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Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

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Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#71
post #54
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine and nicotine are pesticides that humans have metabolic pathways to deal with. Dogs, for instance, can't handle theobromine.

tobacco 'tea' is a very effective pesticide, and is pretty easily removed by water. Great in dry areas, less so in rainy ones.

PSA for anyone reading this is thinking "I should try that."

Be very, deadly careful not to get it on your skin. You can hit LD50 pretty quickly by dousing yourself in liquid stimulants.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#72
post #71
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tobacco 'tea' is a very effective pesticide, and is pretty easily removed by water. Great in dry areas, less so in rainy ones.

PSA for anyone reading this is thinking "I should try that." Be very, deadly careful not to get it on your skin. You can hit LD50 pretty quickly by dousing yourself in liquid stimulants.

Good point! I usually make the tea with a tablespoon in a pitcher, then transfer to a sprayer. Haven't had any issues before, but probably good idea to limit exposed skin, especially on windy days.

Adding dish soap and black pepper is supposed to help as well.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#73
post #72
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PSA for anyone reading this is thinking "I should try that." Be very, deadly careful not to get it on your skin. You can hit LD50 pretty quickly by dousing yourself in liquid stimulants.

Good point! I usually make the tea with a tablespoon in a pitcher, then transfer to a sprayer. Haven't had any issues before, but probably good idea to limit exposed skin, especially on windy days. Adding dish soap and black pepper is supposed to help as well.

But my favorite pesticide is diatomaceous earth. It's entirely edible (if food grade quality), just dont breathe the dust.

It's basically tiny sharp sand. Doesn't hurt squishy skin, but slices open exoskeletons causing bugs to dehydrate to death.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#74
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha I remember doing the same thing when I was ~6 years old in South Korea. There would be these trucks that went around spraying mosquito killing fog in the apartment complexes and all the little kids from the neighborhood would run behind them. Well now I'm 30 and so far things seem to be ok! Fingers crossed

Meanwhile I’m out walking my dog and one of these trucks turns the corner. I immediately turn and run, it’s always futile.. the truck passes me and I’m left standing there holding my shirt over my face. Doesn’t matter; inhaled DEET.

FYI DDT and DEET are completely different chemicals, one is an insecticide, the other is a repellent. Some people in this thread seem to confuse them. I don't think they would spray DEET at scale.

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

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

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#76
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DEET is not a pesticide. Are you thinking of DDT?

This article does say it has insecticidal properties - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4125160/

Yeah, it's pretty toxic stuff. However, it's not typically used as an insecticide.

Other things with insecticidal properties: gasoline, bleach, car windshields, and bricks.

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