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Reviews > Health & Safety > Insect Repellents > Spectrum Brands Insect Repellents > Heather Oakes Palmer > Long Term ReportLong Term Report Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced Insect RepellantJanuary 3, 2006 Tester Info:
Name: Heather Oakes Palmer Backpacking Background: I consider myself an intermediate hiker and beginning backpacker for over five years; my longest backpacking trip being only three nights. Day hiking and weekend backpacking comprise most of my weekend warrior experience averaging one backpacking trip per month and two day hikes per month averaging between 10-15 miles (16.1- 24.2 km) per day. I tend to backpack in warm, humid climates, with a good amount of hiking in the southern Appalachian Mountains and I have rarely hiked in below freezing or snowy conditions yet. I am a lightweight backpacker and buy my gear accordingly, often splitting various objects and amounts of weight with my husband. Product Information:
Manufacturer: Spectrum Brands Locations: I tested the repellent primarily in day hikes and overnight backpack trips in the North Georgia Mountains. The average elevations ranged from 2000 – 5500 ft (610-1676 m) and late summer/fall weather fluctuated wildly with temperatures from the 50’s- high 90’s F (10- 32 C) during the day, and maybe as low as 40 F (4 C) at night up in the higher elevations. Winter temperatures sometimes dropped to the 20’s F (-6 C) overnight with day temperatures between 40- 70 F (4 - 21 C), and I could see rain, ice, and tiny snow flurries all in one day. Further south in Florida, south Georgia, and in hikes around the metro Atlanta area, the heat (and bugs) will stick around much longer due to the lower elevations of between sea level and 1400 ft (0 - 427 m). Long Term Results: For further anecdotal information please read my field report. From the period after my field report was completed on November 1st, I have seen very, very few insects. The cold weather from North Carolina to Southwest Florida made for almost non-existent insect populations so I have little testing data to account for, but did get laughed at for spraying repellant on my legs in 42F (5.6 C) weather. To summarize my long-term testing of this product, I will use the various criteria I proposed in my application. Ease of Use: Overall, each of the three products was easy to apply. The largest spray pump with 7.5 oz (212.6 g), was the most easy to use as the nozzle was stationary, did not get stuck, and had the most obvious method of opening the cap. The smaller 1 oz (28.3 g) pump itself seemed to stick and the nozzle is positioned in an awkward angle necessitating direction adjustment to prevent me from spraying inside the cap. The wipes required no direction for me since I have used many kinds of wipes before. The wipes are the only product that consistently got on my fingers, unless I accidentally sprayed myself, which made me wonder if I could eat after using the product. I did eat about one hour after a wipe application of the repellant and had no ill effects from it. After multiple day hikes and backpacking trips carrying both the small and large spray pumps, neither pump ever broke or leaked repellant into my pack. Even after being dropped into the sand of the Gulf of Mexico and later rolling down a dirty hill in Georgia, the pumps were never clogged up or unable to be sprayed. I even dropped one of the large pumps in some marshy water during a short day hike near St. Augustine and had to search the slimy water for a few minutes looking for it, and it still did not clog the pump. Reactions: Some of the major selling points of this product all relates to how it reacts to other things: skin, sense of smell, and clothing and other gear. Spectrum Brands Cutter Advanced Insect Repellant is advertised as being odorless, colorless, non-reactive to clothing or plastics, non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-sticky. The sprayed product feels light on the skin after its initial wet application, and only slightly smells of its alcohol base. The wipes feel slightly sticky as it seemed to take a little longer to dry on the skin, and the smell was more pronounced. After the quick drying time, this repellant did not make me a sand and dirt magnet. On the beach, in the desert, and hiking through chest-high brush; the repellant did not cause any extra debris to stick to my skin. Also on a beach walk near Fort Myers, Florida I sprayed the repellant after applying sunscreen to myself. The repellant still seemed to work and did not cause any reactions with the sunscreen; I didn’t burn and I didn’t get eaten. I have spayed the repellant directly on my clothing before and have not noticed any color or staining of the fabrics. On backpacking trips where I sprayed repellant shortly before going to sleep confirmed that the product does not stain or react to my sleeping bags, liner, or whatever clothing I use as a pillow. One recent chilly night of about 45F (7.2 C) I lightly used the repellant since I had not seen a bug all day, and then another trip where I camped near a stream in North Carolina, the bugs were so thick I had to bathe in picardin to stop them from biting. How well does it work? Since the end of August when I received the repellant to test, I have seen a steady drop in temperature and subsequent drop in insects. I would have loved to have tried this product in late July near my mom’s house; I’ll never know if it could withstand the onslaught of a night spent in a small south Florida town that would be a swamp if not for the intricate canal system. The end of summer and early fall in the southern Appalachians I noticed not only mosquitoes in the air, but also little annoying flies, ticks, and I saw chigger bites on the unprotected skin of my husband. In Arizona I only noted mosquitoes and non-biting flies. The insect repellant continued to keep away the small amounts biting insects encountered during the long-term testing phase of the product. Hikes near Atlanta in Sweetwater Creek and trails along the Chattahoochee River, and during hikes near St. Augustine and Fort Myers in Florida; I did see a few pathetic mosquitoes late in the season so I was able to justify dousing myself in Cutter Advanced. I even used some wipes on a recent car-camping trip at about 3840ft (1170.4 km) in Georgia prompting an old friend to ask my why I was using mosquito repellant in December in the mountains in between laughing fits. While the product works very well at keeping the bugs from biting when applied, I noticed that the amount used and how long it worked before I needed to reapply varied depending on several factors. Generally during my long term testing, I did not come into contact with water or sweat very much due to the low temperatures but I did notice a couple of exceptions. I had noted in my field report that sweat and water had caused me to reapply the repellant earlier than noted in the products’ three-hour reapplication directions, and later on in my testing I noticed that during a 12 mile (19.3 km) loop that I use often at a nearby state park, the unseasonably warm temperatures nearing 70F (21.1 C) caused me to need a total of three wipes over a period of about four and half hours. A short Florida beach hike taking me into mangroves and tidal flats around the holidays required a spray reapplication after only two hours in 66F (18.9 C) weather walking in and out of water around dusk. Because the spray feels so light on my skin and has no odor, I could never tell if or when I was washing it off, unless I was still on the trail and getting bitten. Cutter Advanced is advertised as being effective against mosquitoes, flies, and ticks. Since I began the testing in late August I have seen few bugs other than mosquitoes, and I did not come into contact at all with biting flies or no-see-ums (midges). Late in September, while on a connecting trail to the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina, the wet and muddy trail attracted swarms of little flies. As I already had applied repellant against the mosquitoes earlier on the trail, I did not apply more while I hiked in the cloud of flies. The flies still swarmed me with the repellant on, especially in my unprotected face, but I know the flies to be non-biting since I have hiked that same trail several times before. I have not been bitten by ticks while wearing the repellant, though I have shaken them off my pack and jacket during the testing. Two days after I returned from a day hike in the mountains of Georgia, I noticed a couple of chigger bites on my back I assume from when I stopped to sit and eat in the grass. I had used the repellant that day on my legs and arms, which were chigger bite free. Since I can’t actually see chiggers, I can only assume that the repellant is effective against them since I only had bites one time on an area of my body repellant-free. Summary: I reiterate that the best testing period for this product was NOT the end of summer through winter in north Georgia. The bugs pretty much disappeared after Halloween and even hikes taken in Florida in November and December were mostly bug free, not giving me much real opportunity for testing in the latter part of the year. I was able to get a decent amount of testing done in September and October. Overall the repellant has quite a few things going for it. It is odorless, colorless, does not affect fabrics, did not cause me any skin reactions, containers did not spill or break, the repellant did not feel heavy or greasy, and above all: the repellant did keep insects from biting me. This product is not without its negative aspects, a major complaint I had with the repellant is that not only does it wear off quickly while sweating or in minor contact with water (such as stream crossings), but the amount of repellant I needed to apply to cover myself seemed excessive with the spray pumps. When using the wipes a little went a long way, but the spray rapidly vanished when I was faced with situations involving many insects, sweat, water, or a longer period of time outside. Initially I followed the directions regarding reapplication after three hours, but I found that I needed to reapply the repellant much sooner on many occasions. I will conclude that while I feel this product can be used as an alternative to DEET and has many positive aspects; it is not quite comparable in its effectiveness or longevity to DEET. I would like to thank Spectrum Brands and Backpackgeartest.Org for allowing me to test this product. Pluses:
Reviews > Health & Safety > Insect Repellents > Spectrum Brands Insect Repellents > Heather Oakes Palmer > Long Term Report | |||