Study: DEET Is Best Bug Repellent
July 3 -- Hungry mosquitoes are in search of a little blood this summer. The question is: How do you keep those bugs from biting?
As part of a study commissioned by the state of Florida and published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, Jonathan Day, professor of medical entomology with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, took 16 nationally sold mosquito repellents — synthetic chemicals, plant-based products and even some skin softeners used as repellents — and put them to the test.
"I think there was a lot of folklore associated with these repellents but [they've] never a head-to-head test like this," Day told ABCNEWS.
Day and his colleagues picked the hungriest mosquitoes they could find. "We chose a mosquito species that is a particularly aggressive biter," said Day.
Each volunteer (most of these human guinea pigs work in the lab) applied a repellent to an exposed arm and then "offered" it up in the name of science.
Results: DEET Works Best
The results? On average, most of the skin softeners provided less than 10 minutes of protection. The plant-based citronella products offered about 20 minutes of protection. Repellents containing the chemical N,-N diethyl-m-toluamide, better known as DEET, were by far the longest lasting.
A 7 percent DEET solution provided almost two hours of protection. A 24 percent solution lasted more than five hours.
Many Americans shy away from DEET because of concerns it may be toxic. But researchers say that since DEET went on the market 45 years ago, it has been studied more thoroughly than any other repellent and is remarkably safe.
"DEET-based products can be safely used by both children and adults and they are the product of choice when you're really looking for lasting protection against insect bites," said Dr. Mark Fradin, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina.
DEET products also protect against mosquitoes, black flies, horse flies, deer flies and ticks.
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