4 ms·

I always wonder if we could have some human collar that absorbs & oozes out insecticide and keeps mosquitoes and blackflies away. But nice to see we’re finally

I always wonder if we could have some human collar that absorbs & oozes out insecticide and keeps mosquitoes and blackflies away. But nice to see we’re finally getting for humans what pets have had for a while for ticks.

DowagerDave 3y ago
You don't usually get bitten by mosquitoes on your neck though, how would this help with the bites you DO get all over your legs and arms? Or are you suggesting something so potent it absorbs into your bloodstream and then prevents bug bites? no thanks.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  > Or are you suggesting something so potent it absorbs into your bloodstream and then prevents bug bites That’s what the medicated pet collars do. Part of the advantage of collar-absorption is that you can use a molecule that readily breaks down/inactivates in digestion. And avoid sharp peaks in blood levels.
  - Turing_Machine 3y ago
    I knew a woman who was highly amused that the cancer drug she was on caused mosquitoes to die instantaneously upon biting her. Tough woman. She is missed.
- diggan 3y ago
  > how would this help with the bites you DO get all over your legs and arms? Not sure how true it is, but the marketing for the collars we use claims that eventually the chemicals spreads to protect the full body, even if the collar is just around the neck.
- dylan604 3y ago
  > You don't usually get bitten by mosquitoes on your neck though, and how do you manage this?
doodlebugging 3y ago
A long time ago when I worked on a seismic crew we found ourselves cutting lines through the brush in a river bottom. Millions of ticks would swarm up your pant legs in a red-brown cloud looking for any opening to your skin. It was not unusual to see someone strip down in the field and burn the ticks off of their clothes. I carried a large knife and used the blade to peel them off my pants by the hundreds. It was crazy how thick they were. They seemed to be hanging on every pecan leaf and on the grass under the trees. We began treating our boots with diesel to try to repel them. That worked to a point. It didn't take long to reveal the shortcoming in that method - diesel fuel soaks through the leather and easily enters the skin. It ruins the boot leather and burns your skin so that wearing anything on your feet is very painful so we abandoned that method. After looking at options we decided to use cattle ear tags because each cow only uses one and it keeps them tick-free. After reading all the warnings about safe handling - wear gloves, avoid skin contact, potential reproductive harm, cancer risk, etc. - we decided that it made no difference. We realized that this had to be absorbed through the cow's bloodstream from the puncture on the ear and since every cow we had ever seen had an ear tag, this meant that this chemical was present in every steak or burger we had ever eaten so wearing one long enough to complete the part of the survey with the tick problem wasn't going to increase our risk of any adverse effects. We bought a pack of tags and each hung one on a boot and never had another tick. I don't have any known health issues to report here 40 years later. Totally anecdotal information from what is likely to have been a low-dose, short duration exposure event.
- Varriount 3y ago
  Well, there's a difference between something entering your body through your digestive tract, and something entering your body directly through the bloodstream. Additionally, different substances have different bioaccumulation characteristics - some substances may accumulate in only in specific tissues (fat, muscle, etc.), a combination of tissues, or none. How an insecticide bioaccumulates in cattle would affect their suitability for beef.

DowagerDave 3y ago

You don't usually get bitten by mosquitoes on your neck though, how would this help with the bites you DO get all over your legs and arms? Or are you suggesting something so potent it absorbs into your bloodstream and then prevents bug bites? no thanks.

Scoundreller 3y ago
> Or are you suggesting something so potent it absorbs into your bloodstream and then prevents bug bites That’s what the medicated pet collars do. Part of the advantage of collar-absorption is that you can use a molecule that readily breaks down/inactivates in digestion. And avoid sharp peaks in blood levels.
- Turing_Machine 3y ago
  I knew a woman who was highly amused that the cancer drug she was on caused mosquitoes to die instantaneously upon biting her. Tough woman. She is missed.
diggan 3y ago
> how would this help with the bites you DO get all over your legs and arms? Not sure how true it is, but the marketing for the collars we use claims that eventually the chemicals spreads to protect the full body, even if the collar is just around the neck.
dylan604 3y ago
> You don't usually get bitten by mosquitoes on your neck though, and how do you manage this?

doodlebugging 3y ago

A long time ago when I worked on a seismic crew we found ourselves cutting lines through the brush in a river bottom. Millions of ticks would swarm up your pant legs in a red-brown cloud looking for any opening to your skin. It was not unusual to see someone strip down in the field and burn the ticks off of their clothes. I carried a large knife and used the blade to peel them off my pants by the hundreds. It was crazy how thick they were. They seemed to be hanging on every pecan leaf and on the grass under the trees. We began treating our boots with diesel to try to repel them. That worked to a point. It didn't take long to reveal the shortcoming in that method - diesel fuel soaks through the leather and easily enters the skin. It ruins the boot leather and burns your skin so that wearing anything on your feet is very painful so we abandoned that method. After looking at options we decided to use cattle ear tags because each cow only uses one and it keeps them tick-free. After reading all the warnings about safe handling - wear gloves, avoid skin contact, potential reproductive harm, cancer risk, etc. - we decided that it made no difference. We realized that this had to be absorbed through the cow's bloodstream from the puncture on the ear and since every cow we had ever seen had an ear tag, this meant that this chemical was present in every steak or burger we had ever eaten so wearing one long enough to complete the part of the survey with the tick problem wasn't going to increase our risk of any adverse effects. We bought a pack of tags and each hung one on a boot and never had another tick. I don't have any known health issues to report here 40 years later. Totally anecdotal information from what is likely to have been a low-dose, short duration exposure event.

Varriount 3y ago
Well, there's a difference between something entering your body through your digestive tract, and something entering your body directly through the bloodstream. Additionally, different substances have different bioaccumulation characteristics - some substances may accumulate in only in specific tissues (fat, muscle, etc.), a combination of tissues, or none. How an insecticide bioaccumulates in cattle would affect their suitability for beef.