![]() Which bucket a product falls into may impact what active ingredients it’s made with. Machtinger, an assistant professor of entomology at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.ĭespite assurance from the medical community that DEET is safe, shoppers may consider looking for DEET-free insect repellents or ones labeled “natural.” There are some EPA-approved DEET-free insect repellents with other active ingredients, but experts don’t recommend natural repellents due to the lack of data to verify their effectiveness claims (and none of them are EPA-approved). Some folks confuse it with DDT, an unrelated and banned compound in the United States, and others worry about reported neurological issues associated with DEET use that have been disproven by the medical community,” noted Erika T. “DEET is a controversial ingredient, largely because of misinformation. DEET has gotten a bad reputation as being unsafe, but experts told us there are no health risks associated with using it. Most experts we consulted agreed that DEET is the most effective active ingredient in an insect repellent. All registered repellents offer protection against mosquitoes, but only some work against ticks. The EPA has an online search tool that helps you look up registered bug repellents, and we used it to check the registration numbers on each of the products we recommended. EPA registrationĪll the experts we spoke to recommended finding an EPA-registered insect repellent. With that being said, experts said there are a few factors you should consider while shopping for insect repellent, which we detailed below. “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” “I think the key to choosing a proper insect repellent is to get something that you can do some research on and see effective scientific data that shows it works,” said Daniel Markowski, a technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association. ![]() But they’re not all equally effective, and they don’t all have comprehensive data or research to support their claims. ![]() How to shop for insect repellentįrom sprays and lotions to rubber bracelets and stick-on patches infused with essential oils, there are many products on the market that claim to repel insects. Using their guidance, we also rounded up a handful of products you can use to prevent bug bites. To help simplify your shopping, we consulted experts about what’s important to pay attention to when buying bug repellent. SKIP AHEAD Best insect repellents | What is insect repellent? | How to apply insect repellent Figuring out which ones are actually effective can be confusing, though, seeing as the labels are often covered with complicated ingredients and jargon like “DEET” and “all-natural.” One preventative and protective measure you can take to avoid bug bites is applying insect repellent. But bites from mosquitoes, ticks and other insects can be much more than just irritating or itchy - they can carry illnesses like malaria and Lyme disease, too. ![]() During the warmer months, bug bites - like sunburns - are sometimes an unfortunate consequence of spending time outdoors. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |