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Does anyone have any idea on what is the effects or would be effects if you had sprayed yourself with deet earlier in the day and then stashed your canopy after you landed? Would the parachute melt?

Here is an excerpt taken from a website...
'After all, DEET can melt plastic and some fabrics, and some studies have shown high concentrations of the chemical to cause neurological damage in mice."

THX

Yum!

Damn...I should have done more research. I was practically bathing in the stuff in Tobago. The bugs there were brutal, and they didnt seem to mind the Off with 25% DEET, oh no, I used the shit that had 40% DEET. Seemed to work, but applying it 4-5 times a day for 2 weeks had to have caused some ill effects.

they insects in the location this jumper is going to are so dangerous that they nearly killed another jumper due to an exotic tick borne disease. so any long term neurological effects are fine considering the acute effects of death by tick.

There is a product that is just as effective as DEET but not as toxic to the nervous system. Try bioud.com

Even though DEET is an excellent mosquito repellent, it is not very effective against ticks. Also research permethrin as a repellent but applied to clothing and not skin.

Good luck.

I don't care too much about the risks of cancer, neurodamage, or impacts on my unborn foetus, but fucked if I'm gonna let the shit get anywhere near my canopy or lines. That shit is a powerful non-polar solvent (meaning it eats synthetic materials for breakfast).

Warnings on the packets of DEET sold here in Aus state: "avoid contact with cell phones, spectacle frames, painted surfaces, SYNTHETIC FABRICS and vinyl plastics." I didn't see the same warning on the brand I used while in TF recently. All the guys I was jumping with were covering themselves in the stuff to get rid of the ticks in the landing area and the mozzies while packing - didn't affect them then, but I treat my gear better than I treat my penis.

I avoid the shit when I can, but if I'm somewhere getting eaten alive by bugs I only apply it to the areas exposed to the open air. I wash it off my hands before jumping to keep it off my pilot chute or canopy (its greasy as fuck anyway so its not much fun when climbing around on stuff where grip is important).

Clothing thats been impregnated with pyrethrum works good instead (you can buy a wash from most outdoor stores to treat all your outdoor clothes). If I don't have any repellant (and for ticks and other crawlies) i tuck all loose clothing in to stop em crawling up pants etc - makes me look like a dick but I'd rather look like a dick and be able to jump than to get some funky bush pox.

A random search online relating to the safety of pyrethrum:
"Pyrethrum is an insecticide and not a repellant. Pests that come in contact with it soon become paralyzed and die within minutes. Pyrethrum is effectively used as an airborne spray but it is most effective when used to treat textiles...

The application of Pyrethrum directly on the skin isn't recommended because it is generally not effective. If applied to skin, it is rapidly broken down and metabolized making if ineffective and there is no evidence that Pyrethrum accumulates in animal tissues. Solutions containing up to 5% Pyrethrum, which is more than five to ten times the concentration generally used is on the farm is approved by FDA for direct application to the scalp and hair as a head lice treatment."

And a medipedia link regarding impregnated clothing as an alternative... its what the guys in green use now:
http://wiki.medpedia.com/Permethrin_-_Impregnated_Clothing

+1

Pyrethrum is usually sold in the states as Permanone or Permethrin. In tick and chigger country spray your clothes with it the night before you plan to be out. Especially your socks and pants. They will be dry the next morning and not smell quite as bad. Should keep you free from funky bush pox.

Deet has not been shown to affect nylon or cotton negatively, so i would think that it shouldn't hurt your canopy or container if you accidentally got some on it. I wouldn't douse your canopy in it or anything of course. Your biggest risk from deet getting on your canopy might be staining, but it won't degrade the material.

The main components in the manufacture of deet are tolulene and ethylene compounds (n-n-diethylnetatoluamide) and they act as solvents in vinyl-based compounds, such as plastics used in cell phones, and etc. basically, the stuff that goes into maqking a chemical will usually act as a solvent, so You Definitely want to avoid spraying it on your vinyl siding!

edited to add: This info is for F-111 canopies. The urethane coating on a ZP canopy might suffer from the interaction with DEET

Great, I appreciate the information that everyone has contributed to this thread.
Thanks!

The Technical forum is supposed to be for relatively serious stuff, not for off color humor. thus I've removed your post from view.

can i extend the effects of exotic tick disease to be the cause of poor canopy flight, tree impact and resulting broken ankles?

What was the disease, do you know by any chance? the only ones that I know of that ticks usually carry are lyme disease and rocky mountain spotted fever, both of which can be deadly. Ive had and almost died from rocky mountain spotted fever, and trust me its not much fun :(

Just wondering if theres any other fun diseases I can look forward to acquiring from those nastly little bastards.

There is a surefire way to keep it off of your canopy and still provide excellent mosquito and biting critter protection. Just drink it! One capful and you will send all those biting nasties running (or buzzing) away. (I read that somewhere on the internets so it has to be true.)

seriously, back in the day, when on partol in the jungles of S. America, we used to eat match heads. The sulfur would leech out of your pores making you repulsive to fleas, ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, other bar patrons, hookers,...well, you get the idea.

That is to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, as I was a private back then and more likely than not was being fucked with.

I got a virus when I was running cross country in college. I was covered in spots, even on the palms of my hands, and was constantly shivering. It was spring in Charleston, SC and I was wearing winter clothes to class and bundling up in blankets with the heat on in my dorm. I tried to tough it out for about a week, but finally went to a doctor who had me admitted. I had blood work done, an EKG, a transesophageal echocardiogram, and was seen by a viral specialists who was brought in from another hospital. The viral specialist said I had a virus that probably came from an insect, most likely a tick. They put me on two different types of antibiotics and it cleared up in a few days. There are probably other fun unknown viruses/ diseases you could aquire. The possibilities are unlimited.

Did you have a fever by any chance? Im gussing you ds since you said you were dreezing. Either way that sounds EXACTLY like what i had, rocky mountain spotted fever. . . Spots everywhere HIGH fever, wiped me out. I was in the hospital for 11 days with no energy whatsoever, barely ate, moced or did anything. They initially thought it was meningitis since a friend of mine i hung out with died from that about 2 weeks prior. Either way it sucked.

I did have a fever at first, but it sounds like my ordeal was not as severe as yours. They tested for Rock Mountain Spotted, but that wasn't it. The docs never did figure out what exactly I had, but the antibiotics they gave me cleared it up. I felt OK in general after they released me from the hospital after a four day stay, but I had a less energy and I really sucked at running for a couple months.

yeah i was in 8th grade, when it all happened. oh well, from what i heard rocky mtn is a fairly obscure and overlooked disease, but since they tested for it, ive not no idea, lol. oh well.

Bartonella, Ehrlichia, and Babesia are also spread by ticks and equally as nasty as Lyme and RMSF, especially if not diagnosed early. A tick can carry more than one of these co-infections. I found this out first hand.

eh, cool! learn something new every day, i figured they carried more crap, just didnt know what exactly. sadly you had to find out the hard way, as did we.