Body Armor Against Mosquitos
Oleg Volk 07.05.17
The problem with quiet, shady shooting spots in the woods by the gurgling creek is the other lifeforms that enjoy it along with you. Effing mosquitos! You get comfortable behind a rifle, aim, suffer a bite, take up the slack on the trigger, suffer some more bites, fire, reload, itch an earlier bite, take aim. It’s an annoyance that keeps on giving for the following day or three. This experience gets worse if sitting still is required for a successful turkey ambush.
Deet from a can worked but not well enough. I tried a treated shirt just to see if it would work as advertised. Haeleum brand shirt comes treated with Insect Shield that should last the lifetime of the garment. The initial quality seemed quite good, the shirt was comfortable and the material breathed well enough for comfort at 85 degrees in the shade. Outside of shade, the shirt also provides approximately UPF40 UV protection, filtering out about 97%.
The arms and the body covered by this shirt did escape the mosquito bites. More importantly, the treatment is supposed to protect against ticks and chiggers, both much more of a concern. For some reason, Haeleum only sells treated shirts but not other apparel items. Fortunately, plenty of other companies make clothing and pet accessories treated against insects.
