DEET stands for the chemical composition known as N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide. It cam from research conducted by the United States Army as a result of fighting experiences in World War II. Specifically, the army had run into illness and disease problems for soldiers fighting in jungle areas. Unfortunately, DEET was not ready for use until 1946, a year after the war. Since then, however, it has become a staple chemical in many commercially available insect repellents. The question is whether this is a good idea.
At its core, DEET is an acid. One of the two primary ingredients is methylbenzoic acid. The toxicity found in it has resulted in seizures and even deaths for users, but this is a fairly rare occurrence. Much more likely to occur are rashes and irritations. To this end, the EPA has issued a warning that DEET not be used with children under 2 years of age and should always be washed off skin when out of insect zones. It has also been found to cause insomnia, irritability and reduced cognitive function if a person is exposed to it long term.
From a sportsperson perspective, DEET is a real problem. As an acid, it acts like a solvent. This means it attacks certain plastics. These are the various synthetics that are used more and more in your gear. DEET will destroy synthetic clothing, stitching, fishing line, shoes, watch bands and anything that has a synthetic element to it. If you are using such gear, do not use DEET based repellents.
DEET definitely works when it comes to repelling insects. The negatives of this chemical, however, should make you pause. There are a variety of other repellents on the market that work just as well and won’t hurt you or your gear. Next time you are buying repellent, you might want to keep that in mind.
John Grimes is with AllTerrainco.com - makers of natural gnat repellent and other natural products for the outdoors.
del.icio.us
digg
Furl
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
blogmarks
scuttle
feedmelinks