The natural/organic fashion penetrates quickly into our lives as many people prefer to eat organic food, use natural deodorants, natural tooth paste and so on. The insect repellents market was not excluded: natural mosquito repellent products are gaining much more popularity and are available from several vendors in the market.
Add to this the recognition that the most popular mosquito repellent Diethyl-meta-Toluamide (known as DEET) is not that good for our health, and no wonder you see the natural mosquito repellent alternative being more popular than ever.
But is the popularity of natural mosquito repellents justified? For start, DEET is a highly effective repellent that, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stays active for up to 8 hours. Can a natural mosquito repellent achieve that? Well, few studies demonstrated for some of the natural mosquito repellents even longer effectiveness than DEET. Still, other studies showed that the same repellents do not even come near the DEET active duration.
The EPA publishes a list of substances they accept as mosquito repellent. Though authorities in countries around the world are not obliged to accept the American ruling regarding mosquito repellents, in many countries the EPA decisions are respected. As for today, the EPA recognizes the following natural mosquito repellents, but according to the American agency none of them is approved for 8 hours as DEET:
Other natural mosquito repellent compounds that are commonly mentioned (but not by the EPA) are neem oil, garlic extract, thyme essential oil, celery seed oil, mint oil, spearmint oil, rosemary oil, lavender oil and geranium oil. Furtheremore, people from many parts of the world use natural mosquito repellents from other plants that are unfamiliar to most western society.
Most studies with the aforementioned natural repellents showed the mosquito repelling efficiency close to 100% but others showed less than that. Furthermore, many of the natural mosquito repellents are highly efficient at the beginning (sometimes even less than an hour) but their efficiency degrades quickly over time.
Out of the natural mosquito repellents I reviewed, the ones recognized by the EPA (see above) are the most promising ones and also Neem, Rosemary, Lavender and Geranium oils. Since some studies on these natural mosquito repellents demonstrated higher efficiency than others, it appears the natural repellents have different efficiency for different mosquito species, at different parts of the world and under different personal conditions (running/resting, before/after shower, etc.).
To summarize, using natural mosquito repellents is a very wise decision how to avoid mosquito bites and should be selected per its effeciveness and durability over time. Catnip oil is currently the most long lasting one, but Lemon Eucalipus oil is a very good choice too. One best consider his odor preferences too before purchasing his personal repellent.
Add to this the recognition that the most popular mosquito repellent Diethyl-meta-Toluamide (known as DEET) is not that good for our health, and no wonder you see the natural mosquito repellent alternative being more popular than ever.
But is the popularity of natural mosquito repellents justified? For start, DEET is a highly effective repellent that, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stays active for up to 8 hours. Can a natural mosquito repellent achieve that? Well, few studies demonstrated for some of the natural mosquito repellents even longer effectiveness than DEET. Still, other studies showed that the same repellents do not even come near the DEET active duration.
The EPA publishes a list of substances they accept as mosquito repellent. Though authorities in countries around the world are not obliged to accept the American ruling regarding mosquito repellents, in many countries the EPA decisions are respected. As for today, the EPA recognizes the following natural mosquito repellents, but according to the American agency none of them is approved for 8 hours as DEET:
- Catnip Oil – also known as catmint (7 hours duration!)
- Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus – (6 hours duration)
- 2-undecanone – which is derived from wild tomato (4.5 hours)
- P-Menthane-3,8-Diol – also known as PMD, made of oil of lemon eucalyptus (2 hours)
- Citronella – (1 hour)
Other natural mosquito repellent compounds that are commonly mentioned (but not by the EPA) are neem oil, garlic extract, thyme essential oil, celery seed oil, mint oil, spearmint oil, rosemary oil, lavender oil and geranium oil. Furtheremore, people from many parts of the world use natural mosquito repellents from other plants that are unfamiliar to most western society.
Most studies with the aforementioned natural repellents showed the mosquito repelling efficiency close to 100% but others showed less than that. Furthermore, many of the natural mosquito repellents are highly efficient at the beginning (sometimes even less than an hour) but their efficiency degrades quickly over time.
Out of the natural mosquito repellents I reviewed, the ones recognized by the EPA (see above) are the most promising ones and also Neem, Rosemary, Lavender and Geranium oils. Since some studies on these natural mosquito repellents demonstrated higher efficiency than others, it appears the natural repellents have different efficiency for different mosquito species, at different parts of the world and under different personal conditions (running/resting, before/after shower, etc.).
To summarize, using natural mosquito repellents is a very wise decision how to avoid mosquito bites and should be selected per its effeciveness and durability over time. Catnip oil is currently the most long lasting one, but Lemon Eucalipus oil is a very good choice too. One best consider his odor preferences too before purchasing his personal repellent.
Natural Mosquito Repellent
4/
5
murat