Three major incidents set the presses rolling. In 1995, New York State banned products with 30% or more DEET after reviewing 44 public health studies; The U.S. Military supplies soldiers with 33% or less DEET products; and DEET is suspected of being responsible, in part, for Gulf War Syndrome.

DEET has been proven to enter the bloodstream through application to the skin, and while many people use DEET-based products without incident, others have suffered side effects ranging from rashes and hives to uncontrollable twitching and muscle spasms to death. Children seem especially susceptible to DEET problems. In 1995 alone, the National Poison Control Center in Washington, DC. received over 6,700 reports of repellent exposure, including one death, and of the 6,700 reports, two thirds occurred in children age six and under.

The biggest media jolt came when ABC’s PrimeTime Live did a twenty-minute segment on DEET. The public began to pay serious attention, and companies like ours began to see very strong product movement. PrimeTime’s report focused on particularly dramatic incidents that highlight the dangers. The program told the stories of Tim Christiansen, who at 26 years old died after using DEET twice one summer day in 1994; on Elijah Harrison, an 8 year old boy who’s mother sprayed him with a 25% DEET product once a day for two days. Elijah still suffers from seizures; and on workers in the Everglades National Park who experienced rashes, dizziness and numbness of the lips after using a DEET repellent.