Mosquitos are chasing me!
 

There is a 400ft hill on one of my favorite rides, the grade slows me down to 5 mph. The mosquito's chase me and bite my back until I get above about 8mph. Would spraying my bike jersey with bug repellant work well? Any other suggestions?

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(...or you could try spraying your self with mosquito repellent; shirt shorts arms and legs.)

I'd try the mosquito repellent, perhaps one of the sunscreen/bug juice combinations if you're riding in the middle of the day. (Stops typing to scratch a bite...)

It could be worse; I was climbing up one long, steep, remote stretch when a deerfly started biting me on the a$$ -- right through my shorts! Naturally, as I started flailing at the thing, here come a bunch of cars to see me swatting my butt. :/

DEET can eat through synthetic materials. Ask me how I know, because I’ve toured in infested parts of Montana.

One year the grade got a bit tough as we passed the entrance to a cattle ranch with a drainage ditch by the side of the road. I looked down and saw a bunch on my legs. Looked ahead ahead and saw a bunch on my GF’s butt. That evening her butt looked like it had acne.

There is a non-deet mosquito repellent called REPEL, available at Walmart and Target, that works pretty well against mosquitoes and somewhat against the biting flies. It's made with lemon and eucalyptus oil, has a pump spray. Way better than absorbing deet through the skin.

I've not tried this but have read good reports about it.

OP, you just need to ride faster uphill. I recommend interval training and a diet.

The oil of different plants has been shown to be an effective repellant. Haven't had to use them myself, but here's something I found which you may find interesting reading: https://www.mosquitomagnet.com/artic...pel-mosquitoes

Was out on a group ride one Saturday morning and realized that the stupid fly was faster than me everyone else. And 200 miles feet of elevation change over 50 miles is not uncommon around here.

I swear I typed 'feet' the first time.

400% sounds like a lot. Which planet were you from again?

^^^^ a big gaseous one for sure

Watch what you eat before you ride. Bananas are notorious for attracting mosquitoes. Garlic pills seem to work for mosquitoes when we are lake fishing in Canada.

I get that on one climb- couple of +15% sections where the horseflies can have their way- you have to pull up on the bars a bit so it's hard to swat them off.

You can have fun building on of these to either speed past the mosquitoes, or fry those pesky little critters to a crisp if the engine happens to flame out. :D

You can get permethrin fabric treatment that persists through several machine washings:

Yes a rocket bike would help. I would have to be careful with the throttle at the top of the hill or I may reach escape velocity and go into an earth orbit :)

A co-worker used to spray WD40 on all exposed skin; he claimed it kept the mosquitoes away. For some reason though I wouldn't recommend that.

He's dead now, in case you're wondering.

Just slipped away?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'll see myself out. ;)

Well, since mosquitos can only fly 2 mph max, I suspect one of three things: 1) Perhaps you are slowing down more than you claim to be. 2) You are getting bit by some other insect. Deer flys would target your back but I'd guess you would be able to tell the difference between a deer fly bit vs. a wimpy skeeter. Or 3) It may be that there are just a lot of mosquitoes where you ride and instead of chasing and catching up, you are just encountering successive clouds of them.

Anyway, to respond to your post: I've used DEET successfully for everything except chiggers. I don't really like the oily skin feeling though. I've started using permethrin treated clothing and it seems to work better, though it's a hassle because you need to wash separately.

Good luck.

Do you have a source for that 2 mph figure? I know I've been bitten riding up to about 12 mph without a perceptible wind. Some of that could have been an imperceptible breeze (maybe 2-3 mph), Some of it might have been turbulence, in which mosquitos flew into my slipstream and then flew up. Or maybe mosquitos down here fly faster so they can feast off the awesome southeastern football players? :)

The Google says its usually 1 to 1.5 MPH.

I had a Red Winged Blackbird chase me and peck me repeatedly in the ass a couple weeks ago. This was while rolling along at about 25 mph. They are very territorial this time of year, and will dive at people frequently. On that same ride i had one dive at me and attack my helmet. Mosquitoes are the least of my worries while riding!
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I think that's pretty much what is physically happening. You basically run into groups of them rather than being "chased down," especially since it's really hard to ride 2 mph, particularly on a loaded touring bike.

With a steady onshore breeze , Mozzys are only an issue where trees make still air..

You should be grateful that the birds are kind enough to keep the mosquitoes off you.....