Mosquito Repellents

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.

How Do Mosquito Repellents Work?

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.

What About Devices That Emit Sound To Repel Mosquitoes?

There is no evidence that wearing devices that emit sound will repel mosquitoes.

How To Decide Which Repellent Is Best

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.

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