Ticks…bloodsucking, disease-spreading parasites. Unless you are looking for Lyme disease, there is no positive to having a tick on your person. This spring has been a bona fide tick season, and all indicators point to a population explosion for these creepy crawlers in the coming months.
I’ve tried several retail products labelled as tick “repellents”, but most are high priced and basically created using a couple items you have in your cupboards.
And most of them are very dangerous. For instance,
DEET is a registered pesticide. DEET is short for N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide). It is a member of the toluene chemical family. Toluene is an organic solvent used in rubber and plastic cements and paint removers. DEET is absorbed through the skin and passes into the blood.
The Medical Sciences Bulletin, published by Pharmaceutical Information Associates Ltd. reports, “Up to 56% of DEET applied topically penetrates intact human skin and 17% is absorbed into the bloodstream.” Blood concentrations of about 3 mg per liter have been reported several hours after DEET repellent was applied to skin in the prescribed fashion. DEET is also absorbed by the gut.