Does Deet Work For Ticks Also?

[+Eric K]

Title is self explanatory.

[+Always & Forever 5]

Yep, sure does. Quite well, too...

[JohnX]

Here is a link to see what you are up against. Pictures of Deer Ticks

 

Videos of the little crawly things too.

[+Postkid]

DEET stops EVERYTHING in high enough concentration, I personally use a 95% DEET mix.

[+Night Stalker]

I read somewhere that the really high DEET does not last as long so you have to re-apply quite often. There was also a thread somewhere recently about some new prduct other than DEET that just came out that is supposed to be quite good. Unfortunately I don't remember the name.

 

[+Apple Dumpling Gangg]

Here is a link to a site that lists the results of lab testing for the average length of time a product repels insects:

 

cchealth.org

 

It was done in 2002, but still pretty good I thought.

Edited May 14, 2005 by Apple Dumpling Gangg

[+carleenp]

I have had good experiences using Deet, but it did not keep all ticks away from using it alone, nor all mosquitos. I add permethrin treated clothes and have never had a tick wearing those while others with me using Deet have. Permethrin doesn't work great for mosquitos though. They bite fast enough that it kills them later, after they have gotten their Permethrin dose. That is why I use both.

[+cachew nut]

Here is a link to a site that lists the results of lab testing for the average length of time a product repels insects:

 

cchealth.org

 

It was done in 2002, but still pretty good I thought.

Please note that length of protection time will be less when used outdoors than when used in a lab setting

[+Eric K]

What brand name products have permethin? Can you buy them at regular places like Target and Wal-Mart?

[+Miragee]

I've only seen the permethrin clothing at Adventure 16 or REI. It is pretty pricey . . .

[+southdeltan]

They sell permethrin based products at Wal-mart. I'm not sure the brand name, but it'll be in the hunting/fishing department beside the deet based products (Off, Cutter, Repel).

 

A can isn't that expensive - a few dollars more than Repel if I recall.

 

sd

[+jon & miki]

The Bug-Off clothing is pretty pricey, but effective. Supposedly only good for about 30 washings though. We found the Bug-Off socks to be pretty cost effective, especially when used with a liner so you can stretch out the period between washings a little.

[+Tizom]

I really want people to continue this thread. I want to know what types of mosquito, tick, chigger... (critter) repellant everyone uses. I have recently been "eaten alive" by mosquitos and chiggers. I just bought some Jungle juice at REI and regularly use skin so soft with aloe. I have considered buying one of those high frequency mosquito repellant devices. I haven't read any good reviews of them. Any thoughts?

 

Tizom from Dallas, Texasjavascript:emoticon('')

[+BlackBuck]

I just hiked fourteen miles thru Long Islands south fork,I had !00% deet on.I still had plenty of ticks on me but they didnt seem all that willing to bite and were easily picked off.

[+Markwell]

Sportsmart has permethrin under the Sawyer's brand - . Walmart has it under the Repel brand name.

[WH]

DEET stops EVERYTHING in high enough concentration, I personally use a 95% DEET mix.

I dunno.

 

It certainly won't keep idiots away. Im swarmed by them daily.

[+RockyRaab]

Cheap, powdered sulfur is an excellent repellent for ticks and chiggers (CHIGGERS! the very word makes me itch uncontrollably!)

 

Get it at any drugstore and put a bit in an empty squeeze bottle. Squeeze a few puffs into the tops of your socks and around your belt line. It lasts all day, but it doesn't hurt to puff a bit more if you get wet or sweat a lot. Very little is needed; just a light dusting. For chafe relief, you can even mix it 50/50 with cornstarch or unscented body powder.

 

For skeeters, nothing beats a high-DEET commercial repellent. I seem to be a skeeter magnet, and the things that help other people are just zero on me (like Avon Skin So Soft - which some people rave about). My faves include Deep Woods Off and 6/12. Muskol is 100% DEET - or used to be.

 

Be careful if you use a cream style repellent. It goes on great, especially on the face where sprays are dangerous near the eyes. BUT the downside is that DEET dissolves many plastics - including GPS cases!

[+VegasCacheHounds]

DEET stops EVERYTHING in high enough concentration, I personally use a 95% DEET mix.

I dunno.

 

It certainly won't keep idiots away. Im swarmed by them daily.

Man, if you do find a good product for that, let me know, I'll buy a case of it!

[+Jeep_Dog]

As an avid outdoors-type for years, I have been impressed with some of the more "natural" types of repellents.

 

According to WebMD, they list a promising natural product. It is made from the oils of soybeans, geraniums, and coconuts, and has been used successfully in Europe for many years. It is marketed in the United States and is manufactured in Bend, Ore. This product has been shown to prevent mosquito bites just as well, and for just as long, as DEET.

 

For chiggers and ticks, I rub this product containing sulfur at common entry points such as ankles, wrists, and neck. While the product does not attest to preventing ticks, I have found ticks choose to avoid the combination of these two products. Plus, this product serves as itch relief in case you should be bitten.

 

That is my two cents on insect repellents. Then again, if you use these two products you may smell like a rotten egg in an herb garden.

Edited June 13, 2005 by Jeep_Dog

[+JEMiller]

Sawyer also makes Maxi Deet you usually can buy it at Wally World in the sporting goods area. I have also seen it at Academy, but as someone mentioned a few posts up, 100 percent Deet can reck your GPSrs screen cover, the screen cover to your FRS radio, as well as melt certain types of plastics. I have experienced this myself . But it does keep pretty much all the bugs away. My suggestion, if you use Deet in high concentrates do what I do, use those screen covers for PDAs on you gear. Not only does it protect the gears covers from Deet, but everyday wear and tear. All you do is buy a set of the PDA/Pocket PC covers and cut to fit on your GPSr or FRS radio.

On another note, recent studies with Skin So Soft show that the stuff is about as effective as sugar water. Personally it may not keep the bugs away, but it will keep me away, I cannot stand the smell of the stuff. Year backs I brought some kids camping. My brother brought a bottle of Skin So Soft for bugs. As night set in the bugs came out, and my brother slathered the kids with the SSS. My fosterson was 7 at the time, he did not like the oily crap all over him, and it was not keeping the bugs from biting him, infact many moths where sticking to his skin. So I took him down to the river to wash, he stood in the rivers water up to his waist, after about five minutes he started crying. When I asked what was wrong, with tears streaming down his oily little face, he sobbed out "It's not coming OFF!" Luckly I had some Dawn dish soap, he washed another two or three times with that before he had it all off.

[+Cool Librarian]

I REALLY wish that a natural alternative to DEET would prove effective. While I tend towards the earthy-crunchy side of life, I am no martyr, and have always used DEET to keep the skeeters away. Problem is, I am allergic to it, and the sensitivity is worsening - now the BURNING from DeeT rivals the itching from the mosquitoes - and is threatening to ruin my caching this summer.

 

I do wear long sleeves when I can, but, again, that's uncomfortable when it's 90 degrees with 85% humidity....

 

OK, done griping - I just had a lousy caching day yesterday because of the bugs - I don't recall being that miserable last summer.

Edited June 13, 2005 by Cool Librarian

[+Greymane]

Last study I saw (I am sorry, can't remember the source right now), said that 30% DEET should last you all day. It also said don't use DEET with a sunscreen product combo since you need to reapply the sunscreen and you should not reapply the DEET.

 

There is a product in Upstate NY called Bye-Bye Black Fly (I am pretty sure that is it), that is the bomb for getting rid of those nasty buggers we get here in spring / early summer.

 

Regardless of what you use, if you spend a full day out in the brush, you REALLY should do a buddy-check when you get back. You never know when one of those critters will sneak in. (I can just picture him in his gas mask and chemical suit trudging up my leg.)

[+Doc-Dean]

I REALLY wish that a natural alternative to DEET would prove effective. While I tend towards the earthy-crunchy side of life, I am no martyr, and have always used DEET to keep the skeeters away.

There are 2 new alternatives available now. Picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus. Both have been around for years but have recently been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the prevention of mosquito bites.

 

I've written a Mosquito update article which can be found on Today's Cacher Magazine

 

There is an older version (July 2004) also available which talk about the effectiveness of DEET products in different strengths. That can be found here.

[+reveritt]

I REALLY wish that a natural alternative to DEET would prove effective. While I tend towards the earthy-crunchy side of life, I am no martyr, and have always used DEET to keep the skeeters away. Problem is, I am allergic to it, and the sensitivity is worsening - now the BURNING from DeeT rivals the itching from the mosquitoes - and is threatening to ruin my caching this summer.

 

I do wear long sleeves when I can, but, again, that's uncomfortable when it's 90 degrees with 85% humidity....

 

OK, done griping - I just had a lousy caching day yesterday because of the bugs - I don't recall being that miserable last summer.

I also dislike DEET. I hate the way it feels on my skin, and the damage it does to plastics, including the display on my GPSr.

 

I am also hoping to try one of the reportedly-effective alternatives, but until I can find one, I have found that the DEET moist towelettes are superior to sprays. You can use a lighter application, and control where it goes.