"Corbel and his colleagues found that deet inhibits the acetylcholinesterase enzyme the same mode of action used by organophosphate and carbamate insecticides."
"We've found that deet is not simply a behavior-modifying chemical but also inhibits the activity of a key central nervous system enzyme, acetycholinesterase, in both insects and mammals".
Posts: 1223 | From U.S.A | Registered: Jul 2007
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nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
This is EXTREMELY important information. Especially for a group such as ourselves that is more likely to use these products on a more regular basis. Thank you for letting us know emla!
"Popular Insect Repellent Deet Is Neurotoxic
ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2009) --
The active ingredient in many insect repellents, DEET, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system.
Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides."
posted
Does anyone know of anything natural or safe to use on skin? I had family try the lemon oil and eucalyptus oil blend and that didn't work. They told me they swear a couple ticks seemed to even eat it.
Posts: 499 | From Indiana | Registered: Oct 2007
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Ouch. Used a bit of this over the weekend. Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I've had a LLMD tell me that DEET is the only thing that works.
He was a homeopathic/natural doctor and I had asked his opinion for an alterntive to DEET. But alas...
quote:Originally posted by pryorka: Does anyone know of anything natural or safe to use on skin? I had family try the lemon oil and eucalyptus oil blend and that didn't work. They told me they swear a couple ticks seemed to even eat it.
emla999/Lyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12606
posted
Pryorka said:
quote: Does anyone know of anything natural or safe to use on skin? I had family try the lemon oil and eucalyptus oil blend and that didn't work. They told me they swear a couple ticks seemed to even eat it.
There is natural tick and mosquito repellent called BioUD (it is derived from tomatoes). BioUD was developed by scientists at North Carolina State University. BioUD is reportedly a more effective tick/mosiquto repellent than DEET.
"In fact, if you give a tick a choice between standing on a solution of 15 percent DEET or 7 percent BioUD, the tick will choose to stand on the DEET."
nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
quote:Originally posted by pryorka: Does anyone know of anything natural or safe to use on skin? I had family try the lemon oil and eucalyptus oil blend and that didn't work. They told me they swear a couple ticks seemed to even eat it.
I have no affiliation with them, I'm just very happy that we found an effective product that is safe. When we miss a large enough spot, the mosquitos/chiggers/etc. make a bee-line right for it, so you want to make sure to cover well, even under clothes like sleeves, pants legs, and the area around your hat for example.
pamoisondelune
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11846
posted
I use Dr Bronner's peppermint castile (liquid) soap , diluted in water. I never go outside without my bottle of peppermint spray. I spray it on my boots, keeping them wet at all times.
Dr Bronner's peppermint soap (which i dilute in water and spray) contact kills ticks, carpenter ants, slugs, and red lily beetles. Frequent spraying one summer saved my lilies from the hideous red lily beetles!
It's powerful---- a warning: it dissolves floor varnish on hardwood floors! (or maybe that was the geranium essential oil).
A woman in New Hampshire added a few drops of GSE (grapefruit seed extract) to a gallon of water and sprayed it outside, inside the house, on her clothes, on her pets, to repel ticks.
Robin123 uses citrus oil, orange oil, to repel ticks.
---Polly Polygonum
Posts: 1226 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
pam-thank you for that
at health food store you can get neem-it works better than deet
DEET DOESN'T KILL TICKS AND IT TAKES 48 HRS TO REPEL THEM...THEY HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO BITE AND TRANSMIT-THERE IS A STUDY ABOUT THIS
pyrethrins are the only thing that repels ticks that i know of
i am glad to hear about the bonnor soap-that will be wonderful
if i use neem on the dogs bed i don't have to put the permethrin drops on him as often
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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Amanda
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14107
posted
I was an environemntal scientist for a long time, and spent significant time outdoors.
Over the years I have tried Dr. Bronners, Bite blocker, buzz off, eucalyptis oil, that stuff from Avon (can't remember name), neem and a bunch of other things I can't remember. None of those things prevented ticks from crawling on me.
Unfortunately ticks are hardy in the extreme. Even DEET is not completely effective. I've seen ticks in 20 degree weather with snow on the ground; at an abandoned mercury mine site with acid mine drainage, and in death valley when it was 103 degrees and no water source within two miles.
The best thing I found was wearing light colored clothing, long shirt, long pants tucked into socks, then spray permethrin on clothes, then frequent tick checks before you leave the outdoors, and then again at home naked. Immediately throw clothing in hot dryer for at least 30 minutes before washing. The washer didn't kill ticks, even a hot wash, but a hot dryer before and after washing seemed to do them in
-------------------- "few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" - Mark Twain Posts: 1008 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
amen to permethrin
also-i have seen them crawling back out of the toilet after flushing
permetrhin is bad stuff...but this is war!
(scroll down to the paragraph that starts"The Minnesota...)
DEET vs. Permethrin as a Tick Repellent By Tom Grier Springtime is tick time. This means we will soon be seeing those cautionary ads on television telling us to use tick repellents. In almost every instance, the active ingredient in those advertised tick repellents will be DEET, which is the active ingredient in most mosquito repellents.
DEET is an excellent mosquito repellent, but it is a fairly poor tick repellent. We are inundated with so many DEET repellents because there are several huge corporations that manufacture hundreds of variations of DEET products. There is only one small company ,Coulston Laboratory, that markets a handful of competitive tick repellent products for human use that contain 0.5 % permethrin.
There are pros and cons to each product, but as a tick repellent, permethrin wins hands down. Permethrin is an insecticide derived from a chemical found in the chrysanthemum family of plants. It is a spray that is used on clothes only, and is deactivated and made less effective by the oils on our skin. Once it is sprayed on our clothing, it becomes odorless and can last for several weeks with a single application. Once it is applied, most ticks will curl up and fall off if they make contact, and will eventually die if there is prolonged exposure.
Both DEET and permethrin have come under criticism for possible human side effects. DEET has been associated with human case histories of neurological damage and even death, and products greater than 40% were restricted in some states. Permethrin has been implicated in possibly contributing to the Gulf War syndrome. However, the studies involved mixing permethrin with DEET and applying it directly to the skin of mice that were then given military vaccines.
Pros and Cons:
*DEET needs to be applied regularly and can only work as it is evaporating. Permethrin works for weeks after it has dried inside clothing fibers. *DEET is applied directly to the skin and can be absorbed through the skin. Permethrin is applied to clothing only and has limited contact to the skin. *DEET has a detectable odor. Permethrin smells only until it dries. *DEET does not kill or disable ticks and is a poor repellent. Permethrin works instantly and is extremely effective. It is the tick repellent of choice by the military. *DEET can melt synthetic clothes like nylon. Permethrin causes no damage to any known cloth or synthetic fiber. *DEET products are easy to find. Permethrin is hard to find and more expensive. *DEET is an effective fish repellent. Permethrin's effect on fish is unknown. Permethrin-containing products that are approved for human use are manufactured by Coulston labs, and can be found under labels such as Duranon, Permanone, and Congo Creek Tick Spray. A 0.5 % veterinary permethrin product can be found in most feed stores and horse supply shops as a horse tick repellent. The veterinary products tend to cost about half the price per ounce as the human-use product.
The Minnesota Insect-Borne Disease Education Council conducted a field test in Jay Cook State Park in northern Minnesota, and found that the permethrin products outperformed the DEET-containing tick repellents. A shoe was sprayed with Duranon (0.5% permethrin). Three weeks later, it was tested against a recently sprayed shoe using Deep Woods Off (35 % DEET). Ticks that made contact with the Duranon-sprayed shoe immediately rolled up and dropped off. Ticks on the soaking-wet DEET saturated shoe continued to crawl unimpaired.
One last tip for you fishermen out there: DEET is perhaps one of the most effective fish repellents known to man. Just a few parts per million can send game fish like salmon and trout to the other end of the fish tank. If you like to keep mosquito repellent in your tackle box, you may have unknowingly contaminated all of your fishing lures! Be sure to take care not to handle any fishing tackle once you have applied mosquito repellent. Just a few parts-per-million can repel more fish than mosquitoes!
To avoid ticks:
*Wear light-colored clothing. *Tuck your pants into your socks. *Tuck your shirt into your pants. *Wear a hat. *Spray your shoes, socks, belt-line, collar and hat with a permethrin-containing tick repellent. *Do a tick check after walking in high-risk areas. *Put any clothes that might have live ticks on them into a hot dryer for ten minutes to kill all insects. Keep your Family Safe! Do Tick Checks!
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Lily of the Valley Cologne (according to PubMed). Want the link?
Can order thru Vermont Country Store.
For guys...Pine tar oil (soap).
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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