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DEET, picaridin, allethrin, permethrin, citronella, and oil of lemon eucalyptus have been shown to be effective at repelling insects according to the EPA. Some of these ingredients are more effective than others at repelling some species on insects more than others, so be sure to get one formulated to repel the types of bugs in your area. For folks partial to plant-based bug repellents, we recommend DEET-free Repel. It's formulated with lemon eucalyptus oil, which is the only natural repellent that is registered with theEPAand recommended by the CDC. It's somewhat pungent and a little greasy, but if you're trying to keep mosquitoes at bay, it gets the job done. A thorough coat of the stuff offers up to six hours of protection from those irksome blood-suckers.
This budget-friendly bug repellent also comes in the form of lotion and pump spray if you prefer a different application or just want to cover all your bases. A preventative and a treatment, this pet-safe insect spray kills and repels indoor pests and keeps your home pest-free. Kills flying, crawling, biting and stinging pests including ants, roaches, spiders, flies, fleas, ticks, wasps, scorpions, mosquitoes, fruit flies, silverfish, moths, gnats, carpet beetles, earwigs, palmetto bugs, waterbugs. How to apply insect repellentIf the first step of preventing bug bites is buying an effective insect repellent, the second step is applying the product correctly, experts said.
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She's published over 20 articles related to tick surveillance and control practices in the United States and Lyme disease treatment. People worldwide are suffering from mosquito-borne diseases, including Malaria and Zika. But the world is also worried about increased insect resistance to pesticides.With OFF! ” cap will protect your family from the ravages of mosquito-borne diseases.
Getting even coverage on an arm or a leg was easiest with the Sawyer repellent—aerosol sprays are much harder to control and result in a lot more overspray. They also make it difficult to spray areas near the face, like the shoulders. While some parents steer clear of formulas containing DEET, the CDC says it's safe for children over 2 months of age. However, read the product label carefully and adhere to any precautions. Children under 10 should not apply insect repellent themselves, and adults should be careful to avoid the eye and mouth area when helping children put repellent on their faces.
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The worst ones are spitty and messy, and can overspray or puddle up. Pet-friendly, this spray is gentle enough to use several times a week around your loved ones, throughout the house, yet powerful enough to fully eliminate pests and provide lasting defense of your household from invading insects. After extensive research, we selected each of these insect repellent for home based on their performance and dependability.
At the other end of the concentration spectrum are products such as Off FamilyCare Insect Repellent I with 15% DEET. To prevent Lyme disease, the CDC “recommends using products with ≥20% DEET,” so these lower concentrations may not provide adequate protection against ticks. In 2022, we looked at SC Johnson’s Stem for Mosquitoes, an essential-oil–based repellent that intrigued us due to the backing of SC Johnson, the makers of Off. Unfortunately, the spray is extremely spitty and, like other essential-oil repellents, doesn’t have the EPA’s extensive testing to back up its effectiveness. The differences among the permethrin options are less pronounced than with the other types of repellents we recommend. The need for a super-precise spray pattern is not as important here, because it gets sprayed on a large object instead of, say, your ankle, your wrist, or the back of your neck.
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There are so many products out there that it's no wonder why people become confused about which one to buy. Some people turn to friends or family members for advice on what to purchase. An insect repellent works by essentially jamming an insect’s radar, thus altering the insect’s ability to find a host. Experts explained that insect repellent compromises the ability of the sensory devices on the antennae to find a suitable host. A repellent affects senses like smell and taste, too, but it usually doesn’t kill the insect, according to Buckner.
This repellent is formulated with 5% picaridin, which is meant to provide protection for up to four hours, according to OFF!. Notably, it’s designed to work on clothing as well as skin and the company says it won’t damage cotton, wool or nylon. It has a 4.3-star average rating from over 170 reviews on Walmart. If our top pick is not available, our next choice is Ranger Ready Picaridin 20% Tick + Insect Repellent. It has the same 20% concentration of picaridin as the Sawyer repellent, so it provides the same amount of protection. Ranger Ready comes in either a pump- or trigger-spray bottle; we like the even spread of the latter, but the bottle isn’t as compact as Sawyer’s, so it’s less travel friendly.
Often, the percentage of active ingredients, like DEET or picaridin, is what controls the length of time between applications, so look for a higher concentration if you'd prefer longer coverage. Like DEET, DEET-free insect repellents formulated with the active ingredients we listed above are safe and effective, experts told us. However, they haven’t been around as long as DEET, which means experts haven’t had as much time to study their efficacy. Picaridin, for example, performs just as well as DEET when it comes to insects, but it hasn’t been studied as long, according to Buckner. Machtinger echoed this and added that though picaridin can be a “reasonable alternative to DEET,” it might “be more challenging to find in some places” — it can also be more expensive. Recognizing that some shoppers might want DEET-free options, we’ve also included a few insect repellents that don’t use the ingredient, but are still EPA-registered and contain one of the active ingredients recommended by the CDC.
All registered repellents offer protection against mosquitoes, but only some work against ticks. Our research led us to seek a spray with a 20% concentration of picaridin—a repellent chemical that’s as effective as DEET, but without the drawbacks. Sawyer is our favorite, but any repellent with 20% picaridin should have the same effectiveness. We zeroed in on Sawyer Products 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent in particular because its smart, compact bottle design makes it easy to apply evenly and accurately. Its pump spray is less likely than aerosol competitors to overspray or leave a puddle on your skin, and its secure, two-capped design prevents accidental leaks inside a backpack or other bag.
The most important aspect of the Sawyer insect repellent is its 20% picaridin base. As we outlined above, this chemical has the most positives and the fewest negatives of any EPA-approved repellent. Create a bug-free bubble outdoors with these spatial insect repellents.
Bug zappers kill the wrong bugs—to control bugs without a spray repellent, use a spatial repellent or a fan instead. I live in New Hampshire, and in the past 15 years, I have been treated for Lyme five times. On two of those occasions, I had to undergo a four-week course of the antibiotic doxycycline, which is awful in its own right. I also have family members who have been deeply affected by Lyme. Seeing what this disease is capable of is a sobering experience; I can’t stress enough how important it is to protect yourself against tick bites. The best repellents have a nice, even spray that is easy to apply.
Here are the pest repellents and traps that experts agree can effectively keep bugs away. First, they can’t be applied to clothing, so they’re less versatile. There is no way to get them onto your shoes or boots for added tick protection. Second, Conlon told us that after application, lotions take about 20 minutes to start repelling bugs.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization focused on environmental and health issues, also offers detailed, well-supported research on repellent chemicals, which we reviewed. While researching this guide, we spoke with Joe Conlon, then the technical adviser of the American Mosquito Control Association . He has conducted mosquito-control operations or on-site consultations in 34 countries. After testing three new repellents and speaking with Sonja Swiger, an entomologist at Texas A&M University, we’ve updated this guide. I also have a company specializing in garden care for families who do not have time to take care of it.
Many people are specifically concerned about mosquitos in the warmer months, and Markowski said “they’re very good at finding a host” during this time. ”Even if a quarter-sized amount of skin is not protected with repellent, they’re going to find it,” he said. The Cutter is an aerosol spray, which makes it harder than our picaridin picks to apply in limited areas. It also makes it harder to tell how much repellent you have left. The reason we didn’t go with a pump spray here is that none of the dry DEET formulations come in pump-spray bottles.
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