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Insect Repellents

Clinical trials have shown that DEET (Diethyltoluamide) is the most effective form of insect repellent available today. DEET very occasionally causes an allergic skin reaction and we generally do not recommend its use in babies under 2 months, nor in those with serious skin complaints but it has been available for over 40 years and has a remarkable safety profile. It is used by some 200 million people world-wide each year and during billions of applications with very few problems. A small number of severe reactions associated with DEET have occurred but these have been mainly associated with misuse or overuse of repellents (including ingestion!).

DEET based repellents are available in varying concentrations. The higher the concentration of DEET, the longer the protection will last. However, this effect levels out at concentrations of around 50% so InterHealth recommends using a 50% concentration of DEET on exposed skin.

Extract of Lemon Eucalyptus is thought to be the most effective natural repellent available in the UK and is the repellent used in Mosi-guard and Natural Plus. It is approved and recommended by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. However, trials have shown that it does not give as much protection as DEET and needs to be reapplied more frequently.