my uncle greg has extolled the virtues of a thermacell for years. so yesterday, i bought one at scheel’s. of course i looked it up beforehand to check out reviews on amazon, and of course there were people on there saying stuff about breathing in the “chemicals.” (like, seriously, everything is chemicals. your thoughts are just chemical reactions.)

so i wondered, how does breathing in the thermacell scent compare to spraying yourself liberally with deet? liz was skeptical that there were no viable internet results when she did a quick search, so i decided to do some basic research for you. i’m no scientist or chemist, so take my armchair research with a grain of salt.

tried and true deet

we all know deet – bug spray has a percentage of deet on its cans so you can decide how strong you want to smell and how strong you want the spray to be. but what is deet?

it was originally tested to be a pesticide but entered military use in the mid 40s, followed by civilian use in the laste 50s. the most highly used place was in the vietnam war. originally, it was 75% (!!!) deet and 24% ethanol (???). from what i can discern, this is because it didn’t last very long. later on, a new version was created that was more like a slow release with less evaporation.

deet basically covers up your mosquito-attracting pheromones.  so that’s why the different concentrations are available, from 10-almost 100%. the more deet, the longer the protection. 100% deet lasts for up to 12 hours! 20-30% will last 3-6 hours. and kids under 2 yrs shouldn’t wear deet (as an aside, they also shouldn’t eat honey, so use that as your control).

what happens when you put deet on? well, it’s advised that you don’t put your bugspray on damaged skin or under clothing, and that you should wash it off when you’re done hiding from the mosquitoes. it can cause some burning eyes or headaches  and, despite the prevailing thinking about deet on our skin, absorbing into our bloodstream and causing cancer/infertility/lasting damage of some sort because dang it smells so awful, a 2002 study contends that deet is pretty safe, when all is said and done. it’s been subjected to a ton of scientific scrutiny, has been used for more than 60 years, and has a really large human testing pool every year.

the results of that ginormous pool?

• in 1998, there were 14-46 -potential- deet-related seizures.
• people with extensive deet exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood swings, and brain fog. (extensive: working in the everglades.)

deet is about common sense. just like acetaminophen (i read a comment the other week about how if tylenol were to come to the FDA today, it would NOT be over the counter).

the thermacell

so what’s in a thermacell?

you get a little device, insert a small butane fuel tank, and light it up to release the smells in the blue mat, which lasts about 12 hours. this one that i got will repel mosquitoes in a 15′ radius.

the main ingredient in the mat is allethrin, a synthetic compound based on pyrethrin, which is found naturally in chrysanthemums. allethrins are used in household insecticides like raid, and in mosquito coils.

weirdly enough, allethrin is toxic to fish, slightly toxic to bees, and also cats. so i guess i’m making sure the cats aren’t around while i use this guy. (i checked, and chrysanthemums are also toxic to cats.)

the WHO did a study, and the levels of allethrin the mats and also mosquito coils are so low that it’s basically a non-issue.

but what about the butane?

the butane burner in this is teeny tiny, and i think you’d have more problems breathing in campfire smoke than the residue from a thermacell. it burns and gives of carbon monoxide, so make sure that you’re in a properly ventilated space. and while the allethrin breaks down easily outdoors, you may also want to avoid using it indoors (especially with the kitties).  i’m assuming that mosquito repellant is mostly used outdoors, but if for some reason your indoor space is seething with the skeets, then default to the bugspray.

conclusion?

considering that both of these are pretty safe to use, i’m fine using either of them. citronella is always hit or miss for me, so having something stronger is helpful. if the thermacell works, even better so i don’t have to stink like bugspray.

i have yet to use my thermacell in a mosquito-infested area, due to this summer being dry and more dry. but once i get to a buggy place, i’ll let you know the results. i already know that deet does the job.

and if you’re pretty healthy and still worried about the *gasp* chemicals? well, i’d be more worried about mosquitoes carrying diseases than harm from either of these used correctly. those diseases are much worse chemicals than deet or the allethrin. heck, booze is a worse chemical for you. and sometimes your thoughts are the worst chemical for you! stop overthinking about bug repellant and just avoid mosquitoes.

sources:

http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041227231112/http://www.who.int/whopes/quality/en/dAllethrin_spec_eval_March_04.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allethrins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET