I sprayed insect repellent over my arms before every evening run just to keep the mosquitoes off: three weeks later, when I looked at my watch face in daylight, it was already too late
A runner discovered her sports watch lens had been chemically dissolved by three weeks of DEET insect repellent applied before evening runs. The damage wasn’t a scratch—it was a molecular breakdown of plastic caused by DEET’s solvent properties. Discover why this happens, who’s at risk, and what actually works instead.