Buzz Off Clothing?

[iBfishin]

Been thinking about purchasing an alternate to DEET. Anyone have any insight into this apparel? Does it really work as the manufacturers' claim?

[Mattb]

I used a buzz-off shirt last summer and it was great. Definitely worth the money. I don't wash my fishing shirts all that often, so I don't know about the ~25 washes claim, but I didn't notice a decrease in effetiveness as the season wore on.

[bdowning]

Actually, in Northern Maine,"staying grubby" for the season is a well known black fly deterrent. Just don't hang out with a partner who has a good sense of smell, unless it's the family dog ;) . Wearing a freshly laundered shirt in May is like waving a candy apple in front of a mosquito-infested swamp. :eek:

-bd

[Ken Buke]

Do a google on Permethrin. They sell "dipping" kits that are good for 6 washes.

I use the stuff in my back yard (I live on wet lands) and it works great for 4 weeks.

It is the same or similar to the "4 week" protection stuff used for dogs and cats...

The military uses it for thier insect protection.

PS: Some people aren't so sure it is that safe...But, as with any toxin...it's always the dosage not the toxin...

Ken.

[iBfishin]

Thanks one and all for your feedback. I just read online this morning that Boston (near where I live) will be the buggiest city in the country this year due to all the snow we received.

Will certainly get as smelly as my girlfriend will allow before my trip up north in May. :)

I'll check out the permethrin.

Thanks!!

[seabass]

I bought an Orvis Buzz Off shirt last year before my trip up to Maine. Hemmed and hawwed over weather or not I wanted to blow $70 on a shirt but I was pleasantly surprised. Fished the West Branch of the Penobscot and was on Little Eddy @ 9:00 at night in Aug. put a little spray on the ears and top of my hands and wasnt bothered at all. :-%

[boba]

The Little Eddy on the W. Branch in the PM in August is enough of a recommendation for me. The heck with the gnats and mosquitoes. Those are big enough to hit with the ole .44. It's the d*** no-see-ums that get you.
::heads back to kitchen to the Bean's catalogue::

[Jed]

With the increase of tic action and tic born disease I am going more towards deet. I look at it as a balancing act, trying to figure out the best way to poison myself.

jed

[wmlures]

Buzz-off shirts and other clothing using a repellent within the cloth will eventually leach out and onto the skin. These shirts are impregnated with pymethrin which the manufacturer warns "not for direct skin application". A safer way to beat the black flies is to use a product found at www.whitemountaininsectrepellent.com this stuff really works and it has a money-back guarantee. Their motto is "BLACK FLIES HATE THIS STUFF" and it's the truth.

[Mickeyfin5]

The suggestion offered by bdowning, northern Maine, is very true. Being from that area as well you learn quickly basically not to bath, outside of just hot water and plenty of it before you go fishing, skipping soap, and any type of deodorant and grab that old shirt that been soaked with benz over the past 10 years...spay liberally again and the brim of your hat and your off. A couple of mainer friends of mine swear by vitamin b during the spring and summer apparently releases an odor through your pores that helps to repel the bugs. Oh, if the no seeums are out buy yourself a net and kiss your * goodbye!

[pushaw]

I grew up in a very buggy spot in Maine, and I learned that the best way to deal with most bugs is to build some tolerance and keep moving. After you get about 60 to 100 mosquito bites for the year, their poison won't affect you anymore, no swelling or itching. Blackflies, deerflies and noseeums can both be pretty rough though, since they all take a chunk. I've got a bug baffler, but that doesn't really work for fishing, since its tougher to see your fly and line. Even when I'm well protected, the bugs tattoo my hands.

I got some of the Buzz-off clothes on clearance over the winter, so I'm going to try them this summer. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they perform as advertized with the toughest bugs (blackflies in the NMW in June). Does anybody know if the Permethrin does anything to flyline? That's why most flyrodders I know don't use DEET, because it eats your flyline.

[flysully]

Tag says you can wash the garment 25 times before the "buzz off" stuff washes out. Maybe I'm too clean but I do wash my fishing shirt when I'm done fishing in it for the day. 25 days' worth for a $70/$80 shirt isn't worth it for me. I'd rather spritz myself with Ultrathon and get 12 hrs. worth of bug resistance and wear a shirt costing $20 less.

[pushaw]

yeah, flysully, you're much too clean to be hanging out with this crowd

I'm planning on washing my buzzoff shirt once a season, plus a few dunkings from falling while wading.