LIFESYSTEMS Repellents Update ~ biting insects are not only a nuisance but can also have some quite nasty effects, says Mike Gormley
~
Some of you might be looking to set off on travels as here in the northern hemisphere it turns to summer, so you are very likely to come into contact with flying, biting insects. Even close to home in the UK, from beaches in Southwest England to the all too well-known midge issues in the North of Scotland, over the summer months biting insects can be an issue. Further afield in the Northern Hemisphere, even cooler spring and summer destinations like Scandinavia and Canada have areas where biting insects can be a bit of a nuisance… and this can move right up the scale into total purgatory, as I can confirm from experience over the years.
More recently Jean and I headed to Borneo and then on to New Zealand, and in particular in the former we knew were going to spend some time in the jungle so we needed to go prepared. I got onto my contacts at LIFESYSTEMS for advice and they made some suggestions from their extensive range, which we took with us. In my view it is usually better to take things like this with you as you never know if you can get precisely what you need when in country [Seconded, Ed.]. This way you can be set up and protected from the outset and for our trip we were very pleased to be set up in advance, as on arrival in Sabah we were thrown straight into the events of the trip with little time to go in search of essential times for our period in the jungles.
Precisely what repellents you take on your trip will depend on where you are going and if you have any personal preferences plus if you have any sensitivities to some of the more powerful chemicals. We took three LIFESYSTEMS items with us, all in small ‘flight friendly’ and easy to apply containers, so when on the ground they were easy enough to take with us in a small bag or day pack. Application only requires small amounts so these will last a good amount of time before you need replenishment, though you will have to judge this if heading out on a long and/or more remote trip. We decided on Expedition Pro, Expedition Max and Expedition Sensitive, but LIFESYSTEMS have several more in their range.
Do they work? Always a tricky one with this type of thing as it is very subjective, but for us it is potentially not too hard. I am on the lucky side and clearly don’t smell too tasty, and perhaps have tough old skin, so in general I don’t get too badly bothered unless in Scotland or Canada at the height of midge season. On our recent trip I had little trouble with suitable physical barriers such as long sleeves and so on, with repellent used on exposed areas. Jean, on the other hand, is a ‘midge / mossie magnet’ so is a much more accurate tester for the likes of the LIFESYSTEMS repellents. During our time in Borneo the nasty biting things were about, but Jean had little issues with them by wearing sensible clothing and using repellents. She was not bite-free, but certainly had no real issues.
When we moved on to New Zealand we were camping and out and about a great deal. Sandflies are the issue here in some areas, and for sure they were about. Again, with use of sensible precautions and application of the LIFESYSTEMS products we stayed reasonably bite free.
Generally speaking, we were advised to go full DEET (diethyltoluamide), actually around 50%, and especially for Borneo, but the Expedition Sensitive version offers a good alternative for those with more sensitive skin or who prefer not to, or are unable to, use DEET. This one uses 20% Saltidin (picaridin / icaridin) formulation and has the bonus of being acceptable for children.
These repellents will all stay active for much of the day but clearly if you are sweating a lot, as is possible in the sort of areas where these are required, it is wise to have top-up applications during the day.
[images © Jean or Mike Gormley]
~
