How do you protect yourself against mosquitoes in tropical regions?
In particular I am going to South-East Asia in a week and will stay for a month. It's my first time in the tropics.
What I came up with so far:
- NOBITE spray for clothing
- NOBITE spray for skin
- longsleeve cotton shirts (the heat will probably kill me)
- longsleeve polyester shirts (like sports clothing)
- carrying a mosquito net since some hostels might be unprotected
- I can't get myself to wear long-sleeve pants rather than shorts, would this be a very stupid decision?
>>1123948
Sweat is stinky. Bugs love the byproduct of the bacteria produced in sweat. In fact food odor is so similar to stinky cheese, bugs will land on cheese in studies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2350886/pdf/bmj00539-0061.pdf
They love people who excrete uric acid (drinkers).
But they've known for a while CO2 attracts too (avoid exertive exercise at dawn/dusk peak biting times).
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/02/22/465594861/why-zika-spreading-mosquitoes-love-ankles
Stay clean more often than usual, shower off perspiration like you would immediately post-workout at home. Prevent it in the first place when possible by doing the most active stuff before the heat of the day or when it cools later.
Actual bug killer on the clothing itself, and the mosquito net if using!, your skin exposed gets safer repellent, but garment color apparently doesn't matter anymore, but I always heard dark was worse.
WP just quoted some articles about Consumer Reports repellent ratings, and i was pleasantly surprised to see two alternatives to DEET. Try them out.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/27/zika-precautions-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-start-your-summer-travels/
http://www.consumerreports.org/insect-repellents/mosquito-repellents-that-best-protect-against-zika/
Personally, I think cotton gets cleaner each wash than synthetics, even wicking ones. No bacteria memory is a good thing. Feel free to use bleach.
>>1123972
Thanks for all the info, what would you recommend when comparing long-sleeve versus short-sleeve for shirts and pants?
>>1123978
Not him, but long-sleeve for sure. After a day or so, you'll get used to it and not sweat as much as you did before.
>>1124012
agreed. I have a white lenon long-sleeve shirt. It is wonderous. It is a bit warmer with it than without, but it actually protects from overheating from direct sun exposure. Especially useful in the deserts, but you will probably like it as well.
>>1123948
DEET is your friend. Long-legged pants have the added benefit of keeping you from sunburning the shit out of the backs of your knees in that tropical sun.
>>1123948
>SEA
Which bit mate? Malaria isn't a problem in most of it and dengue is kinda locational as well. Depending on where you are mozzies just aren't a problem.
Anyway, long sleeves and pants are overkill IMO unless you're in a really bad at dusk or dawn. Also the DEET bug repellant is great, but be aware it's pretty fucking bad for your health. If you're planning on using it on the reg for a long period of time, apply it to your clothes instead of your skin.
I imagine most SEA cities have the mozzie problem fairly under controlled. They certainly did in KL, and the frequent DDT white-out gassing didn't do me ann ndd nn yyUUUUUUUUUyyy harm at all
>>1124298
I will be going to Bangkok and also plan to spend a few days in a small beach town close to it. Do you think walking around in T-Shirt and shorts is safe in Bangkok in the evening/dusk/night? And I guess DEET won't be a problem since I will stay only for 12 days.
