Getting Irritated by Gnats
I do a lot of hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and as soon as warm weather arrives you can be sure to attract gnats that swarm your face while hiking. What can be used to deter them? Will deet applied to the face help?
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Question:
I do a lot of hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and as soon as warm weather arrives you can be sure to attract gnats that swarm your face while hiking. What can be used to deter them? Will deet applied to the face help?
Submitted by – Lester – Lake City, TN
Answer:
Most gnats are repelled by deet applied to skin. You will not need, and it is not recommended by most experts in chemical repellents, to use a concentration of deet higher than 30 percent. Also remember biting gnats have tiny mouthpartsthey cannot bite through even thin clothing. Sometimes tiny gnats we call no-see-ums seem resistant to deet. Those resistant little beasties are often repelled by Avon Skin-So-Soft. You have to keep your skin wet with SSS, so you have to reapply it fairly often.