do those mosquito repellent patches work?

[chillyinCanada]

I eat vitamin B before I go down and mega dose while I'm there. I use deet and any other thing I can get my hands on including the Off brand portable fan. The bugs still chew me up and spit me out a swollen itchy scarred mess. If the weather and wind direction have been in my favor and not in the bugs' favor sometimes I don't suffer as much as another. What has worked for me over the years is high percentage deet products (because high percentage lasts longer) and the Nopikex bars that I discovered in Panama and stocked up on in Colombia. Before diving, surface intervals and whilst attending to my gear post dives are some of my most vulnerable moments.

 

[Thook]

Well...you want to stay away from Deet...#1 its bad for the reef. Best stuff we've found for overall island pests...especially sand mites.....
Skin So Soft Expedition repellent...also has built in SPF 30. SKIN SO SOFT Bug Guard Plus IR3535 Expedition SPF 30 Pump Spray

 

[chillyinCanada]

The reason predive, SI, and immediately post dive are my most vulnerable times is specifically because I don't have on any deet at those times. As you pointed out bad for the reef, but it doesn't do my gear any good either. The other thing with deet, you don't apply it and then put on something that keeps your skin from breathing . . .like a wetsuit for instance.

 

[RTBDiver]

Well...you want to stay away from Deet...#1 its bad for the reef. ]

Hogwash, Deet has never been shown to cause any harm to any reef or any reef life anywhere anytime, This is simply propaganda spewed out from the Marine Park which has a better price markup on the locally made Snake oil and Iguana sperm repellents. Go ahead, prove me wrong, show me any study where Deet has been shown to harm the reef environment