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thehandtruck posted:Are any of these mosquito repellents non-toxic? I'm a bit worried about EDC's and carcinogens and stuff like that. Permethrin is probably pretty safe when used as directed, once it has dried onto clothing. You are unlikely to get any significant exposure to it just by wearing treated clothes. But it is by no means "non-toxic". It is probably carcinogenic to some degree or another, based on animal studies with absurdly high doses. It's also an endocrine disruptor. But again, it's unlikely to be absorbed into your body when used normally. DEET can't possibly be good for you and is definitely absorbed into the bloodstream from topical application. But animal and human studies indicate the actual toxicity is low and it's probably not carcinogenic or an EDC. Piarcdin is also mildly toxic, but doesn't seem to be carcinogenic or an EDC (at least when rats are fed a picardin based diet) There are "non-toxic" repellents based on citronella (e.g Natrapel) and eucalyptus oil, and some based on other essential oils. These don't work that great compared to DEET or picardin...but they work well enough in many circumstances. Honestly, though, I'm not even convinced these are necessarily less toxic than some of the repellents they are meant to replace. They aren't as well studied as DEET or picardin, are often mildly toxic or irritating to humans or some animals, and methyl eugenol in particular (found in small amounts in many essential oils including oil of citronella) is probably carcinogenic to some degree. And there is honestly more evidence of endocrine disruption from topical application of some essential oils than there is from DEET (though I'd still wager DEET is overall worse for you). In all cases, I'd be more worried about direct and indirect ecological/environmental effects than any threat to your personal health. This poo poo all gets washed down the drain at some point. If you want to be really safe your best best is just a mesh shirt probably.
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Jul 19, 2020 01:00
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| # ? May 3, 2024 20:42 |
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Deet is great but it probably makes you sterile and/or gives you cancer. For camping I've been using a Thermacell lantern and have had great results. The only issue is placement. You have to be downwind of it or it won't work.
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Jul 19, 2020 06:18
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I use British PCS trousers. Finnish bugs won't bite through. I have socks pulled on top of trousers and dirty girl Gaiters covering my ankles. That is a hot setup but usually not too much. Then I use a long sleveed combat shirt. The ones where sleeves are "solid" cloth but torso part is knitted and more breathable. With my backpack on bugs for some reason leave my torso in peace. An army headnet over a boonie hat keeps bugs off my head and neck. Then I use 20% picardin where necessary.
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Jul 19, 2020 07:40
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DEET can also melt nylon Permethrin on clothes works quite well and otherwise just wear all long sleeve/pants stuff and maybe something with a hood. I treated my socks as well on my last trip just to avoid ankle biters (also helps keep off traveling ticks while hiking) Then picaradin based stuff for your face and hands works alright. I’d they’re really bad use a face/head net
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Jul 19, 2020 15:55
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Manitoba has mosquitos so big and thick I'm suprised we don't have passenger planes ditching in the Red River every other week from bugstrikes. DEET only goes so far. We ended up buying hunting bug suits from Cabelas. Camo, so we look like goobers when we're just out hiking (but perfectly normal when we're hunting which we took up a few years later) but it keeps the bugs out. Our last hike in Manitoba without them we were literally chased out of the park when our bug spray ran out. For outdoors gear in general check out hunting supply places. The Cabelas bug suits were extremely cheap while worse quality stuff from MEC and the like were twice as much. Turns out half the reason why there are so many people out and about in camo all the time is because a lot of the time it's better quality and cheaper.
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Jul 19, 2020 17:36
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When I worked outdoors for over a year doing land surveys, I gave up on using deet after about a week and just wore long sleeve shirts (just rotated through a couple of cheap button up collared shirts so I could flip the collars up for neck protection) and long pants (usually jeans) despite the heat of north Georgia in the summer. If you're dealing with mass mosquito and tick swarms, permethrin treated clothes is your only option, just be careful if you are needing to go near bodies of water or have cats.
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Jul 19, 2020 21:46
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I'll vouch for Thermacell, I bought their Li-ion version so I can use my backyard patio in peace, and it works a treat. Quite a few people have gone and bought them after seeing how well mine worked. They don't work in high wind, but then again, neither do mosquitoes.
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Jul 20, 2020 15:42
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Optimus Subprime posted:When I worked outdoors for over a year doing land surveys, I gave up on using deet after about a week and just wore long sleeve shirts (just rotated through a couple of cheap button up collared shirts so I could flip the collars up for neck protection) and long pants (usually jeans) despite the heat of north Georgia in the summer. If you're dealing with mass mosquito and tick swarms, permethrin treated clothes is your only option, just be careful if you are needing to go near bodies of water or have cats. once dry it shouldn't be an issue for cats, but yeah I guess don't wash your clothes in lakes or something
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Jul 20, 2020 18:21
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For the longest time now, my guard squad has relied on Thermacells to keep our tent (11'x11') skeeto free while in central Minnesota. It is very satisfying to fire up the Thermacell and watch the little bastards fall dead on a table. I personally enjoy sleeping outside of the tent in the fresh night air and with the help of a Coleman Pack-Away cot (super quick setup and take down, with a bonus "side table") and a Catoma Burrow, I am mosquito bite and tick free. The quick setup and tear down of both of those items makes is really convenient to get to bed quickly and ready to move in the morning. The cot gets a bit heavy if I had to haul it around by myself, but thankfully we have trailers that it can get chucked in. The Burrow on the other hand is super lightweight and packs down to the size of a frozen pizza. It is also roomy enough that I can get undressed / redressed in the morning with out too much trouble, and I'm not exactly a small man. If you're sleeping outside and want to keep the critters away, those two items would be must haves in my book.
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Jul 20, 2020 20:40
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I looked it up and Thermacells use Allethrin, which wikipedia says is toxic to fish and cats, but it isn't clear to me if that's an issue in the thermacell spray format or not.
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Jul 21, 2020 14:27
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| # ? May 3, 2024 20:42 |
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Crossposting from the hiking megathread. I either work from home in front of a workstation, or outside. Today was definitely one of those days I wished I was inside... pumped up for school posted:I just finished my week hitch at ~9400 feet or so.
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Jul 22, 2020 04:05
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