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by Editors of ConsumerReports.org
Consumer Reports' test of 18 insect repellents is rather outdated, but most of the products are still on the market. The test is based on the full range of major ingredients approved for use in the United… States, including picaridin, synthetic lemon eucalyptus oil, IR 3535, four botanicals and DEET. One permethrin-treated T-shirt is also tested. Repellents are tested with two species of mosquito common in the United States, as well as with deer ticks. Four volunteers expose their arms to cages full of 200 mosquitoes at five-minute intervals. Effectiveness is measured by the average length of time until the second bite. There are no separate ratings for scent, skin feel or potential damage to materials.
by Donald R. Barnard and Rui-De Xue
Although each of the 12 insect repellents is tested on only two people for this older study, researchers report the range of protection time, not just the average as Consumer Reports does. This shows that… some insect repellents protect as long as seven or eight hours for one tester, but only four hours for another. The products, which cover a range of ingredients, are tested for duration of effectiveness in preventing bites from three different species of mosquito. Three non-DEET insect repellents perform as well and as long as a 15 percent DEET product (the highest DEET percentage tested).
by Mark S. Fradin
Dermatology professor Mark Fradin summarizes information on the current insect repellents available. Fradin recommends 5 percent to 35 percent DEET-based repellents for most people, reserving higher… concentrations for very hot, wet or high-risk environments. Adding permethrin-treated clothing can make protection even better. The article covers safety and toxicity data on DEET very well, but it fails to comment on the Duke University articles warning about DEET. Fradin notes that Bite Blocker is especially effective against black flies.
by James R. Roberts
This article from the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that the risks from West Nile virus and other diseases carried by insects greatly outweigh the risks of using DEET. However, there are reports that… some children have had seizures or other neurological problems after repeated applications of DEET, while no such problems have been reported with picaridin. Recommendations are made based on this information.
by Editors of GreenerChoices.org
by Mark S. Fradin and John F. Day.
Researchers enlist 15 volunteers to test 16 insect repellents, including seven botanical products, four DEET products and three repellent wristbands. Because each product is tested three times on all 15… volunteers, the average duration is quite a bit more credible than tests at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Reports. Bite Blocker for Kids is the top-rated non-DEET product, but the duration of its effectiveness varies from more three hours for one user to only 16 minutes for another.
by Andria Lisle
by Steven Schofield, Martin Tepper and Randy Gadawski
by G. Benner, J. Schulz, et al.
We'd rank this review more highly if it covered more insect repellent ingredients. Here, field tests evaluate the effectiveness of seven non-DEET insect repellents with 10 to 20 percent concentrations of… either IR3535 or picaridin, using 10 testers over a 10-hour period following the standard Environmental Protection Agency protocol. Each tester exposed one forearm treated with insect repellent, as well as another forearm left untreated as a control.
by Editors of National Institutes of Health
Although insect repellents aren't compared for effectiveness here, you can find the actual ingredients and related health information for many specific products, some listed under "personal care," others… under "pesticides." Product information includes a material safety data sheet with a health rating (from zero to four, the lower the better). It's interesting that Repel Lemon Eucalyptus has a health rating of two (moderate), while DEET insect repellents range from two down to one (slight).
by Editors of Canada Communicable Disease Report
by Editors of Good Housekeeping
by Becky Levine
This article summarizes warnings from a Duke University Medical Center researcher based on 30 years of study on the effects of DEET on rats. The researcher warns that DEET is a potent neurotoxin that can… cause significant brain damage and loss of ability, especially when used over a long period of time or combined with other drugs or chemicals -- permethrin, for example. The article includes a link to another study showing that even short-term stress increases the toxic effects. No mosquito repellents are rated.
by Editors of Choice magazine
by Brooke Witting
This is one of the few studies we found that tests insect repellents against dog ticks. A Ph.D. candidate conducts an objective study comparing the effectiveness of OFF! Active IV (25 percent DEET), with… Buzz Away Extreme, a soybean-oil insect repellent that also uses geranium oil and other plant oils as ingredients. Rather than using human subjects, the tests observe whether or not ticks stay away from treated cloth.
by Editors
by Editors of and contributors to National Home Gardening Club
Volunteer gardeners test several different insect repellents, including BugBand Insect Repellent Spray, a botanical insect repellent based on geraniol (from geranium plants). Swamp Juice Towelette, also… using geraniol, receives the same high member testing rating as BugBand. Also tested is Don't Bite Me!, an all-natural patch that uses Vitamin B1. Reviews are limited to a sentence or two, with two members adding a sentence of commentary. Products are given a numerical rating.
by Contributors to BackpackGearTest.org
Backpackers from the U.S. and Australia test different repellents in prime conditions, including day and overnight hikes and canoe camping. Many reviews include long-term reports over a period of several… months. However, there's no overall comparison or summary. Most of the products reviewed are deemed effective, though some last longer than others. Only God's Country Botanicals Buzz-Off, which uses a mixture of catnip and lemon eucalyptus oil, receives poor reviews. Some products are not yet available in the United States.
by Editors of Good Housekeeping
by Editors of TheGreenGuide.com
by Wendy Bumgardner
by Editors of The Cochrane Library
by Stephen Regenold
by Contributors to Drugstore.com
by Editors of BeyondPesticides.org
This coalition, formed to combat the use of pesticides, offers a chart that includes DEET. Some references are given to document DEET's toxic effects on the nervous system, kidneys, liver and birth defects,… but most of the footnotes are disappointing, just leading to other fact sheets from the same organization, rather than to objective tests from other sources. So the chart raises some questions without really answering them.
by Contributors to Amazon.com
by Editors of Entomological Society of America
This article summarizes the results of research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, which finds isolongifolenone to be an effective mosquito and tick repellent. The compound, which is found in… South American Tauroniro trees, appears to be more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes and just as effective at repelling ticks. Researchers say that isolongifolenone is cost effective as well, though no word is given as to when it might appear in mass-produced products.
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 3M SRL-12 Ultrathon Insect Repellent Cream  from Amazon.com New: $7.67 In Stock.
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 Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Pump 4 oz Md: 406 from Amazon.com New: $6.98 In Stock.
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