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Concept
Insect repellent
Summary
An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellents help prevent and control the outbreak of insect-borne (and other arthropod-bourne) diseases such as malaria, Lyme disease, dengue fever, bubonic plague, river blindness, and West Nile fever. Pest animals commonly serving as vectors for disease include insects such as flea, fly, and mosquito; and ticks (arachnids).
Some insect repellents are insecticides (bug killers), but most simply discourage insects and send them flying or crawling away. Nearly any would be fatal upon reaching the median lethal dose, but classification as an insecticide implies death even at lower doses.
Synthetic repellents tend to be more effective and/or longer lasting than "natural" repellents.
For protection against mosquito bites, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends DEET, icaridin (picaridin, KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus (para-menthane-diol or PMD), IR3535 and 2-undecanone with the caveat that higher percentages of the active ingredient provide longer protection.
In 2015, Researchers at New Mexico State University tested 10 commercially available products for their effectiveness at repelling mosquitoes. On the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the vector of Zika virus, only one repellent that did not contain DEET had a strong effect for the duration of the 240 minutes test: a lemon eucalyptus oil repellent. All DEET-containing mosquito repellents were active.
In one comparative study from 2004, IR3535 was as effective or better than DEET in protection against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. Other sources (official publications of the associations of German physicians as well as of German druggists) suggest the contrary and state DEET is still the most efficient substance available and the substance of choice for stays in malaria regions, while IR3535 has little effect.
Official source
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