If you have been reading this blog, you know we love our mosquitoes and possible cures.
Mosquitoes can carry disease and can make our outdoor walks akin to a circle in Dante's Inferno.
Still, the cure may be worse than the bite, according to an article in Time on a Consumer Reports survey.
It turns out that in a poll of 2,011 U.S. adults, 75 percent are more concerned with the many diseases transported by mosquitoes and ticks, like Lyme disease, West Nile Virus and chikungunya, than with potentially dangerous chemicals in their bug spray.
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But guess what? Chemicals – like N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, commonly known as deet -aren’t your only weapon against mosquitoes other than staying inside your house growing paler by the second. In fact, they might not even be your most potent weapon.
The best products used picaridin – a chemical thought safer than deet – and oil of lemon eucalyptus as the active ingredients.
Both are chemically synthesized ingredients but more similar to natural compounds than deet and come with fewer side effects.
Read: 5 ways to avoid mosquito bites
So the products that came out on top were Sawyer Fisherman’s Formula, which held mosquitoes and ticks at bay for eight hours, and Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, which protected against ticks for eight hours and mosquitoes for seven hours.
Just as informative is what didn’t work: products with oils like citronella, lemongrass and rosemary. Candles and wristbands failed the test, as well.
To read the full story in Time click here.
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