Mosquito nets. Take or buy??? + Malaria tabs

stepmac

I am travelling to Northern and Southern India in three weeks.
|Here is the question - I have not, as yet purchased a mozzie nee, or started taking the malaria tabs can I buy a net in India, if so how easily and also does anyone know of an English based website that I can buy the recommended malaria tabs from istead of inflated chemists prices.

rangers

if u r traveling lite .carry a small Net it will help u a lot.
though its very cheap here yet having one helps u anywhere u feel.

Sprocket

Buy everything you need in India, you can get adecent net for around 200 rp. - if you come across kind people they may even make them to your size specs. and colour , would you believe, for a bit more. Odomos is a product for sale accross India which also helps repel our little friends, it's as effective as anything you'll get in Boots.
Good luck.

TimMakins

Definitely buy BEFORE you go. The ones you get in India are thick and heavy - ideal if you are staying in one place but NOT if you are a backpacker, moving around. Get one in London - a wedge-shaped single point fixing style net. And get your tabs there too - the weekly ones are available in India, but the ones you take daily are VERY hard to find. Be warned !!

Tim in Ireland - 7 times in India, for a total of 19 months.
PS read the Packing List Notes on my website:

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larki55

Tim,
Does the mossie net (wedge shape?) have a name. I'm in the US, but looking on the net. There are so many out there. I'm not sure what I will need.
Thanks
larki

gautam

It depends on what kind of places ull be staying/ sleeping.

For outdoors - yes u need a net - buy it from ur place ( here u migh not find the desired quality or maybe the required size ),u also need odomos as a backup.

For indoors - "good night" mosquito mats can be used & are easily available.downside is that u need to change the mat daily.U can also buy liquid mosquito destroyer "all out",one cartridge will work for 30-45 night.

U can check this website,dont know if they sell single piece or not,this comapny deals in disease control textile.they are made in such a way as to repel mouquitos ( www.vestergaard-frandsen.com ) look for "permanet"

If nothing works,go in for tortoise mat .

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TimMakins

Hi Larki - I bought my net in 1990, so can't remember where I got it from, however I did a quick search on Google Images for mosquito net wedge and this site:
http://www.travelerssupply.com/cat_d...product_id=203

is the nearest I could see at a quick look. Mine is very similar to the one in the photo, though mine has a removable piece of dowelling wood about 18" long that slides in the top. The reason for the spreader, by the way, is that it spreads the net wider over the head area whilst still allowing a single point fixing, meaning that you've got more space inside than a single point such as:
http://www.specialforces.com/store/catalog/product_27538_Mosquito_Net.htm l which I wouldn't recommend.

Also, this one:http://www.wildday.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?productID= 972 is no good - it is the right shape, but without the spreader you'll need at least 2 places to tie it up.

A key point of my net, and the wedge net in the first link, is the reinforced skirt: an added piece of material around the bottom edge - that is the bit that you tuck under the matresss - if it was just 'net' it would soon get ripped or worn out. I have used mine on overlanding trips outdoors, without a tent, where you tuck it under your sleeping mat, against the ground. A net-only design wouldn't last 2 minutes there! Its also useful in Indian hotels, too, as under the matress there are often nails or splinters that would soon tear a net.

Tim in Ireland

TimMakins

By 'mosquito mat' do you mean a mosquito coil:



- a device that burns through the night giving off fumes of pesticide? Well, I know they are popular with some people, and they certainly do a pretty good job of keeping the mossies away, but personally, I absolutely hate them: after a night in a room with one of those burning, my lungs feel trashed, worse than 40 cigarettes when I used to smoke!! Obviously that smoke is a poison: why would I want to breathe poison all night? Far better to have your own net indoors as well as out - it lasts for years, costs nothing to run, and is much better for health !!

Tim in Ireland

cyberhippie

Agree with Tim, whilst lightweight nets may be available in India, they are hard to source.
The run of the mill nets you find in India are meant for permenant use not really suitable for backpacking!!

I actually don't use a net, as the ole Goodknight machine works well for me and my wife and is really very portable. It only falls down when there's a power cut, as it uses mains power. Still I've been useing this gadget for 8 years now with great success.

As for anti mossie creams I prefer the brand Mosfree, a little easier to apply than Odomos and just as effective as anything from your own country!!

For mossie tabs the cheapest, safe method would be to purchase doxycycline in India (pick up your first load from a chemist at home so you can get the course started) at around 35 rupees for 10 tablets this is the most cost effective way to protect yourself against the Malaria parasite!!

cyberhippie

Tim the new age mossie mats are nothing like the old coils (like sharing your room with a running rickshaw)

They are far more efficient and there is little more than a slighlty perfumed odour present in your room!

The machines use little blue mats that exude a vapour when heated or little bottles of the suff that are good for 45 days. Many many Indians use these and they work. These days you'll find many hotels supply these with their rooms!!

The stuff used is said to be unharmful to humans and after using them for a long time this seems to be the case!

Sunray

Yeah, traveller mozzie nets are difficult to source in India, what is available are chunky nylon things designed for hard wearing. Traveller ones are quite fragile but pack down to nothing.

I ordered the economy one from here

http://www.safariquip.co.uk/acatalog..._Nets_1.htm l

With 5m of .5cm nylon rope i've been able to hang it everywhere I've ever been. Usually off curtain rails, light fittings, random bits of metal sticking out of the wall etc etc.

That fairly thick nylon rope is useful over thin string because it catches tight with a simple knot, can be undone as easily and can be used as a strong washing line.

TimMakins

Oh OK I know what you mean now - those little blue tablet things that fit in an electric heater.

Well, I have tried those, but still find they affect my lungs, and leave me feeling rather sick in the morning. I don't think I'm especially sensitive - used to smoke cigarettes for 20+ years, but still those blue 'mats' defintely do me no good. I would much rather have a mossie net than any chemicals.

Oh - by the way, I've just thought of another reason to use a net (duh)...

In the cheaper hotel rooms, there may well be quite a range of insects in your room. I've found that the number of varieties are inversely proportional to the amount you pay. All manner of creeping and crawling and flying things I especially dislike those big flying cockroaches you get in the North East states of India Well, mosquito coils and mats are not going to do much to stop those guys, but if you have your net up, you are safe in your own little biosphere. In 20+ years of travelling, I've never yet met an insect who has bitten his way into my net. Of course, if you were touching the walls, then you might get bitten through the mesh, but I have found that after a short while of using a net, I automatically sleep in the middle.

Tim in Ireland.

cyberhippie

Each to his own my man!!

TimMakins

The problem with that design:



is that although it is a single point fixing, that point must be ABOVE the bed. This is quite hard to find in practice - in India often the fan is there, so you must first run a line across the room, then take a fixing point off that. The big advantage of the wedge shaped net is that its single point fixing is behind the bed: imagine a single bed with its head-end against the wall - all you need is fixing point at least 4 feet above the mattress, such as a light fitting, pipe, cable, etc. This is much easier to find, in my experience. (And I have used both types of net)

Tim in Ireland.

Jessica Rabbit

Cheers for the link to your website Tim, packing list is extremely helpful to a newbie like me As is all the mossie net info - lighter the better and worth the extra money imo.