Deet

[Miner]

FYI, permethrin does absolutely nothing for mosquitoes.

Having used it in the Sierra Nevada for several years, I have to strongly disagree. Even with DEET I always got covered in bites. I hardly ever get a bite after I started using Permitrhin treated clothing. Now if you are sitting still at a break, I'd recommend pulling the headnet out as they will find your exposed face and neck if you aren't moving. But moving, I only have problems in Northern Yosemite and thats because you are walking in a gray colored cloud the whole time; so of course they will eventually find your hands. Which is why I used DEET there.

[ChinMusic]

Permethrin def helps with mosquitoes. There is no question whatsoever regarding that. It is not 100% though.

[SCRUB HIKER]

I never used DEET. I already had a long-sleeve shirt, but I added a head-net and convertible pants in Mammoth (mile 909) and wore those until Echo Lake (mile 1093). They really really came in handy a lot of the time. Agnew Meadow was misery, as was anywhere between Tuolumne Meadows and 12 miles before Sonora Pass. Afterwards I went back to shorts. 2013 was dry, as you know, and arriving in Oregon in early August I was already a little late for the bugs in that area. People I knew who were a few weeks ahead of me by then told me it was awful, but I barely had an issue in Oregon.

[5th]

I'm not a thru-hiker, but I have spent a decade clomping around in the Oregon Cascades, much of it during the nasty July bug season. Long pants, a long sleeve loose shirt, and a headnet protects most of me. For the rest, Repel Lemon Eucalyptus re-packaged into an old Visine dropper bottle is all I need for a week in the bugs. I would use Deet if I had to, but I haven't had to, even when they were so thick the headnet was most useful for prevention of inhaled bugs. I just never liked Deet. It tastes horrible, sucks to get in your eyes, removes the ink from it's own bottle, messes with my synthetics, and is just nasty. The Repel works just as well for me and is pleasant by comparison. A headnet weighs nearly zero, and is essential IMO.

[lonehiker]

It tastes horrible, sucks to get in your eyes, removes the ink from it's own bottle, messes with my synthetics, and is just nasty.

I don't think that it is recommended to be ingested......

[5th]

LOL, no, but once you get it on you hands, it ends up everywhere else. Dang oily crap.

[perdidochas]

If you don't spray DEET on your jacket, it won't dissolve it. I wore all synthetic clothes on the PCT, but I only put DEET on my skin. I even used the 100% DEET and had no problems with my clothes. If it's raining mosquitoes generally aren't out, so I don't see how you'd need a rain jacket and DEET at the same time.

Permethrin is not remotely safe. It is extremely toxic to all forms of aquatic life: "Permethrin is highly toxic to both freshwater and estuarine aquatic organisms." That means that if you wade through a stream with your permethrin-soaked clothing, you might be poisoning the stream. http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/fac...methrin_fs.htm

DEET, on the other hand, might dissolve plastic, but it's quite safe for humans except for the rare few that have a reaction: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/fac...methrin_fs.htm

Reading the EPA sheet on permethrin, I don't think you're going to be poisoning the streams because you wade through with permethrin treated pants. The warnings were about the agricultural SPRAYINGS of permethrin.

[Odd Man Out]

I's surprised that no one has mentioned Picaridin. It is as effective as DEET but does not have the oily consistency or bad odor and it doesn't dissolve synthetic fabrics.

[quasarr]

From KM to Tuolomne, there were mosquitoes (sometimes lots!) but they generally calmed down at night. North of Tuolomne it was absolute mosquito hell until Sonora Pass. After that they calmed down a bit, and from Tahoe to Ashland they were completely gone.

[fireneck]

I'm going to carry Deep Woods Off I think... Maybe I can find a can that still spews CFCs.....

CFC's are preferred. It reduces the snow pack and makes hiking easier for future thru's.

The internets, you're both doing it right. Ya'll seem like two people I'd like to have a zero with.

[Sasquatch!]

And I definitely don't agree with Sasquatch about not needing DEET -- Try hiking in full clothes when it's 95F. It sucks. I did it for a week until I got to a camp store.

-I wear my Zpacks cuben jacket, Zpacks cuben gloves, a wide brimmed hat with headnet, and lightweight thin pants that mosquitoes have trouble biting through. I rock this in 100 degree, 100 percent humidity, weather. It's not super comfy, but it totally works. In hot humid weather like this, which is rare on the PCT, I would sweat off DEET in a few mins anyway. So, no point.



DEET is a neurotoxin to both insects, and mammals.
DEET is readily absorbed through the skin.
DEET is persistent in the environment.
DEET is only effective for a few hours.
DEET ruins your gear.
DEET is ineffective against certain species of Mosquito that have developed a resistance to it.
DEET is not recommended to be put directly on the skin. (Good luck with that)
DEET causes skin irritation, disorientation, dizziness and, in extreme cases, seizures or death.

This information is all available at your fingertips.


The PCT passes through some of the most pristine and unspoiled areas of our country. It's a duty of our to preserve it for future generations. Everytime you jump into a beautiful stream, or lake, or even sweat, you are leaving a lasting legacy of pollution in the form a very toxic substance similar in nature to DDT.

I know we all grew up dousing ourselves in bugspray. I vividly remember constantly getting the crap in my mouth no matter how hard I tried. I also vividly remember how DEET just didnt do the trick during out hot humid Michigan summers.

Did I mention DEET will destroy the majority of your gear?


Permethrin impregnated clothing is a much better option. Permethrin is not as persistent in the environment, nor is it easily absorbed through the skin, unlike DEET.

Not trying to be a preachy dick, but those are the facts, like them or not.

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm not a thru-hiker, but I have spent a decade clomping around in the Oregon Cascades, much of it during the nasty July bug season. Long pants, a long sleeve loose shirt, and a headnet protects most of me. For the rest, Repel Lemon Eucalyptus re-packaged into an old Visine dropper bottle is all I need for a week in the bugs. I would use Deet if I had to, but I haven't had to, even when they were so thick the headnet was most useful for prevention of inhaled bugs. I just never liked Deet. It tastes horrible, sucks to get in your eyes, removes the ink from it's own bottle, messes with my synthetics, and is just nasty. The Repel works just as well for me and is pleasant by comparison. A headnet weighs nearly zero, and is essential IMO.

My guess is that you didn't read the instructions....

[ChinMusic]

I think I will use twice as much DEET after reading some of these posts..........

[lonehiker]

-I wear my Zpacks cuben jacket, Zpacks cuben gloves, a wide brimmed hat with headnet, and lightweight thin pants that mosquitoes have trouble biting through. I rock this in 100 degree, 100 percent humidity, weather. It's not super comfy, but it totally works. In hot humid weather like this, which is rare on the PCT, I would sweat off DEET in a few mins anyway. So, no point.



DEET is a neurotoxin to both insects, and mammals.
DEET is readily absorbed through the skin.
DEET is persistent in the environment.
DEET is only effective for a few hours.
DEET ruins your gear.
DEET is ineffective against certain species of Mosquito that have developed a resistance to it.
DEET is not recommended to be put directly on the skin. (Good luck with that)
DEET causes skin irritation, disorientation, dizziness and, in extreme cases, seizures or death.

This information is all available at your fingertips.


The PCT passes through some of the most pristine and unspoiled areas of our country. It's a duty of our to preserve it for future generations. Everytime you jump into a beautiful stream, or lake, or even sweat, you are leaving a lasting legacy of pollution in the form a very toxic substance similar in nature to DDT.

I know we all grew up dousing ourselves in bugspray. I vividly remember constantly getting the crap in my mouth no matter how hard I tried. I also vividly remember how DEET just didnt do the trick during out hot humid Michigan summers.

Did I mention DEET will destroy the majority of your gear?


Permethrin impregnated clothing is a much better option. Permethrin is not as persistent in the environment, nor is it easily absorbed through the skin, unlike DEET.

Not trying to be a preachy dick, but those are the facts, like them or not.

Much of this is simply comedy......

[Wise Old Owl]

Sorry Sasquatch, Deet has been very heavily and numerously tested by scientists all over the world. To compare it to DDT is ridiculous. It confuses the females olfactory from finding you the best known "Repellant ever made". You can spray it directly on insects and they won't die! A true Neurotoxin applied systemically would eventually kill the mosquito and that is DDT. And because our nervous systems are really different - insects are sodium based and we are potassium based. A insecticide is just that - a compound of materials that offers some protection from insects. Deet is rated at Caution, whereas Toothpaste and Underarm Deodorant has a warning. Because Deet is petroleum based it has solvent properties. There will always be liberal (overreactionary)publications about the horrors of Deet and they are unfounded. Follow the instructions and do the right thing.

Let's try this a different way - you have a problem - you go to the doctor - She prescribes a compound and gives you a correct dosage. You don't question it. The Pharmacist is a second pair of eyes to give you the right medication and when to take it. You know that it you take the whole bottle it could go badly for you. There is a system in place. More people have died from drinking alcohol, More people have died of Tylenol, Children have died from too much Aspirin. Too much water can kill you (Hydrolysis)

Deet is not a restricted use product because people don't die from it. After tooling around on the internet I found two women in Africa who wiped it as a liquid all over their bodies and got very sick as different areas absorb at different rates such as the groin and underarms. You have to really take a bath in it to get sick.

So folks if ya read this far feel free to use both and Deet - I would recommend Microencapsulated Ultrathon. AND Permethrin on your outer layer of clothes - not the shirt right up against you, or use a puffy shirt like they wear in California.

[Wise Old Owl]

Oh I almost forgot remember the doctor example? You have a choice you can spray on Deet and it will reduce the chance of getting Encephalitis, West Nile, Yellow Fever, and other nasties... We had a boy scout a few years back that died from Encephalitis right here in Chester County PA, but its 1 in a million.

[Deadeye]

I'm not a particularly trusting guy, especially when it comes to manufacturers, the government, or a bunch of hiker trash telling me whether or not some nasty chemicals meant to kill or repel bugs are safe. I assume that they are not! But, I weigh the risk of a relatively short period of exposure to the chemicals compared to the risks of insect- or tick-borne diseases, and I choose to treat with permethrin and apply DEET or other repellent. I will try to be careful around our waters.

[bamboo bob]

Yosemite is a mosquito farm.

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm not a particularly trusting guy, especially when it comes to manufacturers, the government, or a bunch of hiker trash telling me whether or not some nasty chemicals meant to kill or repel bugs are safe. I assume that they are not! But, I weigh the risk of a relatively short period of exposure to the chemicals compared to the risks of insect- or tick-borne diseases, and I choose to treat with permethrin and apply DEET or other repellent. I will try to be careful around our waters.

Well I am not here to convince you... you are 58 and a doubting thomas, I can understand this. How many prescription drugs do you take? How many were approved by the FDC? Without them and darn good doctors whats your lifetime outlook? Seriously without modern drugs, medicine, insecticides to provide food production & health we would all have been dead or starving by 30 in a third world country.

I rode my bicycle behind the DDT truck as a child- still here. Clearly the nightly news has an agenda and it doesn't include fact or science, but what you need to be scared of. If every day was rosy on the news you would not watch. Ever notice when they talk about an outbreak of Encephalitis they never mention Mosquito's. At first they did for West Nile but not now.... But that's my opinion...I remember history... I have read about the Yellow Fever epidemics of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.... yea Mosquitos.


No soap box just a different point of view.