DEET General Fact Sheet

DEET is an insect repellent that is used in products to prevent bites from insects such as mosquitoes, biting flies, fleas and small flying insects. DEET is a ... [email protected] We'reopenfrom8:00AMto12:00PMPacificTime,Mon-Fri A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A-ZIndex Health&Environment HumanHealth AnimalHealth SafeUsePractices FoodSafety Environment Air Water Soil Wildlife Plants PestControl IdentifyYourPest LearnAboutYourPest ControlYourPest IntegratedPestManagement PesticideProducts NPRO:PesticideProductSearch PesticideIngredients ActiveIngredients Other/InertIngredients Low-RiskPesticides OrganicPesticideIngredients PesticideIncidents HumanExposure PetExposure EnvironmentalIncident IllegalPesticideActivity ProblemWithLabelsorContainers Emergency HumanPoisonings PetPoisoning SpillsandContamination WildlifePoisoning/EnvironmentalIncident Youarehere:NPICHomePagePesticideIngredientsActiveIngredientsActiveIngredientFactSheetsDEETGeneralFactSheet RelatedTopics: DEETOverview CanIapplyDEETundermyclothes?(video) CanIapplyDEETundermyclothes?(FAQ) PDFVersion Whatarepests? Learnaboutapest Identifyapest Controlapest IntegratedPestManagement Whatarepesticides? Herbicides Disinfectants Fungicides Insecticides NaturalandBiologicalPesticides Repellents Rodenticides Othertypesofpesticides Disponibleenespañol DEET GeneralFactSheet WhatisDEET? WhataresomeproductsthatcontainDEET? HowdoesDEETwork? HowmightIbeexposedtoDEET? WhataresomesignsandsymptomsfromabriefexposuretoDEET? WhathappenstoDEETwhenitentersthebody? IsDEETlikelytocontributetothedevelopmentofcancer? Hasanyonestudiednon-cancereffectsfromlong-termexposuretoDEET? ArechildrenmoresensitivetoDEETthanadults? WhathappenstoDEETintheenvironment? CanDEETaffectbirds,fish,andotherwildlife? WhatisDEET? DEETisaninsectrepellentthatisusedinproductstopreventbitesfrominsectssuchasmosquitoes,bitingflies,fleas andsmallflyinginsects.DEETisacolorlessliquidthathasafaintodoranddoesnotdissolveeasilyinwater.DEETwas developedbytheU.S.Armyin1946forprotectionofsoldiersininsect-infestedareas.Insectrepellentscontaining DEEThavebeenusedbythegeneralpublicintheUnitedStatessince1957. WhataresomeproductsthatcontainDEET? DEEThasbeenusedinanumberofinsectrepellentproductsincluding liquidsprays,lotions,andsticks.Ithasbeenestimatedthatabout30% oftheU.S.populationusesoneormoreproductsthatcontainDEET everyyear. Alwaysfollowlabelinstructionsandtakestepstoavoidexposure.Ifanyexposuresoccur,besuretofollowtheFirst Aidinstructionsontheproductlabelcarefully.Foradditionaltreatmentadvice,contactthePoisonControlCenterat 1-800-222-1222.Ifyouwishtodiscussapesticideproblem,pleasecall1-800-858-7378. HowdoesDEETwork? ScientistsdonotknowexactlyhowDEETworksonallinsects.Someinsectssensepeoplebydetectingthechemicals fromourbodiesandintheairthatwebreatheout.IthasbeenshownthatinsectsexposedtoDEETarenotableto locateapersonoranimalbecausetheycannotdetectthem. HowmightIbeexposedtoDEET? Therearefourwaysthatpeoplecanbeexposedtochemicals:contacting theirskin,contactingtheireyes,breathingthemin,oreatingthem.DEET isoftenuseddirectlyonskin.DEETmayalsobeinhaledwhenspraysare usedaroundthebodyandinindoorspaceswherethevaporscanremain forsometime.ItmayalsobepossibletoswallowDEETifthehandsarenot washedafterusingDEETonskin. PeoplehavehadadversereactionstoDEETwhentheyappliedittopartsoftheirbodythatcontactedotherskin surfaces,andwhentheyappliedittoskinthatwasunderclothing.ExposuretoDEETcanbelimitedbyreadingthepesticidelabelandfollowingall ofthedirections. WhataresomesignsandsymptomsfromabriefexposuretoDEET? WhenproductscontainingDEETgetintotheeyes,theymaycauseirritation,painandwateryeyes.Peoplethathave leftDEETproductsontheirskinforextendedperiodsoftimehaveexperiencedirritation,redness,arash,andswelling. PeoplethathaveswallowedproductscontainingDEEThaveexperiencedstomachupset,vomiting,andnausea. Veryrarely,exposuretoDEEThasbeenassociatedwithseizuresinpeople.Mostofthesereactionshavehappened afterdrinkingproductswithDEETinthemorusingtheproductsinwaysthatdonotfollowlabeldirections. ReportsofpetsbeingexposedtoDEETinamountsthatwouldmakethemsickarerare.Petsthathavebeenoverexposed toDEEThaveshownvaryingeffects,includingvomiting,shaking,excitement,lackofcoordination,andseizures. WhathappenstoDEETwhenitentersthebody? WhenDEETwasappliedtotheskinofvolunteersbyresearchers,theyfoundthatasmallamountoftheDEETwas takenintothebodythroughtheskin.WhenDEETandalcoholareappliedtotheskin,moreDEETistakenintotheskin comparedwithDEETalone.DrinkingalcoholmayalsocausemoreDEETtobeabsorbedthroughtheskin.Sunscreen productsthatcontainDEETmaycausemoreDEETtobetakenintothebodythroughtheskin. TheDEETthatistakenintothebodycanbefoundinthebloodupto12hoursafteritisappliedtotheskin.Oncein thebody,DEETisbrokendownbytheliverandeliminatedfromthebodymainlythroughtheurine.AlloftheDEET thatistakeninbythebodyisbrokendownintosmallerchemicalsbeforeitiseliminated.NearlyalloftheDEETthat istakeninthroughtheskiniseliminatedbythebodywithin24hoursofapplyingit. IsDEETlikelytocontributetothedevelopmentofcancer? ResearchershavenotfoundanyevidencethatDEETcausescancerinanimalsorhumans.DEEThasbeenclassifiedby theUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(U.S.EPA)as"notclassifiableasahumancarcinogen",whichmeansthatthereisnotenoughevidencetosaythatit doesordoesnotcausecancer. Hasanyonestudiednon-cancereffectsfromlong-termexposuretoDEET? AtrialwasdoneonwomentotestthesafetyofusingDEETtopreventmalariaduringpregnancy.Womenuseda productwith20%DEETontheirlegsandarmseachdayduringtheirsecondandthirdtrimestersofpregnancy.DEET crossedtheplacentaandwasfoundin8%ofthecordbloodsamples.Therewasnoincreaseinbirthdefectsorproblems withthesurvivalintheyoungandtherewerenofurtherproblemsinthefirstyearoflife. ArechildrenmoresensitivetoDEETthanadults? LimitedinformationisavailableonchildhoodresponsestoDEETfromexperiments orpoisoncenterreports.Childrenhavehadadverseresponses toDEETexposure,butmostofthesecaseshaveresultedfromimproperuse oraccidents.Childreninvolvedinaccidentshaveusuallyhadlessseriouseffects thanteensandadults.Specialinstructionshavebeenplacedonproducts containingDEETforuseonchildren. TheAmericanAcademyofPediatrics(AAP)hasrecommendedthatDEET notbeusedonchildrenyoungerthan2monthsofage.1TheAAPhasalso recommendedthatDEETshouldbeappliednomorethanonetimeperday forchildrenolderthantwomonths,andthatproductsshouldbeusedon childrenthathavethelowestDEETconcentrationavailable.TheAAPhas cautionedparentsnottouseDEETonthehandsofchildrenandtoavoid applyingittoareasaroundchildren'seyesandmouths.1 WhathappenstoDEETintheenvironment? WhenDEETgetsintothesoil,itcanbebrokendownbymicrobes,including bacteriaandfungi.Inexperimentswherefungiandbacteria brokedownDEET,thechemicalsremainingwerelesstoxicthanDEET itself.DEETusuallystickstosoils,butcanmoveinothersoilstosome degree.DEETdoesnotdissolveormixverywellinwater. BecauseDEETisusedbysomanypeople,ithasbeenfoundinwaste waterandinplaceswherewastewatermovesintootherbodiesof water. WhenDEETissprayedorevaporates,itwillbeintheairasamistor vapor,andthenbegintobreakdownintheatmosphere.Thesetimes forbreakdownwillchange,dependingonenvironmentalconditions liketemperature,humidityandwind. CanDEETaffectbirds,fish,orotherwildlife? TestsweredonetofindoutifDEETcouldaffectfishorinsectsthatliveinthewater.Forfreshwaterfishandinsects,DEETwastoxicatextremelyhighlevels.Forinstance,thelevelofDEETthatkilledhalfofthefishorinsectswasabout75,000timesgreaterthanthehighestconcentrationfoundinwastewaterorstreams.DEETisnotconsideredtobeverytoxictobirds. WherecanIgetmoreinformation? FormoredetailedinformationaboutDEETpleasevisitthelistofreferencedresourcesorcall theNationalPesticideInformationCenter,Monday-Friday,between8:00am-12:00pmPacificTime(11:00am-3:00pmEasternTime)at1-800-858-7378orvisitusonthewebat http://npic.orst.edu.NPICprovidesobjective,science-basedanswerstoquestionsaboutpesticides. Pleaseciteas:Jackson,D.;Luukinen,B.;Buhl,K.;Stone,D.2008.DEETGeneralFactSheet;NationalPesticideInformationCenter,OregonStateUniversityExtensionServices.http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/DEETgen.html. DateReviewed:July2008 References: FollowSafetyPrecautionsWhenUsingDEETonChildren;AmericanAcademyofPediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/skin/Pages/West-Nile-Virus.aspx (accessedMarch2008),updatedJune2003. NPICfactsheetsaredesignedtoanswerquestionsthatarecommonly askedbythegeneralpublicaboutpesticidesthatareregulatedbythe U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(U.S.EPA).Thisdocumentis intendedtobeeducationalinnatureandhelpfultoconsumersfor makingdecisionsaboutpesticideuse. RelatedTopics: DEETOverview CanIapplyDEETundermyclothes?(video) CanIapplyDEETundermyclothes?(FAQ) PDFVersion Whatarepests? Learnaboutapest Identifyapest Controlapest IntegratedPestManagement Whatarepesticides? Herbicides Disinfectants Fungicides Insecticides NaturalandBiologicalPesticides Repellents Rodenticides Othertypesofpesticides Disponibleenespañol Pleaseread ourdisclaimer|Contactus|AboutNPIC|Enespañol NPICprovides objective,science-basedinformationaboutpesticidesand pesticide-relatedtopicstoenablepeopletomakeinformed decisions.NPICisacooperativeagreement betweenOregonState UniversityandtheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(cooperativeagreement #X8-83947901).Theinformationinthispublicationdoesnotinanyway replaceorsupersedetherestrictions,precautions,directions,or otherinformationonthepesticidelabeloranyotherregulatory requirements,nordoesitnecessarilyreflectthepositionofthe U.S.EPA.