Edmonton is highly populated by mosquitos. They've recently been saying on the news to rub a dryer sheet on your skin before going out, and this will keep the little suckers away. Some people have said that a floral scent such as most dryer sheets would actually attract them.

I did a search, and the only sites I can find are those ever-reliable "fact" lists, and they all swear by dryer sheets to repel mosquitos by either rubbing them on the skin or dying them to a belt loop.

Anyone know anything reliable about this? Kathy?

I have an uncle who is always trying new ways to repel insects while in the woods (avid hunter). That electronic whiner thingy attracted them in waves, so he just placed it a bit away as a decoy. Stick with your deet, in proper concentration and judiciously applied, or get yourself a groovy bug suit.

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Originally posted by eagle eye:
Why don't you conduct an experiment?

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Because...

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Dryer sheets make me sneeze

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They're okay on the clothes because the smell is much milder and diluted. But the trip to the laundry room carrying it, and having the smell on my hands - the bugs wouldn't be able to find a good spot to land because I'd be convulsing with the sneezles.

Dryer sheets, That's new on on me. But I found a zillion recommendations for them while trying to look up some stuff. Mosquitoes are generally attracted to people by the CO2 given off by skin and a few other things. Repellents generally work by confusing the little beasts abilty to sense the CO2. People differ greatly in their attractiveness to mosquitoes, a mechinism that is still only partly understood.

DEET is the standard for judging repellancy. So far, nothing has been found that is more effective or longer lasting. But this efficacy & longevity may not be as important for someone wanting to be unbitten during a two hour garden party, as opposed to someone out in the jungle all day in an area known to have serious malaria problems.

Oil of citronella works. That's what Avon puts in their Skin So Soft repellant. (Unconfirmed word is that there always was a bit of citronella in there, hence the word-of-mouth report that SSS worked. Avon now deliberately adds citronella and has registered the stuff as a pesticide inteh US, as required by law). It's entirely possible that some dryer sheet brand uses citronella for a scent. I tried to see if I could find ingredients, but had no luck.

Naturally, no one has done a real test on the dryer sheets--in the US, anyway, the manufcturers don't want the problem of having to register as a pesticide. Well, you know my sig. I could rub fabric sheets all over my body and claim that they worked--I was not bitten. However, that would prove nothing. I could also wander out in the yard stark naked with no repellant of any kind on my skin and also not get bitten; mosquitoes are rarely attracted to me.

Another alternative goes by the euphonious name of ETHYL BUTYLACETYLAMINOPROPIONATE (EBA). There is also dimethylphthalate (Bayrepel). Both of these are marketed under a number of trade names. Neem has also been shown ot have repellent properties. The caveat is, none of these are as effective or as long lasting as DEET.

Forget taking Vitamin B-1--that has been demonstrated to be ineffective.

I really like the little smiley face rocker guy!