Bugs

Forgot to mention that my last Gibson Jack foray was fraught with fluttering flies. However, I was prepared this time. I had three different insect repellents with me. Why three? Two of them were untried. The third was an "Off" towlette that I picked up from a hotel last summer. The first one came from Wild Oats in Fort Collins and is called "Buzz Away." It's a citronella based spray. It was effective for, at best, ten minutes. So it's NOT recommended. The next was also a natural one: "Repel: Lemon Eucalyptus." I found it on clearance last summer at Wal-Mart (which does not bode well for finding it again). This one was actually useful. It lasted for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how much I was sweating. It was wearing off at the ridgeline, and I was surrounded by a cloud of the bloodthirsty buggers. I reapplied the Lemon Eucalyptus cream...and nearly all of them went away. I was pleased.

I don't like things like "Off" because they make me feel sick. The Lemon Eucalyptus has a very strong lemon-mint scent, but it's a huge improvement over Off. And the smell becomes less noticeable as it is absorbed into your skin. Still, I was quite happy to wash the stuff off once I got home, and I was feeling a bit nauseous on the drive back. It could have been from low blood sugar, but I think the bug-cream smell made it worse.

At any rate, it looks like insect repellents with a large proportion (30% in this case) of lemon eucalyptus oil are effective, at least against flies. I haven't tested it against mosquitoes yet. Likely if I make it back to Blackrock Canyon, I will have an opportunity to do so. I'll also hang onto the Buzz-Away, just to give it one more try. [Oh, I've read that repellents made with soybean oil are also effective, but I've never even found one to try.]