it’s safe to apply it regularly over a two-week vacation, don’t use it with sunscreen. Recent studies using animal and human skin cells suggest the mixture might increase DEET absorption but might not make sunscreen not protect as well. About 20 versions of sunscreen-bug repellent combinations are sold, but because the Food and Drug Administration regulates sunscreen and the Environmental Protection Agency regulates insect repellant, guidance for using these combo products is in limbo since they don’t really belong to either agency. Complicating the issue, Canadian researchers recently tested human skin cells and found questions beyond the all-in-one products: Spraying on DEET and then rubbing on sunscreen actually increased DEET absorption the most.
Be alert when you’re sitting at the outdoors bar for your post-dive drinks – no-see-ums wake up when the sun goes down and are most active at dawn and dusk. If possible, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks. Make them lightcolored and avoid dark or bright colors. Thoroughly spraying clothing and fine-mesh screens and bed nets with permethrin will give added protection (also dry them thoroughly before use). Aerosol insecticides can also be used in rooms to clear them of pests.
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