To Deet or not to Deet, that is the question!

[Disc Dog]

Every year I fight ticks, skeeters, flies, and other insects and nothing seems to work well unless it has Deet.

First what is the truth about Deet? Is the hype both pro and con all mixed up?

Second what are the alternatives that are truly effective?

 

[NWcityguy2]

I work outdoors year round so let me chime in. Deet works, pure and simple. Nobody knows exactly how it works, as we can't ask a bug why it dislikes it, but the current theory is it causes the bug pain so it avoids it.

There are other alternatives though, some I've tried and some I haven't.

Stuff I've tried...

Permethrin. Works great for things without wings (ticks, chiggers, ants). This is a pesticide that people (and dogs) generally don't react to. Spray your clothes with it, let them dry and it will kill anything that crawls on you. Great for bug nets as well as it kills anything before it can't find a way through. When I was working in a tall grass field in SW Iowa last summer and was finding 10-15 ticks on my pants a day this is what I used.

Absorbine Jr. This will repel gnats and only gnats, but does so well and has a pleasant smell and cooling touch. Works on both skin and clothes but don't apply to you forehead because sweet will get it in your eyes and it stings. For gnats it is better then Deet IMO.

Garlic. Supposedly keeps ticks from biting you. I'm talking about eating garlic though and not hanging it around your neck. I haven't used it but a few guys I've worked with swore by it.

Citronella bracelets. Tried them, don't work but they do smell nice. I wouldn't bother unless you got them for free like I did. The candles work, but not really a fit for disc golf other then putting practice.

Dryer sheets. Never tried it but supposedly the repel mosquito's.

Thermacells. This is the Cadillac of repelling mosquito's but it will cost you some $$$ also. It is a little device you wear on your waste and it burns a little propane cell to heat up a chemical that repels mosquito's. The cost adds up when you constantly have to buy replacement fuel and "wafers" from the company to keep the thing running. But if you don't want chemicals and want something that works this is it. Doesn't work on other insects though and tastes awful if you get the smoke in your mouth.

When I go out into bug country on my dime I'll use DEET and Absorbine Jr. and Permethrin (if ticks are prevalent).

If my company gives me a thermacell and replacement packs I'll use that in a heart beat.

 

[sidewinder22]

Deet seems to work the best, just don't get any on your discs. Theres some non deet formulas that work ok too, but not as well.

 

[NWcityguy2]

Oh yeah, 2 more natural repelants .

The wind. Bugs won't fly when it is windy out.

Dragonflies. They're main food source is mosquito's at all their life stages. Never swat at a dragonfly.

Also a few things to remember about mosquito's. Only females bite, but you can't tell the difference between male/female just walking around. They are mainly dusk and dawn feeders and sleep during the day, but if disturbed (you kicking through underbrush) they will feed anytime. There will be a population explosion if there is stagnant water around but it will go back down when it dries up. Animals aren't a mosquito's main food source, they mainly feed on plant nectures.

On to Ticks. Not every tick carries Lyme disease, but just go ahead and assume they do. If you remove a tick withing 24 hours of being bit there is little to no chance of getting a disease from it. Tweezers are a good way to get rid of ticks, always squeeze from the base (where it's head is in you) and pull the direction of the body so the head doesn't tear off. Check to see if the head is intact because if it stayed in you it will fester out. If you get a rash that looks like a bulls eye from a tick bite get to your doctor you may have Lyme disease. After you pull a tick out put it in a zip lock bag and hold on to it. It is easier and more reliable to check a tick for Lyme disease then a person (less false positives). I've had a tick live in a little sandwich bag for 2 days before, hardly little things. Ticks prefer hairy and sweaty areas, so check your scalp, groin and armpits the closest, they will casually look like a little mole that appeared out of nowhere.

 

[smyith]

Eat lots of garlic. although it makes your sweat stink the bugs hate it.

another option...switch to using Ivory soap. for some reason it seems to work <shrug> learned that one from my dad.

i know there is something to do with diet and your blood pressure (stress). but i cant remember if its more stress turns them away or less. im about 80% positive more blood pressure/stress = more bug bites.

anyways thats all i got for you. i almost never wear bug spray. i eat alot of garlic and am pretty low stress on the course, and all the courses around here play thru swamps

 

[Lewis]

I've been using Ivory soap for my whole adult life, I love to eat garlic, and mosquitos still feast on me like I'm made of candy. I've heard there's little to nothing that works better than DEET, but there are other rather effective repellents out there that are less destructive to plastics and other fabrics. DEET won't damage cotton clothing, but there are a whole bunch of fabrics that it will dissolve. It can also bleach the color out of plastics, or worse yet, dissolve them. As effective as it is, I'd avoid DEET for disc golf unless you want to experiment on your plastic with it.

When I worked at REI a couple of years ago, I heard that one of the best "natural" repellents is Lemon Eucalyptus oil. There are several brands of this, and in my opinion it smells far better than citronella. But I think citronella stinks to high heaven. :gross:

 

[TalbotTrojan]

I use a Lemon Eucalyptus thing from Repel that actually seems to work better than anything with Deet for me. Not to mention it apparently does not have the side effects that Deet has as well, namely ruining your discs.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

Dryer sheets. Never tried it but supposedly the repel mosquito's.

This actually seemed to work for me(and a few other locals). However the repel effect seems to fade before you can complete an 18 hole round. I'm thinking that whatever is on the sheet evaporates fairly quickly.

I wiped down my exposed skin with the sheet, then put the sheet in my hat(this seems to keep them away from your head pretty well).

Freakin' Adirondack mosquitos are out in force already.......... capable of carrying small children off if they work in groups of 10 or more.

 

[NWcityguy2]

This actually seemed to work for me(and a few other locals). However the repel effect seems to fade before you can complete an 18 hole round. I'm thinking that whatever is on the sheet evaporates fairly quickly.

I wiped down my exposed skin with the sheet, then put the sheet in my hat(this seems to keep them away from your head pretty well).

Freakin' Adirondack mosquitos are out in force already.......... capable of carrying small children off if they work in groups of 10 or more.

Your preaching to the choir, I live up in Watertown and used to serve on Ft. Drum. That place has all the streams, bogs and unhappy people in the woods a mosquito could ask for.

 

[RedTower]

Dryer sheets have worked for me, but like Captain Anhyzer said, it doesn't seem to last too long

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

In the original J-Park layout, holes 4 and 11 were next to each other so you could park near there and snag a new sheet for the last 7.

Now the layout heads away from the main parking area and 10, 11, & 12 are around a huge swamp. I think we need to drag an old bathtub out to tee 10 and fill it with Deet to bathe in before heading off thru the woods.

 

[atl scott]

I always carry %100 deet in my disc golf bag. A couple squirts on my calves and forearms and I have nothing to worry about. It'd be pretty hard to get any on a disc, especially enough to do any damage.

 

[MrFixIt]

Vitamin B-12 is a natural insect repellant.
According to the eggheads, when your body proccesses the vitamin, you exude an odor that bugs don't like. At least that was what they told us in the Corps...

 

[King John Henry]

Deet is toxic. I use Bullfrogs Bugspray/Sunscreen combo and it works amazing. Deet free too!

 

[ptld2001]

The dietary thing is to eat foods high in potassium, such as bananas. That might help in general cases, but I wouldn't trust it in heavy mosquito areas.

My current favorite, is Picaridin. We've used it in Alaska in the late spring, when the mosquitos were everywhere. I realized I hadn't put it on when I got bitten, and then once I used the Picaridin spray, no more bites. I expect that it's probably not as good as DEET, but it just has to be good enough for the conditions you'll be in. And no need to worry what it's doing to your plastic, clothing, or body.

 

[volklgirl]

For the most part, mosquitos don't really like me if there are other people around, so when they ARE feasting on me, they're really, really persistent. Thus, only 98-100% DEET seems to work for me, and due to allergies, I can only use the Off brand. Cutter's is the WORST.....I sneeze, hive up, and itch. Yuck.

 

[Lewis]

If there's an REI near you, Volkgirl, you might try their brand of pure DEET. I'm not sure who actually packages it for them, but if I recall it's only got the one ingredient.

 

[Huk Finn]

http://www.allterrainco.com/insect_repellent.html

good company here.

 

[wolito]

I don't think there is a problem with DEET. I have tried the strongest stuff and sometimes that is still not enough. I knew a guy that would drink a small amount of vineger each day during the summer and would never get bit. Worth a try.

 

[jhgonzo]

Pretty interesting if you have the time to read (or at least scan) it:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1088411-overview