SFR DEET and Health (NY Times)

Sorta fishing-related
K

kmudgn

Life of the Party
Personally, I use Picardin instead. It works well, but does not last more than about an hour. I have had the problem of DEET products attacking fly line so that is what caused me to switch.
This is a share article:
www.nytimes.com

Is DEET Bug Spray Harmful?

Some worry that this active ingredient is toxic. Here’s what we know about its effect on human health.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
When I was in my teens, I worked in a fiberglass shop building lasers (the boat) for about 2 years; I just about bathed in acetone. Before going back to school, I worked in an iron ore mine, a coal mine, and a pulp mill (pulp mill for 2 years); with all the shit I absorbed through my skin and breathed into my lungs, I suspect a little bit of DEET at this point in my life will make little difference. 'Sides, I'd rather not die of Marburg virus disease :)

cheers
 
For years I hated to use DEET because it was so noxious. I finally admitted to myself that mosquitoes and black flies are far more annoying that using DEET. So I bathe in it if necessary. Last summer I was introduced to Picaridin. It's no more annoying than sunscreen, and it seems to work. So now I carry both DEET and Picaridin.
 
Canuck from Kansas said:
When I was in my teens, I worked in a fiberglass shop building lasers (the boat) for about 2 years; I just about bathed in acetone. Before going back to school, I worked in an iron ore mine, a coal mine, and a pulp mill (pulp mill for 2 years); with all the shit I absorbed through my skin and breathed into my lungs, I suspect a little bit of DEET at this point in my life will make little difference. 'Sides, I'd rather not die of Marburg virus disease :)

cheers
Click to expand...
Or, your past exposures to toxins may have made you MORE vulnerable to DEET. Just a thought; I'm no toxicologist.
Is there a bat repellent? (Marburg's vector). As far as I know, DEET only works against insects.
 
I've been using Sawyer brand picardin lotion for a few years now and I think it works well.
 
I've learned that Mosquito bites can be quite serious. "Skeeter syndrome" is a medical term (worth a google search). Having no immunity to the local mosquitos, I had a bad reaction from a few bites.. then (on Crab Creek) I had multiple bites that actually caused me to be quite ill . I now have a cardboard box filled with anti-skeeter products that includes 100% Deet. Stuff that you spray on your clothes, hat, and the inside your camper and "sting ease" for the welts from the stings. I also have a battery operated repelelent that is somewhat like a space age citronella candle. Also a net that goes over my hat resembling a bee keepers hat. Fishing can be good at Crab Creek,, those damn mosquitos will not stop me from fishing there.
 
In the Eastern Sierras there was one stream that was just full of trout. Every year I tried to fish that stream. And every year the mosquitos drove me away. I remember the incredible fishing, and the bugs that made it virtually impossible to fish. I am certain that there is a lesson of life to be learned from this, but I never learned it.
 
kmudgn said:
Personally, I use Picardin instead. It works well, but does not last more than about an hour. I have had the problem of DEET products attacking fly line so that is what caused me to switch.
This is a share article:
www.nytimes.com

Is DEET Bug Spray Harmful?

Some worry that this active ingredient is toxic. Here’s what we know about its effect on human health.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Click to expand...
I became alarmed with GI Jungle Juice DEET in the early 1970s when the paint on my MSR Eagle and Sumner ice axe shafts was coming off on my hands. In the late 1970s it damaged a SA fly line so I stopped using it and tried alternatives. In the mid-2000s I read about Picardin and found the liquid aerosol formulas worked pretty well and didn't damage plastics. A few years later I read about DIY treatment of clothing and tents with a 0.5% concentration of Permethrin. I tried it and found using enough to treat all my clothing, including socks, hat, and especially my hammock left me in a bug-free haven. I only had to use the Picardin on exposed skin if wearing shorts while hiking or in camp.
 
Salmo_g said:
For years I hated to use DEET because it was so noxious. I finally admitted to myself that mosquitoes and black flies are far more annoying that using DEET. So I bathe in it if necessary. Last summer I was introduced to Picaridin. It's no more annoying than sunscreen, and it seems to work. So now I carry both DEET and Picaridin.
Click to expand...
Deet for your hat, picaridin for your hands. You can deet up a kerchief and hang by the tent or camper door also. I currently have a couple different USB rechargeable bug zappers that I'm keeping my eye for the camper.
 
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