Re: OT Mosquitos
John in NM
DEET was what we used in Maine too. Either Muskol or Ben's100 were the two brands back then, both 100% DEET and really worked once you got used to it. After college I was working in Mexico and in the summer we got eaten alive by chiggers - one trip home I found some Muskol in the local outdoors store and tried it on ankles and waistband, no more chigger bites.
I remember when we were in Maine my dad tried inventing his own repellent (black flies were far worse than mosquitos, their bites are bigger and itch about the same). First was some kind of vitamin B stuff in water. Stinky. Next one was some kind of yeast concoction that smelled so bad the dog wouldn't go near him. If either of these worked at all, I'm sure it was complaints from my mom that kept him from trying them twice.
My aunt lived a few doors down and she used to just slather on baby oil to trap and drown the black flies. That worked well if you could stand being oily all the time. I never could and stuck with the DEET.