ShareThisBy ANNA WALLNER and KRISTINA MATISIC
Fine Living Network
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Tent? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Hiking boots? Check. Heading outdoors this season? Your list of items to bring along won't be complete without some mosquito repellant. This is the time of year those pesky critters arrive in hoards. To keep them at bay, remember the following shopping tips when you're at the drugstore:
_ Study after study shows DEET (Meta-N,N-diethyl toluamide) is the most effective mosquito repellant.
_ High concentrations or extended use of DEET can pose a health risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend using repellents with less than 50 percent DEET. (Across the border, Health Canada recommends repellents with 30 percent DEET or less.)
_ Children should not use products that have more than 10 percent DEET, and it should be used sparingly.
_ A high concentration of DEET does not mean better protection; it gives longer protection. (For example, 30 percent DEET will give you about six hours of protection.)
_ Permethrin is a heavy-duty insecticide for use on clothing and tents. Don't buy it for use on the skin.
_ Eucalyptus and soybean-based repellents can be somewhat effective, but only for short periods.
_ Citronella did not perform well in our tests. (And we had the bites to prove it!) Some studies have also shown citronella can cause skin irritation.
_ Don't use a combined sunscreen and bug repellent. The repellent can reduce the efficacy of the SPF. Also, sunscreen usually needs to be reapplied more often than repellent.
(Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic host The Shopping Bags on Fine Living TV Network. Contact them at www.fineliving.com. For more columns visit www.scrippsnews.com)
