|
Long-term Report:
In my November 11, 2005
Field Report I commented:
"So in summary, how has the Spectrum
Brands Cutter Advanced insect repellent performed so far? It has been very
effective against persistent small flies and mozzies. No ticks where picked up on
the West Cape Howe walk, which can mean one of two things. Either the
repellent was effective or no ticks where around. I suspect the later, given
the country we walked in is ideal tick land.
...
In terms of protection I am pleased with the
effectiveness of the repellent so far. I am less keen on the packaging
however.
Unfortunately, my experience with the Spectrum Brands
Cutter Advanced insect repellent only a few days later and again in early
December has caused me to review my opinion of the product. I in fact pretty
much stopped using it on December 7, 2005. As the fly situation worsened in
mid-November and into December it become apparent that the insect repellent
was not effective against flies once their presence became more dominant. It
was even suggested to me that the repellent rather than repelling, was
actually attracting flies! The preceding comments notwithstanding, my
experience with the repellent in terms of mozzies has been good and I note
that its active ingredient Picaridin has been recommended as one alternative
repellent base for protecting against mozzies which are carriers of Ross
River virus in this region. However, as an overall protection it has
not been effective for me, so on a backpack or day walk, I would leave the
Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced insect repellent at home, my preference
being for a product that can provide all day protection. I will however,
continue to use the Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced insect repellent as
protection against mozzies where appropriate, e.g., outdoor movie shows.
As the fly situation worsened in mid-November and
into December it become apparent that the insect repellent was not
effective against flies once their presence became more dominant. It was
even suggested to me that the repellent rather than repelling, was
actually attracting flies!
To put the above comments into perspective, myself and Anne
where geocaching at Thomas Statham's Quarry
looking for Thomas Statham's Backyard Geocache again and again without
success, ugh! Both myself and Anne applied liberal amounts of the repellent
in an attempt to drive off the latest incarnation of the Australian
household fly. This incarnation of the fly is bigger and more persistent
than the flies encountered during the field testing stage. Alas even with
libel amounts applied, the Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced Insect Repellent
was not successful in repelling the hordes. We ended up being driven from
our geocaching endeavours by the flies. This was one day where the flies won
out. This should have been my first warning of what was to come.
A few weeks later on December 7 & 8, 2005, I again
ventured out of Perth on a combined geocaching road and walking/overnight
camping trip in the Darling Escarpment, camping at the Munda Biddi Dardanup
campsite. The flies where bad again on this trip, making themselves known by
around 10:00 AM in the morning. As with the November 13 experience I found the
repellent totally ineffective against the fly plagues. At this point I
decided to try a little experiment and switched to another brand of
repellent which also has Picaridin as its active ingredient but at a
concentration level of 9.5%. This was also ineffective against the flies. In
desperation, I diverted to a nearby town where I purchased another product
which has as its active ingredients, N,N
diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) at 11.47%, Di-n-propyl isocinchomeronate at 4.18%
and N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide at 2.77%. This was effective and
saved the day.
In terms of other aspects of the test, i.e., application and
my skin, my closing views are as previously expressed in my Field Report.
That is in terms of application, I would like to see the product in a
roll-on form. That said I have had no problems with the bottles and I do
like the wipes.
As reported in my Field Report I have not become aware of any
staining or damage to gear from the use of the repellent.
Finally in terms of my skin, I have had no negative reaction.
Overall I am disappointed with the Spectrum Brands Cutter
Advanced insect repellent's performance in repelling flies but I am happy
with its effectiveness against mozzies. I will continue its limited use but
would not be purchasing it as my main repellent.
My thanks to
BackpackGearTest.org and
Spectrum Brands for being able to participate in this test.
[Click here to
return to the top] |
