Re: [gardeners] DEET
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 06 May 1998 19:48:53
At 06:46 PM 5/6/98 -0400, you wrote:
>At 07:30 AM 5/6/98, you wrote:
>>There was a thread on insecticides running through the internet last year
>>but I didn't pay much attention. Now I need info. My eldest granddaughter
>>is going camping with the Girl Scouts in June. Her mom asked me about the
>>toxicity of DEET based personal insect repellents on children. Naturally I
>>couldn't find a darned thing. Anyone got any factual information, maybe a
>>URL for info? He'p me!
>>
>>George
>>
>>
>George, before freaking out about DEET, which is not good for you,
>especially kids. Find out where the campsite is. Then find out how high
>the risk is of tick infection of various diseases...Lymes and Rocky
>Mountain Spotted Fever come to mind. If she is not camping in a high risk
>area, I would use regular bug spray, or there is a new Skintastic out that
>is just for kids. Is a much lower volume of the bug killers in it.
>
>Kids should take care to wear bandanas around their heads and to do tick
>checks about once an hour. Hairlines, waistlines, socklines are the most
>frequently bitten areas. Coming from down souf you oughta know that ticks
>start out tiny, but get big. If they find a tick on someone, DO NOT KILL
>IT!!!!!
>
>Remove tick gently and save it for analysis. The only way the can tell if
>the tick is infected with a bad disease is to get it while alive. If they
>do kill it, save it anyway, it can at least be identified to see if it is
>the type of tick that carries certain diseases.
>
>Most info can be gotten through a local Ag office.
>
>Hope the girls have a great time and not get too paranoid.
>
>Cynthia (who was a Girl Scout for 17 years, but is now a Boy Scout)
>**Womyn Who Moves Mountains-Little Finger Of Michigan**
>**cmayeaux@traverse.com **USDA zone 4b-Sunset zone 41**
>** http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/2659/garden/cynthia.html **
>** http://rdz.stjohns.edu/lists/fiftysomethingwomen/ **
>
Thanks for the info Cynthia. I think they are more worried about mosquitos
than ticks. My daughter and her kids have always lived in the boonies so
are familiar with tick warfare. She called a little while ago and said the
scout council recommended Skintastic for the girls so that's what they're
going with.
Well, I was a Boy Scout of one sort or another for 40 years, from Cub
through District Committeeman, but was only a Girl Scout for 1 year.
Actually I was the "beau" of a Girl Scout troop in my home town, long,
looong time ago.