Ultrasonic mosquito repellers?

[cometcatcher]

Have been seeing these pop up here and there in stores but never bothered to try one.

So before I part with my $ for junk, do these things actually work? Would be great to do some observing in summer without all the stinky repellents, which I hate.

[Poita]

I built one from a Dick Smith kit years ago, and it stopped me getting bitten in my bedroom, no idea if they work well outside or not, but this one did in my screen-less house. But who knows if it was co-incidence?

However the research seems to point to currently available models not working at all really:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/403/do-ultrasonic-bug-repellers-work



What definitely works? N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) and permethrin-treated clothing.
http://annals.org/article.aspx?volume=128&issue=11&page=931

[mithrandir]

Anything newer than 1998, and that you don't have to pay for?

[Poita]

Sorry, I forget that not everyone has access.

Everything that I have that is current says basically the same thing though, (google DEET e.g. http://www.mosquito.org/repellents ) along with picardin and oil of the lemon eucalypts (my personal favourite as I love the smell) if anyone has anything else that repells the buggers, I'd love to know!

[bojan]

Not worth the money.. those electronic gadgets do not work [nor on mosquitoes neither on anything else that lives and tries to survive by eating what's available (including your blood)]

[gary]

Hi Andrew,

Permethrin and DEET are still in vogue but obviously not free.

Given Kevin's location is Mackay, one certainly needs to take precautions against
being bitten as Dengue Fever, Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses are all
possible.

When traveling in parts of the world such as south-east Asia and Africa where
mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria are prevalent, I personally use DEET and
permethrin. I've witnessed first-hand sufferers who have contracted diseaes
such as malaria and dengue fever and it is not a pretty sight. I've been on the
equator in sweltering conditions and watched malaria victims trembling violently
with the chills. In 2010, WHO estimated 655,000 deaths worldwide (http://www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2011/burdenestimatesbriefing2011.pdf).

With those mental images in mind, I always avoid quackery and go straight to the
heavy guns of DEET and Permethrin. It is no surprise that various armed services
around the world equip ground troops with these repellents.

What is free and often overlooked are the simplest measures such as removing
sources of free standing water in the garden. Bird baths, ponds, old paint tins
and so on can act as breeding grounds.

Mackay Regional Council offers the same advice in this regard.
See http://www.mackay.qld.gov.au/residents/nuisances/mosquitoes

Our own wavelandscott plays a corporate role in the global war on the mosquito and
has some advice and background here -
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=548555&postcount=24

[jenchris]

I put a half full paddling pool in the garden with a few drops of dog wash in it - the mozzies lay their eggs in it and they all die. This avoids the mozzies laying somewhere else like in drains etc and surviving.
Personal repellants are best left to limiting sweat, which they love, and keeping the skin oiled with baby oil - which you might not like yourself - they can't bite through a pore that is full of oil.

[allan gould]

Electronic mozzy resellers just don't work. They are a modern fallacy

[Baddad]

Hi Kevin, Hi Gary,:)

To add to Gary's list of still water lying around: Check the house guttering. Certainly in Mackay the water gets a top up if the gutter does not drain fully.

I remember the Dick Smith mossie repeller.
It worked on the following strategy: After the female mossie mated it sought out animal blood. It also avoided going near the male mossie at that time.
The female beats its wings and emits an audible sound around 2khertz.
The male emits 10Khertz.

The electronic repeller emits sounds around that 10 Kh.

Now logic tells me if the hungry female finds a potential blood meal amongst males. The female will still go for it. Its not a big risk.

The repellers may work if the attractant was not in the proximity.
And what is the attractant? An Astro geek who liberates carbon dioxide, body heat and odours. That is what the female zeros in on.:)

Cheers

[mithrandir]

Gary, paying for an effective product is OK. Poita's link to annals.org requires you to pay to read the report, and since it was from 1998 there might have been something more recent.

[gary]

Hi Andrew,

I had only read the free abstract so I am on your wavelength now. :thumbsup:

You may find this 12 January 2007 web page (last updated 25 Feb 2010) at the
U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Vector Borne Diseases Division of interest -
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm

A 2008 update appears here -
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/repellentupdates.htm

This March 2008 Nature story discusses how it was believed DEET jams insects' smell sensors -
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080313/full/news.2008.672.html

However, it is also interesting to read in this 28th April 2008 paper by researchers from the Dept. of Entomology Univ of Calif-Davis and University of Az on how it is believed DEET works
that rather than blocking 1-octen-2-ol, mosquitoes smell DEET directly and avoid it -
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/0805312105.full.pdf

[cometcatcher]

I also bought a Dick Smith mosquito repeller kit back in the 1970's. Can't say I had much success with it.

My property and beyond... it's mosquito heaven. My place backs onto wetlands (swamp). Water laying in puddles happens naturally anytime except in extreme drought.

I guess I'm doomed.