Effects of DEET on hammocks/suspension

[TxAggie]

In MI, we have ticks known to spread Lyme disease, and I've read that Permethrin and Picardin are not as effective against ticks as DEET.

Having said that, I certainly don't want to ruin any gear.

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I think DEET is toluene based, and from my almost-bachelors in Chemistry days, toluene (a cousin to Benzene) is a pretty decent organic solvent. I'm paranoid of ticks and contracting Lyme disease, so I guess it's Picardin and Permethrin for me

Permethrin is VERY effective against ticks, but it's for gear only. Also works well against fleas and spiders.

DEET works, but it does have the greasy/corrosive drawbacks. As long as you're u keep it sequestered from the rest of your gear and you let it dry on your skin before touching anything, especially clear plastics, it works great.

I haven't tried Picardin yet, but I'm going to this summer while working in my backyard. I live in an area with lots of wildlife, and it's rare that I don't end a day working outside that I don't find at least one or two ticks, even with DEET.

[hk2001]

In MI, we have ticks known to spread Lyme disease, and I've read that Permethrin and Picardin are not as effective against ticks as DEET.

Having said that, I certainly don't want to ruin any gear.

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We've got the Powassan Virus here in NY.

I did a test on permethrin several years ago, where I treated a pair of hiking pants from waist to ankle, except I skipped the 12" or so surrounding the knees. After a full day of spring turkey hunting, I had 9 ticks on my pants, all in the untreated portions of the pants. When I started plucking them off, I dropped one on the treated area, and it acted like I had just dropped it in hot lava.

Permethrin gets full marks in my book. I treat everything with it from camping gear to the clothes we work out on the farm with. I use Martin's Permethrin $20 for a quart of Agricultural grade permethrin, that you dilute 19-1 to reach the concentration needed for clothing. (The same concentration as Sawyers). You end up with 5 gallons of permethrin for about the same price as 24 ounces of Sawyers.
Martin's does NOT have petroleum distillates in it and leaves no funky smell when dry. I've used it for several years, with my oldest Amazon order of it going back to 2012.

I've used Picaridin on me and my family for a few years now as well. In that time, I haven't had a single tick on any of us. Which is enough for me to declare it a success. Granted on the farm, we have a pack of free-roaming 1' tall bug and mouse eating velociraptors (flock of chickens), but we still hike and fish a lot, with no ticks.

But the ziplock bag and the bottle the DEET came in were OK, right? Obviously, it doesn't attack EVERY plastic out there, just some of them. Perhaps some testing is in order. But I'd be willing to bet that the tests have already been done and we just need to get our google-fu on.

I'd like to do some testing about this as well. At least on outdoor fabrics.

[Five Tango]

The only thing I will spray Deet on is wool socks or the bandana I wear around my neck.Permethrin for clothes and gear,including hammock,and picardin applied to the back of the hand and from there to ears etc.Made the mistake of putting Deet on palms of hands once and touching plastic...........bad idea.

[ohhellokrollshow]

So then.....what's so bad about using Permethrin on direct skin???

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[weaver2469]

I have a friend who used 100% liquid deet. He still had some on his fingers when he went to remove his Oakley sunglasses. You could see a spot on the temple where his thumbprint had deformed the plastic. No DEET for me. Here is a link to a CDC web page that compared DEET to Picaradin for ticks. They both offer similar protection. https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellent...lent-right-you

I have used the lower concentration of Picaradin and not had great results, but the 20% concentration works great.

[dkurfiss]

I fish. Sprayed Deet on my hands and rubbed it on my face..just like the directions says...light coating. Got a call, answered my cell phone, put phone away, 2 hours later the face of my cell phone was crinkled up from the Deet on it.

Moral to story: If something will melt my cell phone face, it does not belong on my body.

The end

[makingitoutdoors]

I've heard of DEET putting holes in tent bug mesh by spraying too close. Permethrin isn't meant for skin although there is a script used to treat scabies that is an appropriate concentration and not a bug repellent. We use Repel for football games and it has worked well. Haven't tried it on the trail but it can't be much worse than our swampy football field.

[Alkali]

About the only thing I ever used deet for was to spray on the tops of my boots and the bottom of my pant legs to keep ticks and chiggers off. Seems to work pretty well doing it like that. I have sprayed it on neoprene muck boots many times with no ill effects.

I got some permethrin to treat my hammock and bug net with and will probably start using it on my clothes also.

Is Picardin greasy? The main reason I don't like to use deet on my skin is because it is so greasy.

[OneClick]

Is Picardin greasy? The main reason I don't like to use deet on my skin is because it is so greasy.

I tried the sawyer brand picaridin. Made my skin feel like it was rubbery...but MUCH better than the oily/greasy stuff.

[photomankc]

Is Picardin greasy? The main reason I don't like to use deet on my skin is because it is so greasy.

My reading says it's a DEET work alike but without the greasy feel.



Permethrin on skin is just not effective. As I understand it the oils on the skin cause it to break down quickly and become ineffective. When it dries on clothes the dry substance is resilient and is death incarnate to ticks and chiggers.

DEET is just a repellent. I know for a fact chiggers will just keep going until they get past the DEET and bite there. DEET doesn't impact all plastics but when it does it's a disaster. I've had sticky hands from handling some plastic do-dad with just DEET residue on my hands where the plastic surface just dissolved in my hands.

Chiggers are my nemesis. My reaction to them can take a month or longer to clear up even minus scaring from scratching. I am religious about permethrin on my shoes, socks, pants and shirts now. Three of four Chigger bites is tolerable but one year I got into them just walking the property I was about to buy and my legs were covered with 30 or more bites each. Took 60 days for the welts to go away and they started on my lower leg right where the DEET was not applied.

Death to Chiggers!