Rotating Article
For: Week of May 9, 2005
By: C. Roxanne Rutledge,
University of Florida
John D. Atkins, Extension Agriculture/Livestock Agent,
Santa Rosa County Extension Service
C. Roxanne Rutledge2
Female mosquitoes feed on blood to help their eggs develop into offspring. When she bites, she releases her saliva into the area where she is biting. Her saliva contains proteins that may cause some people to have an allergic reaction such as itchy red bumps and swollen hives. For those with increased sensitivity to bites, a blister, bruise, or large inflammatory reaction can occur. If a mosquito is harboring a virus, it is possible that she can transmit the virus to humans through her saliva. In Florida, the viruses that mosquitoes transmit can cause encephalitis. The most important mosquito-borne diseases in Florida are St. Louis encephalitis , eastern equine encephalitis , and West Nile virus encephalitis.
The best ways to avoid mosquito bites are to avoid infested areas, wear protective clothing, and wear insect repellent.
Repellents make humans unattractive to a mosquito so that it will avoid areas of the body that have been treated with the product. Repellents do not kill mosquitoes. The best repellents will provide protection from bites for a long period of time from just one application. The University of Florida mosquito researchers test and evaluate the effectiveness of mosquito repellents based on the amount of time the product will continue to repel mosquitoes after one application to the skin. This is known as Complete Protection Time (CPT).
Repellents that are currently available are either synthetic chemicals, such as DEET, or plant derived chemicals such as Citronella.
There is no evidence that wearing devices that emit sound will repel mosquitoes.
Read the label to determine what the active ingredient is and what percentage of the active ingredient is in the container. Use Table 1, based on University of Florida research, as a guideline to compare products. Some provide protection for a long period of time and some have very short protection times. Keep in mind, however, that repellents do not protect all users equally. The effectiveness of a repellent depends on the mosquito species that is biting as well as the age, sex, level of activity, and attractivness of the human using the product. Are you in an area where you know that mosquito-borne diseases are present?
Protection Times of Tested Mosquito Repellents
|
Products |
Active Ingredient |
Average Complete Protection Time |
|
OFF! Deep Woods |
23.8% DEET |
5 hours |
|
Sawyer Controlled Release |
20% DEET |
4 hours |
|
OFF! Skintastic |
6.65% DEET |
2 hours |
|
Bite Blocker for Kids |
2% Soybean Oil |
1.5 hours |
|
OFF! Skintastic for Kids |
4.75% DEET |
1.5 hours |
|
Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus |
7.5% IR3535 |
23 minutes |
|
Natrapel |
10% Citronella |
20 minutes |
|
Herbal Armor |
12% Citronella; 2.5% peppermint oil; 2% cedar oil; 1% lemongrass oil; 0.05% geranium oil |
19 minutes |
|
Green Ban for People |
10% Citronella; 2% peppermint oil |
14 minutes |
|
Buzz Away |
5% Citronella |
14 minutes |
|
Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard |
0.1% Citronella |
10 minutes |
|
Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil |
Active Ingredient not known |
10 minutes |
|
Skin-So-Soft Moisturizing Suncare |
0.05% Citronella |
3 minutes |
|
Gone Original Wristband |
9.5% DEET |
0 |
|
Repello Wristband |
9.5% DEET |
0 |
The Environmental Protection Agency has two fact sheets that can be viewed on the internet.
-How to use insect repellents safely
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/insectrp.htm
-Reregistration of the insect repellent DEET
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/citizens/deet.htm
John Atkins is Agriculture/Livestock Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. The use of trade names in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the exclusion of others.