Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Deet: Good or Bad?

What do ya'll think? If you don't like it what else works?

The New England Journal of Medicine (one of the top medical journals in the world) did a review last year and concluded that Deet is by far the best. Their summary conclusion was:

Despite the substantial attention paid by the lay press every year to the safety of DEET, this repellent has been subjected to more scientific and toxicologic scrutiny than any other repellent substance. The extensive accumulated toxicologic data on DEET have been reviewed elsewhere. DEET has a remarkable safety profile after 40 years of use and nearly 8 billion human applications. Fewer than 50 cases of serious toxic effects have been documented in the medical literature since 1960, and three quarters of them resolved without sequelae. Many of these cases of toxic effects involved long-term, heavy, frequent, or whole-body application of DEET. No correlation has been found between the concentration of DEET used and the risk of toxic effects. As part of the Reregistration Eligibility Decision on DEET, released in 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the accumulated data on the toxicity of DEET and concluded that "normal use of DEET does not present a health concern to the general U.S. population." When applied with common sense, DEET-based repellents can be expected to provide a safe as well as a long-lasting repellent effect. Until a better repellent becomes available, DEET-based repellents remain the gold standard of protection under circumstances in which it is crucial to be protected against arthropod bites that might transmit disease.

You can read the full article at:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abst...;sortspec=PUBDA TE_SORTDATE+desc+Score+desc&journalcode=nejm

Deet may not smell so good, but it works.
During our training hikes this year at Gavoita Peak we used it to keep ticks off our legs and it worked good. We also used it at the portal,this year, before our summit.

Great info. on DEET. Does anyone know if it should be applied before or after sunblock? Or does it matter?

Cappy you can mix them.

Sierra Sam why did you make your post wider than 1152 pixels?

I had a bottle of DEET 100 percent LEAK in my med kit last month and it dissolved the label off a Chapstick pat.

I swear by DEET, it really, really works, just keep it away from the Chapstick labels. The Chapstick itself is fine.

Hike: I think it was an artifact of cutting and pasting fromthe NEJM.

DEET will dissolve or discolor plastic - keep it away from goggles, flashlight lenses, etc.

Read the label with any product containing DEET. While it's definitely the way to keep the bugs off, it may also be the way to give your child cancer, or their children webbed feet, or... It is nasty stuff. I got some on my lips a few years back and couldn't feel them (numb) for the rest of the day.

MJJ:

your statements are not true - carcinogens (even teratogens) are not permmitted to be sold in the US.

Sierra Sam,
Carinogens aren't allowed to be sold in this country? Where do you live? Last time I went to the store I remember buying soda w/caffeine and I'm not a smoker, but I think cigarettes contain dozens, if not hundreds, of carcinogens.

DEET and Permethrin are the only way to fly if the skeeters are thick. Since I started to use Permethrin I haven't been bitten through my clothes.

Bill

Everything I've read and info. gathered from REI is that DEET is the only repellent that works. You have to get the 90%+ stuff (like Jungle Juice at REI). Sorry, this is not a plug for REI. You can get DEET elsewhere. I have heard that one should not use DEET on young kids. If you don't like using DEET, try holding your breath. Apparently, the mosquitos are attracted to the carbon monoxide that you exhale.

DEET is reasonably safe to use if you don't overdo it and apply it only to skin that is actually exposed. The stuff does attack various plastic items like chapstick or fly lines or even the label on the DEET bottle. It has a tendency to "creep" so it's important to screw the cap on tight. I double bag my bottle of 100% in addition, and that seems to pretty well contain it for the duration of a trip. I wash the outside of the bottle and replace the bags before the next trip.

Mike

D.Elliott - sorry, I should be more specific, the FDA does not permit carcinogens in items that they regulate which go in or on your body. Soda with caffeine is not a carcinogen. I agree that tobacco is and we have the wonderful southern politicians and tobacco lobby for preventing the FDA from banning their use (though they did finally get warning labels). I have seen no evidence that DEET is a carcinogen and it does prevent mosquito bites and the resulting spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

Deet is bad, i found that is doesn't work

The Boss-

care to explain why people have used DEET 8 BILLION times, scientists all over the world have tested it and found it to work effectively, the National Park Service backcountry rangers use it, and you conclude that it doesn't work?

maybe The Boss didn't know that he has to open the bottle and put the deet on, rather than just carry it around his neck on a string.

I live in an area where we have misquitos year round(gulf coast of texas)and i also spend alot of time in the woods of east texas where misquitos, chiggers and ticks are abudant in warm weather. I use DEEP WOODS OFF which contains 23.8% deet or REPEL which contains 29% deet. Ive been using these products for years and have had no problems with bites from anything, only the occasional chigger bite. Even during my 2 weeks in the amazon rainforest in peru i used nothing stronger and didnt recieve one bite from any type of insect. Never had the need to use anything stronger.

Here is the most definitive information from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), where they are dealing with prevention of disease, not just the annoyance of mosquitos that we have to deal with in the US:

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/bugs.htm