Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 11:45:13 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Rick Sussman Subject: Non-DEET bug repellent MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, I did a bit of atlasing this morning in the swamp that is my territory, where the mosquitoes rule and knee high grass is the dominant plant species. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a DEET-free insect repellent at REI in College Park, and finally had a chance to give it a try. It seemed to work very well for flying insects and mosquitoes (and on the plus side, it has a nice soapy, clean smell) as I did not suffer a single bite, and I was in a very buggy area below Brighton Dam, where the swallows are having a hay-day with all the flying no-seeums. I don't think it works for ticks though, so be warned. I just hate the heavy DEET sprays that literally take the hide off your binoculars, and can only imagine what they are doing to my skin. So for those interested, the product is called : NATRAPEL PLUS ; Repels Mosquitoes, Fleas, and Common House Flies up to 8 hours (this is what it says on the front label). DEET FREE (ingredients: Citronella Oil 1.8%, inert ingredients 98.2%) Natural oils and vitamin E provide effective care for your skin (again, on the back label). Comes in a 4 fl.oz pump spray bottle. If you can't find it locally, try Natrapel, Inc., Littleton, NH 03561 or try www.natrapel.com I will give it a good try in a couple of weeks when we go camping, and maybe again at Bombay Hook this summer (where the real test will come). Right now though I am heading to Arundel Mills Mall for a new pair of wellies. Mine have finally sprung a leak... Rick Sussman Ashton,MD warblerick@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================