Which mosquito repellents work best?
A. The Maine CDC recommends using products that have been shown to work in scientific trials, and that contain active ingredients which have been registered with the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/insectrp.htm#choosing) for use as insect repellents on skin or clothing. When EPA registers a repellent, they evaluate the product for efficacy and potential effects on human beings and the environment. EPA registration means that EPA does not expect a product, when used according to the instructions on the label, to cause unreasonable adverse effects to human health or the environment. Of the active ingredients registered with the EPA, two have demonstrated a higher degree of efficacy in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature (For more detailed information, see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/publications.htm).
To find out which mosquito repellents really keep the skeeters away, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and ABC’s Good Morning America asked Jonathan Day of the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach, FL, to conduct a test in June 2002. Five courageous testers volunteered to put their arms in a cage filled with 80 bloodthirsty mosquitoes and see how well each of the following four mosquito repellents would keep the insects away. The products tested were: • Cutter Skinsations with 7% DEET • Deep Woods OFF! with 30% DEET The Results The Cutter Skinsations and Deep Woods OFF! did an excellent job. The testers had no bites with any of these products. The Deep Woods OFF! lasted over two hours and the Cutter Skinsations worked for roughly one hour. Good Housekeeping has three tips to avoid mosquito bites: • The higher the percentage of DEET, the longer the repellent will likely work. • Children should not use repellents with more than 10% DEET.
A. The Maine CDC recommends using products that have been shown to work in scientific trials, and that contain active ingredients which have been registered with the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/insectrp.htm#choosing) for use as insect repellents on skin or clothing. When EPA registers a repellent, they evaluate the product for efficacy and potential effects on human beings and the environment. EPA registration means that EPA does not expect a product, when used according to the instructions on the label, to cause unreasonable adverse effects to human health or the environment. Of the active ingredients registered with the EPA, two have demonstrated a higher degree of efficacy in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature (For more detailed information, see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/publications.htm).
A wide variety of insect repellents are available. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using only products containing active ingredients that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use as repellents. Registered products have been reviewed and approved for safety and effectiveness when used according label instructions. According to the CDC, the most effective repellents contain one of the following EPA registered active ingredients: • DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) • Picaridin or KBR 3023 (2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinecarboxylic acid 1-methylpropyl ester) • Oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD (para-Menthane-3,8-diol) • IR3535 (3-[N-Butyl-N-acetyl]-aminopropionic acid, ethyl ester)For more information on these active ingredients, please visit the EPA Website.
If you’ve ever wondered why you seem to be a “mosquito magnet” while your spouse or friends don’t seem to get bitten as often, it’s not all in your head. Scientific studies confirm some people do attract mosquitoes more than others, and in the same way, research shows that every insect repellent is more effective on some people than on others. For that reason, the best-designed insect repellent reviews employ many testers and report the minimum and maximum protection time, not just the average. We found the best such mosquito repellent review conducted by Mark Fradin and John Day, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2002. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cover the newest contenders for best mosquito repellent, which use either synthetic picaridin or lemon eucalyptus oil (a natural insect repellent) as the active ingredient.
