From zappers to catchers to candles to sprays, mosquito repellents come in many forms. But which ones work?
Do you seem to get eaten alive when others are left alone? You’re probably not just imagining it.
Everyone’s body chemistry is a little different, and some people are more likely to attract unwanted insect advances than others are.
Mosquitoes can sense your presence from far away. When you breathe out, you emit a plume of carbon dioxide that carries on the breeze, and CO2 also seeps from your skin.
Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide as well as the warmth and humidity you’re giving off. They are also attracted to certain chemicals in your sweat. And mosquitoes love a moving target — it helps them zero in.
In general, mosquito repellent works by masking the chemical cues that welcome mosquitoes to dine.
DEET: Potent, But Safe
One of the most effective mosquito repellents is one of the oldest around. DEET was first developed for use by the U.S. Army in 1946, and it became available to the public in 1957. Many other products have hit the market since then, but few compare to DEET. In fact, it’s one of two ingredients in mosquito repellent that the CDC recommends for preventing mosquito-borne diseases. The other is picaridin, and the CDC believes these two ingredients are more effective than other mosquito repellents.
DEET has an excellent safety record, despite some people’s concerns. N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide doesn’t sound like something you’d want to spray on your skin, and perhaps its acronym reminds people of the dangerous and now banned insecticide DDT. But they’re nothing alike.
The Environmental Protection Agency must approve all pesticides used in the U.S., and although DEET isn’t a pesticide by definition — it does not kill insects — it falls under the EPA’s regulatory purview.