With the heavy rains in Southeastern Wisconsin lately it's been a field day for mosquitos! I usually use 3M Ultrathon which is a cream based application and long lasting early in the season. I know enough to switch from my plastic lens shooting glasses to my glass lens ones but up to now, finish had not been affected on any shotguns I used. For dove opener, I used my RBL which has the early gloss finish. Well the gun stock of course contacted my cheek and the 3M spread with little areas of surface change. I am not concerned because the RBL was meant to be hunted and eventually sometime I will have the gun refinished probably to finish not as prone to this type of damage but I am concerned about a couple of pricey doubles that i have acquired in the last year and not taken hunting yet.
Right now, my assumption is that all insect replellants will attack plastics and stock finishes. So I guess, I wait untill the temperature drops into the low 40's F before hunting with these guns.
Any suggestions, comments or experiences?-Dick

Dick, I have in front of me a bottle of "Cutter Advanced" insect repellent, and a bottle of "Off familycare clean feel" repellent, both of which have PICARDIN, rather than DEET, as the active ingredient. They are every bit as effective as the DEET products, and are harmless to compass and watch crystals, stock finishes, plastic turkey call parts, deer grunt calls, and all the other hundreds of items that DEET has melted through the years.

They smell good, and do not leave that oily residue on your skin like DEET products.

I find mine at the local WalMart, NOT in the spt. goods section, which contains only DEET stuff, but in the area of the store that stocks household chemicals like cleaning products and the like.

Try it - you'll like it! If it works in the Southern Swamps during spring turkey season, it should work anywhere.

Thermacell

The old insect repellants would eat up almost everything they touched. I'm not seeing any damage to anything though with any of the modern stuff...Geo