Cocoon Insect Shield TravelSheet silk

[willydp]

Hello,
I' m collection as much info as I can on the internet and this forum in my preparation for my first Camino (F) and I have a question about this product "Cocoon Insect Shield Silk Travelsheet".
I typed my question in the search option of this forum, but nothing came up…
It is a light weight sleeping bag or inner sleeping bag with insect repellent equipment (Insect Shield, based on permethrin).

http://www.cocoon.at/products/index.php/p/insect-shield-travelsheets_en

Has anyone experience with this product as a sleeping bag and bedbug defence?
I will be walking from 03 May 2017 on, until...
It probably will not be warm enough from time to time, so I will take a light sleeping bag or light blanket in case off.
Buen Camino & Thanks

 

[C clearly]

Bedbugs do not bite through fabric, so any fabric covering provides protection, to the extent that it does not allow bedbugs to get to your skin! Consider bundling up in a protective bag, and applying Deet repellent in the neck area. Silk is good because it can be extremely lightweight. Permethrin treatment might provide some repellency but the scientific evidence is weak. Even so, it seems worth trying.

Enclose your backpack in an airtight bag while it is in the albergue at night, and enclose your sleeping things in an airtight bag while they are in your backpack during the day. If bug bites appear during the day, head to a laundry to put your possibly contaminated things in a hot dryer.

Most important, understand how to decontaminate upon arriving at home, whether or not you think you have encountered bedbugs. Many people have no reaction to bedbug bites and don't know whether they have encountered any, but they could be carrying some home! Check this post on the topic.

 

[SYates]

What @C clearly said plus: Also Permethrin resistance is on the rise also amongst 'European bed bugs', Buen Camino, SY

 

[willydp]

@ C clearly & SYates
Thanks a lot for the taking the time to answer so quickly
I will apply that routine, better not to use chemicals
Buen Camino

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Imhave been using this one, and it appears it uses the same technology. Have not been bitten once since having it, and I like the stretchy light fabric. And apparently I was not the only one who liked it since it was stolen off my bed in Casa Fernanda during dinner! I will buy it again, although the silk one in the site you mention is also an interesting option, depending on the price.

http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Coolmax®+Adaptor+Traveller+Liner+-+Insect+Shield®&o1=0&o2=0&o3=128

Also loving the pijamas they sell!

 

[t2andreo]

My only concern, and why I no longer use the S2S Cool Max liner is that it does not have a full zipper or full side opening. It was otherwise and excellant alternative to silk.

One must "shimmy" into and out of the bag. This is difficult for a 60+ fellow who must use the toilet every 2 hours...

So, I found a microfiber liner, available in either mummy or rectangular shape, with a full separating side and bottom zip. Two rectangular bags can be pair to make a double bag for a couple.

It is made by a US firm called Alps Mountaineering. Check it out here.

http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/products/bags/sleeping-bag-liners/rectangle-liner

I hope this helps.

 

[Mark Lee]

Not sure how healthy bundling up in poisonous chemicals every night for a month or so is. No way would I do it. I never carried insect repellent of any kind on any of my Caminos. You really don't need it.

 

[jimabfalter]

Hello,
I' m collection as much info as I can on the internet and this forum in my preparation for my first Camino (F) and I have a question about this product "Cocoon Insect Shield Silk Travelsheet".
I typed my question in the search option of this forum, but nothing came up…
It is a light weight sleeping bag or inner sleeping bag with insect repellent equipment (Insect Shield, based on permethrin).

http://www.cocoon.at/products/index.php/p/insect-shield-travelsheets_en

Has anyone experience with this product as a sleeping bag and bedbug defence?
I will be walking from 03 May 2017 on, until...
It probably will not be warm enough from time to time, so I will take a light sleeping bag or light blanket in case off.
Buen Camino & Thanks

We used silk liner bags and found them comfortable. You have to understand though unless you are encapsulated in the bag they can still bite your exposed arms, neck, whatever. I think we ran into them twice. Once for sure and it was no big deal. It was in the morning and we just washed everything that afternoon when we got to our next place, and sprayed our packs with the permythrin stuff. It really was no big deal. Pack light and if the only thing that gets you in your life is a bedbug, feel fortunate

 

[Micah26]

There must be some organic thing one could use. Here in US every mosquito within 10 miles seems to find me. I use skin so soft not a chemical in traditional sense but skin cream... works for me. I'm wondering if peppermint oil tea tree oil etc might work? Any organically educated Walters out there can help?

 

[jimabfalter]

There must be some organic thing one could use. Here in US every mosquito within 10 miles seems to find me. I use skin so soft not a chemical in traditional sense but skin cream... works for me. I'm wondering if peppermint oil tea tree oil etc might work? Any organically educated Walters out there can help?

There are a lot of different oils that can be used. It should be noted that some people react badly to certain oils also.

 

[Mark Lee]

There must be some organic thing one could use. Here in US every mosquito within 10 miles seems to find me. I use skin so soft not a chemical in traditional sense but skin cream... works for me. I'm wondering if peppermint oil tea tree oil etc might work? Any organically educated Walters out there can help?

I never saw a single mosquito on any time I did the Camino. Not outside while walking or in the albergues. Same goes for ticks and bedbugs. Did run into gnats and horseflies a couple of times, but so few and far between it's hardly worth noting.
No need for insecticides, repellents or oils.
Sunscreen is nice to have, though.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Never saw a mosquito, but hea to ned bugs who don't care about lavander, tea tree oil and other kind products, there's a reason bed bugs are a teue concern, on the Camino and in any large city.

What surprised me was the number of bees in and around Rabanal del Camino, but they had no interest in passers by.

 

[Kanga]

Just because one person is bitten, does not mean everyone will be bitten. And just because one person is bite free, does not mean another person will not be bitten and some have a horrendous reaction. I am a magnet for every kind of biting insect, at home as well as on camino. My husband says it is because I smell sweet (the dear).

Know yourself.

 

[J F Gregory]

We also found Permethrin in a spray bottle in a Pharmacia in SJDPD and sprayed our mattresses and pillows.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

We also found Permethrin in a spray bottle in a Pharmacia in SJDPD and sprayed our mattresses and pillows.

I really would advise against this. Just imagine how much permethryne there could be on a mattress and pillow if everyone sprayed every night. This could be extremely dangerous. Such products should only be used according to instructions, and spraying nightly is probably part of the insructions.

 

[trecile]

I really would advise against this. Just imagine how much permethryne there could be on a mattress and pillow if everyone sprayed every night. This could be extremely dangerous. Such products should only be used according to instructions, and spraying nightly is probably part of the insructions.

I agree. My bottle of permethrin spray said to use it outside, and to avoid contact with skin and eyes (just while the spray is wet). It should then be left to dry for several hours.

 

[Melensdad]

Imhave been using this one, and it appears it uses the same technology. . .

http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Coolmax®+Adaptor+Traveller+Liner+-+Insect+Shield®&o1=0&o2=0&o3=128

My family uses the Sea To Summit products and have always been happy with them.

 

[willydp]

Happy New Year
Some more info on the permethrin:
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html
So, no sleeping bag with this product for me

 

[Deleted member 3000]

no sleeping bag with this product for me

No one should talk you into using permethrin, but I think the article is talking about getting permethrin in liquid form on your skin, and all the application instructions speak of using gloves, not breathing the mist, and avoiding contact until the application has dried. All studies indicate that permethrin is then safe for skin contact. There are entire lines of clothing made with permethrin, and I am pretty certain their lawyers would not permit such manufacturing unless they were confident that there would be no liability consequences. Treating your backpack will help prevent transporting bedbugs along the Camino and back home.

https://www.rei.com/s/permethrin-in...rmethrin-insect-repellent-and-clothing&page=1

 

[willydp]

No one should talk you into using permethrin, but I think the article is talking about getting permethrin in liquid form on your skin, and all the application instructions speak of using gloves, not breathing the mist, and avoiding contact until the application has dried. All studies indicate that permethrin is then safe for skin contact. There are entire lines of clothing made with permethrin, and I am pretty certain their lawyers would not permit such manufacturing unless they were confident that there would be no liability consequences. Treating your backpack will help prevent transporting bedbugs along the Camino and back home.

ermethrin-insect-repellent-and-clothing&page=1

The initial question was about the "Cocoon Insect Shield Silk Travelsheet"
This one is thin and your are sleeping in it, touching with your skin, mouth when sleeping...
Backpack is another issue.
And about coming home...See the link of Annie's Blog.
Thanks for the info
Happy New Year

 

[Deleted member 3000]

This one is thin and you are sleeping in it, touching with your skin, mouth when sleeping...

I have a homemade four-ounce nylon sleep sack with built-in pillow case, and I soak it with permethrin before each camino! I know thin!!

My backpack and equipment just came out of its plastic garbage bag from my September Camino. I sprayed inside the bag with my equipment in it, and left it inside my shed until after the first winter freezes. While not allowing hitchhikers to move along the Camino is important, my own home is even more important. Fellow pilgrims may be the carriers on the Camino, but I alone would be responsible for an infestation in my home.

My unanswered question on permethrin is whether sweat creates a toxic form of the chemical. None of the studies seem to test that issue. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have tested permetrin in clothing, and deemed it safe (for the purpose of mosquitoes, ticks, and flies but apparently not bedbugs). Their people sweat a lot...

 

[Anniesantiago]

Those people saying "Don't worry about it" have just won the Camino bedbug lottery.
Though MOST people never see a bug, there are many who do.

In my years of walking the Camino, I have seen many, many pilgrims with horrendous bedbug bites.
I have also met many that needed to go to hospital with the silver dollar sized and infected umps all over their body.

Just because you have never been bitten, don't be fooled that you don't need to worry.
And please don't tell other people not to worry.
Bedbugs are a SERIOUS problem along the Camino and people need to pay attention.

I'm not going to tell anyone to use insecticide or not, but I WILL say that having MCS, I know a LOT about what the body is capable of handling.
If you do not have a reaction to the scent (it is basically scentless when dry), then your body is perfectly capable of handling the 1% that you might absorb during the night.
And since long distance walking is one of the ONLY treatments for MCS because the exercise causes the body to chelate chemicals naturally, your next day's walk pretty much takes care of any residue.

You are using permethrin for 6 weeks out of your life.
If you use it properly, you aren't exposed at all.

You are more likely to get cancer from the scented laundry products you use, the incense you burn, the scented candles you burn, the FEBREZE you spray, the scented lotions you slather on your skin, the makeup you put on your face, the dye you put on your scalp, and the junk food you eat, than you are sleeping in a sleeping bag in which the OUTSIDE has been sprayed with permethrin and dried. Same goes for the amount of deet you might use on your face and hands.

Please, whatever you use, make it scentless.

And if you walked the Camino and did not get bitten, give yourself a pat on the back.

 

[Mark Lee]

I have a homemade four-ounce nylon sleep sack with built-in pillow case, and I soak it with permethrin before each camino! I know thin!!

My backpack and equipment just came out of its plastic garbage bag from my September Camino. I sprayed inside the bag with my equipment in it, and left it inside my shed until after the first winter freezes. While not allowing hitchhikers to move along the Camino is important, my own home is even more important. Fellow pilgrims may be the carriers on the Camino, but I alone would be responsible for an infestation in my home.

My unanswered question on permethrin is whether sweat creates a toxic form of the chemical. None of the studies seem to test that issue. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have tested permetrin in clothing, and deemed it safe (for the purpose of mosquitoes, ticks, and flies but apparently not bedbugs). Their people sweat a lot...

Ha ha....they deemed a lot of stuff safe over the years. Agent Orange. Washing down by physical labor (brushes, mops, etc) ships exposed to radiation during the tests in the Pacific. Even in my own experiences from the First Gulf War we had to take anthrax shots, and nerve agent pills while over there. I always wondered how truly unsafe doing that was.
I'd never trust the military with their test conclusions and I just can't see how lying in a bag previously soaked with poison can possibly be good for you. I think I'd risk the ever so slight chance of being nipped by a bedbug.

 

[t2andreo]

Just as an FYI, this year I learned that mosquito research has developed findings that indicate that several factors affect your attraction to mosquitos and being bit, among those factors are included that:

• Mosquitos are more highly attracted to persons with Type O blood. I have found this to be more or less correct by asking people who complain of being bitten what their blood type is. Invariably it is O Positive or O Negative. I have Type AB Pos blood and the mosquitos leave me alone. I do not even wear repellant.
• Mosquitos are more attracted to contrasts in colors, not specific colors. So, wearing a dark color against a white color would create the contrast that attracts a mosquito from a distance. A pattern of similar shades, no matter how bright ought not attract their attention. It is the contrast that sets mosquitos heading your way. However, some sources suggest that mosquitos are attracted by dark colors, where other citations suggest it is the contrast of the dark colors against lighter shades...whatever...
• Mosquitos are very attracted by carbon dioxide and lactic acid produced by hard activity, as in sweat, or heavy breathing. If you exert yourself, like when walking the Camino during the summer, you are signaling to mosquitos in the area that you are tender and ripe... Try to breather through you nose, both in and out. It creates a smaller COs dispersion effect, as the exhaled air is somewhat cooler than from the mouth.

I am trying to locate the articles that contained these research findings so I can place it here, or at least a link to the article.

Here are two such articles:

https://www.mosquitnoband.com/why-do-mosquitoes-like-me-more-than-anyone-else/

and this one...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...oes-Genes-blood-type-beer-drinking-blame.html

I hope this helps.

 

[C clearly]

We simply don't know what the harmful effects of various chemicals are, in all the different usage situations. Odour/perfume certainly does cause difficulties for some people, but I don't think the absence of odour is definite evidence of its safety.

We need to make educated decisions on the risks, and should neither overstate nor understate those risks when we are trying to help other people make their decisions.

Bedbugs bite me regularly, I do react to their bites, and that is the only significant negative on my caminos. If I were a squeamish person, I would probably never go again. Fortunately I can cope with it! I view the desirability for preventive measures differently from someone who is never bitten, or someone who has experienced a really extreme reaction.