# What is best for sand gnats?



## medic1

My wife and I are going camping and fishing at Blythe Island next week. I know the sand gnats and no-see-ums can get bad. What have you found to work the best to repel them?


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## HALOJmpr

Therma cell!!!!!!


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## Rock-hard

Drink you a good swig of vinegar. Seriously too. It wiil keep any bugs from bothering you and you want smell like OFF.


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## medic1

HALOJmpr said:


> Therma cell!!!!!!



I have Therma-cells. Didn't know they worked on sand gnats. Good to know.


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## creekrocket

My thermacell doesnt work for gnats......get some Skin-So-Soft. Bring Teekee Torches too.


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## tidewater

Get yourself a bottle of that cheapo No-Ad sun screen and apply liberal amounts! Dual purpose, no gnats and no sunburn. Seriously it works!


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## MudDucker

medic1 said:


> My wife and I are going camping and fishing at Blythe Island next week. I know the sand gnats and no-see-ums can get bad. What have you found to work the best to repel them?



A very fine screen house!


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## Curly

Tiley Spray from Hickory Bluff


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## Nitram4891

Skin so soft.


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## Mweathers

Rhino, skinsosoft


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## rako

I use the Repel 100% deet. Best thing that I have found for them.


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## Oak-flat Hunter

skin so soft is the best...


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## TAS

Thermacell, long sleeve shirt and pants, smokey fire, and 90 degree weather.  I've tried listerine, deet, skin so soft, and eucalyptus with little success.


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## bayoubetty

Don't know how close you are to Savannah but there is a homemade product at River Supply in Thunderbolt called "No Natz"
BEST STUFF on the planet!!


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## medic1

I ordered a couple of bottles of Skin So Soft BUG GUARD Plus PICARIDIN. I'll give a report on it next week.


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## mudracing101

When i camped at Jekyl my thermocell did not help against the sand gnats, At Blythe we did not have a problem with them for some reason, let us know how it works out.


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## HALOJmpr

medic1 said:


> I have Therma-cells. Didn't know they worked on sand gnats. Good to know.



I'm not sure how well it will work on a boat but it worked for me the other morning.  They were tearing me up turkey hunting before I fired up the thermacell.

Good Luck!


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## flsurveyor34

Cut a small circular hole in the seat of your pants. It will keep them away from your face.


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## Sharkfighter

Fish Off shore on the boat!! No gnats out there!!  

Actually I will be camping down on Cumberland this weekend so am taking note of which lotion to use.....


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## Inshore GA

Skin so soft bug guard plus expedition...comes in a spray can. Get it from any avon lady. Works reel good on the gnats.


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## mesocollins

The wind works pretty good .  Go look in local bait shops. They'll have a local brew that is made to repel gnats. Most of them work...


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## FireDoc

They are attracted to the carbon dioxide we put off. The more you put off the more attracted they are to you. If you change your Ph a little they would fly passed you. I've tried the vinegar but sulfur works best for me.


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## razor1

medic1 said:


> I ordered a couple of bottles of Skin So Soft BUG GUARD Plus PICARIDIN. I'll give a report on it next week.



It works really well and doesnt leave a bad smell on ya. Ive been thru one can and only got half of another left,  got to order some more cause its works better than anything ive ever used in the past. I think we paid twelve bucks a can, its a little pricey but well worth it..........EJ


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## bnz

Long sleeved compression shirts, fingerless gloves, Columbia long pants, a buff and a hat.

It wouldn't hurt to take some zyrtec or other antihistamine before you go out either.  That'll help keep the itching down when you do get bit.  I live right on the marsh and during the warm part of the year I keep the zyrtec people in business.  Can't step outside my door in shorts or short sleeves without getting bit.  The stuff works wonders for me.


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## Bryannecker

*Let me see, now.  There are a number of remedies available:  

Here are ten.

1. Smoke big cigars, but your geneal health will eventually suffer.
2.  Build a fire on the deck of your boat with moss, but your vessel will suffer.
3. Wear a full body suit of mesh, but in the Summer you will pass-out from the heat.
4. Fish from a cabin on your boat, if you have one, but you may have to upgrade your boat.  
5.  Only fishing in gale warnings so that the wind blows them away, but that may result in a sunken boat.
6. Fish above the gnat-line in Georgia, but it will not be saltwater fishing.
7. Go throught boot camp at Parris Island in the Summer, so that you become conditioned to them and they will not ever bother your that much, again.  But, you may be too old for that remedy.  I did but now I am too, too old for that, again.
8. Coat you body with marsh mud, but that is really nasty and extreme.  I did hear that some Army Rangers attested to the marsh bugs as being a far greater threat than other aspects of survival in the coastal areas , so forget that recommendation. 
9.  Refrain from eating bananas since that seems to attract them.
I have encountered them miles offshore!
10. Finally, do not talk above a whisper, since loud talking or music  seems to attract them to your general area and to you eventually.

Seriously, all of the advice, supra, is good.  Follow it and use a trial and error approach, and be sure to let me know what really works.

Capt. Jimmy
*


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## brriner

Kayakers used to use Cactus Juice sunscreen and insect repellant.  That was said to work quite well.


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## breampole

I've tried a therma cell and it didn't work.  I put cactus juice repellant on and watched them walk all over it and bite me in the process.  Same with skin so soft -- man that stuff stinks; same with citronela (sp?) oil.  Have used deet with some success, but that stuff ain't good for you.  I have a no see um head net that pulls over a hat and that works along with long sleeve shirt, but its hot and hands still catch it.  I heard that juice from sassafras (sp?) leaves works, (according to an old timer)but who can find them?  For some reason they love me.  I hate them.  I'll take mosquitos any day over gnats.


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## G Duck

Air conditioning.


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## wrestler

wow, this stuff makes my "SKIN-SO-SOFT"


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## Miguel Cervantes

Bounce dryer softener sheets. Rub them on your skin and then tuck them under the edge of your hat. Works like a charm.


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## Nautical Son

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Bounce dryer softener sheets. Rub them on your skin and then tuck them under the edge of your hat. Works like a charm.



The only thing that did for me was make my neck smell springtime fresh....the only thing I have found that works consistently is to have a cigarette lit...whether I smoke it or not they stay away....otherwise fish in hurricane force winds and pray...


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## Sharkfighter

Was down at Cumberland island for the weekend.  Used a product I bought in a bait shop at St Mary's called gnatbegone 

That stuff Rocked.  Once I put it on, the cloud of gnats was still around but they avoided me.  Smell was good and was deet free.  

Don't remember the name of the bait shop, not my usual stomping ground, but it was a local operation.  

Oh and if ya never been to Cumberland island it is WELL WORTH the trip.  Was my first time there and was very cool.


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## benbill

I confirmed that Buccaneers Bait and Tackle in St Marys does stock the GnatBeGone mentioned above.


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## kenmorrow

I spray my clothing, Buffs, and hats with a permethrine based spray every now and then.  Permanone from Repel works very well.  It seems to last through quite a few wading expeditions and launderings before I have to redo it.  Permethrine is Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ---- on wheels when it comes to ticks, fleas, mites, spiders, scorpions, sand fleas, biting flies, gnats, and mosquitos...in that order.  The gnats will still fly around you some, but they will drop dead the second they land on anything treated.

I also treat ALL of our camping stuff:  tent, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, sun shelter, air mattress, camp chairs, etc. with the stuff about once/year.

We are NEVER bothered by bugs when camping and I haven't been pestered by them while fishing whenever I was wearing treated clothing...from the Everglades to the Tundra.


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## marlin

No-Add sunscreen is the best thing that I have found and its cheap.


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## MudDucker

Skin so soft works well on the west coast of Florida, but the last time I tried it out of Shellman's Bluff, I could have sworn it was a sexual attractant to sand gnats!


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## rdykes

*Cactus Juice*

Hey guys i've used the Cactus juice for a couple of years and it works great ! I got it off ebay for about $12 / bottle.


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## gamuddawg151

The best thing i found was to be in another part of Georgia


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## roperdoc

February works. Usually.


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## kenmorrow

Yesterday, I wore untreated clothing and used my Smartshield combo sunscreen + insect repellant for the first time since moving to the area.  Worked great.  Comes in pump spray or wipes.


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