Just hearing a mosquito’s buzz can bring back the memory of an itchy bite.
While no one necessarily wants to stick their hand in a box filled with mosquitoes, some people are willing to do it to keep you from wasting money on products that don’t work. That’s how Consumer Reports put 45 different repellents to the test.
Here’s how the testing process worked:
- The repellent was applied to the arm of a willing volunteer. Thirty minutes later, the volunteer stuck their arm in a cage filled with 200 mosquitoes for five minutes. (Don’t worry: the insects were not carrying any diseases.)
- After five minutes passed, the volunteers withdrew their arms and then repeated the process by placing their arms into a second set of cages containing disease-free mosquitoes of another species for five more minutes.
- The subjects then walked around for 10 minutes to stimulate sweating — this was to mimic a real-world setting in which users might be active while wearing mosquito repellent.
- Half an hour later, the whole procedure was repeated. And then it was repeated every hour after that until a repellent failed Consumer Reports’ test or until eight hours passed.
Consumer Reports considers a failure to be a “confirmed mosquito bite” — either two bites during one five-minute session inside the cage, or one bite in each of the two consecutive five-minute sessions. Some performed better than others.
Best Scoring Products
1. Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent Wipes — Overall score: 96; Price: $6
2. Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent Wilderness Formula Pump — Overall score: 95; Price: $9
3. Total Home (CVS) Woodland Scent Insect Repellent — Overall score: 94; Price: $7
4. 3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent — Overall score: 94; Price: $12
5. Off! Sportsmen Deep Woods Insect Repellent — Overall score: 93; Price: $11
Worst Scoring Products
5. Buzz Away Extreme Insect Repellent Towelettes — Overall score: 7
4. EcoSmart Insect Repellent — Overall score: 5
3. California Baby Natural Bug Blend Bug Repellent — Overall score: 4
2. Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent — Overall score: 4
1. Hello Bello Mosquito Repellent — Overall score: 4
Consumer Reports recommends making sure you are read the label before you buy a repellent. That’s because active ingredients and concentration matter when it comes to both effectiveness and safety.
The top-performing products in Consumer Reports’ tests contained one of these three active ingredients: Deet, oil of lemon eucalyptus or picaridin. But the most common ingredient in effective repellents was Deet.
“Our testing paints a pretty clear picture — no matter the brand or what kind of repellent you’re using, products made with 15- to 30-percent Deet worked the best,” Consumer Reports researcher Catherine Roberts said.
At 30-percent and below, Deet is considered safe for pregnant women and children who are at least 2 months old. Looking for a natural remedy? Consumer Reports suggests products with 30-percent oil of lemon eucalyptus or 20-percent picaridin.
Finally, don’t use combination sunscreen-insect repellent products. While sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours, Florida’s Poison Control Center does not recommend applying repellent that frequently.