Permethrin-treated clothing is effective against bugs like ticks and mosquitoes, although for the flying kind, you probably still want some DEET for any exposed skin. Don’t bother with DEET-treated bracelets (yes, that’s a thing); the short range of effectiveness means they will only protect your wrists.
There are lots of bug repellents. Being from a dry climate I have little experience with this, but Wirecutter recommends picaridin-based repellents, and I expect a tiny bottle of 100% DEET to be practical enough to carry around everywhere.
While “100%” DEET products were available last I checked, more than 50% does not improve duration or effectiveness. It’s also a solvent that can dissolve (or permanently soften) plastics, as well as synthetic fibers used for clothing. And it makes sunscreen much less effective. The recommendation there is to allow the skin to absorb the sunscreen for 30 minutes before applying any DEET, so combination products are probably a bad idea.
And how do you apply 50% of the 100% formula? Apply it to your left side only? I suspect it would be difficult to limit the dose and still cover all your exposed skin; it can only be spread so thin before it’s absorbed. Beyond a certain concentration, you would have to dilute it first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET#Concentrations claims that Canada banned concentrations over 30% since 2002 due to health risks. More than 30% doesn’t seem to be any more effective, but does last longer, at least up to about 50%, which might still be worth the risk in areas with malaria. More than that doesn’t seem to help, but is more likely to have side effects or damage your clothes.
Studies suggest that DEET efficacy tends to peak at a concentration of ≈50%, and that concentrations above that do not offer a marked increase in protection time against mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, it does not cite which studies, but it’s a good reason to assume they exist, if we want to go digging.
How do you avoid bug bites?
Permethrin-treated clothing is effective against bugs like ticks and mosquitoes, although for the flying kind, you probably still want some DEET for any exposed skin. Don’t bother with DEET-treated bracelets (yes, that’s a thing); the short range of effectiveness means they will only protect your wrists.
There are lots of bug repellents. Being from a dry climate I have little experience with this, but Wirecutter recommends picaridin-based repellents, and I expect a tiny bottle of 100% DEET to be practical enough to carry around everywhere.
While “100%” DEET products were available last I checked, more than 50% does not improve duration or effectiveness. It’s also a solvent that can dissolve (or permanently soften) plastics, as well as synthetic fibers used for clothing. And it makes sunscreen much less effective. The recommendation there is to allow the skin to absorb the sunscreen for 30 minutes before applying any DEET, so combination products are probably a bad idea.
Why would applying half the amount of 100% DEET be worse than the full amount of 50% DEET?
And how do you apply 50% of the 100% formula? Apply it to your left side only? I suspect it would be difficult to limit the dose and still cover all your exposed skin; it can only be spread so thin before it’s absorbed. Beyond a certain concentration, you would have to dilute it first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET#Concentrations claims that Canada banned concentrations over 30% since 2002 due to health risks. More than 30% doesn’t seem to be any more effective, but does last longer, at least up to about 50%, which might still be worth the risk in areas with malaria. More than that doesn’t seem to help, but is more likely to have side effects or damage your clothes.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/environmental-hazards-risks/mosquitoes-ticks-and-other-arthropods (a reasonably reputable government source) claims
Unfortunately, it does not cite which studies, but it’s a good reason to assume they exist, if we want to go digging.