"Robin Carter" <> wrote:
> I often wear a bug shirt while recording in summer here in hot,
humid South Carolina. With the bug shirt I can often skip the deet
mosquito repellant. And there are some places that I been, such as the
Snake Bite Trail in Everglades National Park, Florida or southern
Labrador in July where a bug shirt has meant the difference between
life and death. Even in hot, humid climates we often record during the
cooler part of the day. A good bug shirt, including bug mitts, is not
too hot if it means that you can skip the repellent.
>
The prevailing view is that DEET has some mild risks (beyond melting
selected plastics), contributing to suggestions not to use
concentrations above about 30% or apply it to children in significant
quantities. However, there are some exptl data on rats treated with
DEET (alone and combined with agents like permethrin) that show
neurological damage after weeks to months of daily exposure
(http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/med/deet.htm).
There are the usual problems of not knowing how effects in rats and
humans differ, what is the no-effect level and whether intermittent
use over long periods has a cumulative effect. If your alternative is
malaria or filariasis, DEET may still be a good choice, but seeing
this report lead me to return to testing bug shirts for California
dense mosquito areas where the primary risk is discomfort and local
histamine reaction.
The single layer light mesh bug shirts aren't perceptibly hot, snag
readily, and don't offer any protection if in close skin contact. The
double layer-separated mesh models are distinctly warm, slightly
stiff, don't snag much and block bites effectively. In some, the mesh
over the face seems badly chosen in that you can't see to operate
switches on devices in your hands in the shadow of a forest canopy.
Definitely room for improvement.
Bill Rainey
Berkeley CA
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