For casual use by most people, a high concentration of DEET is not needed. Products with 25 percent to 35 percent DEET will provide adequate protection for adults under most conditions; use lower concentrations for children. To make sure you will not react to the repellent, apply the product to a small area of skin on your arm or leg before general use. After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water. Wash treated clothing before wearing again.

DEET-based repellents are available at grocery stores, pharmacies, sporting goods stores, home improvement centers, and other retail outlets.

Repellent products must state any age restriction. If there is none, EPA has not required a restriction on the use of the product. According to the label, oil of lemon eucalyptus products should NOT be used on CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS. In addition to EPA’s decisions about use of products on children, many consumers also look to the opinion of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP does have an opinion on the use of DEET in children (see below).

The use of an insect repellent is not the only way to reduce the risk of bites from mosquitoes, ticks and other biting insects that may transmit disease. Avoid places and times when mosquitoes bite. Generally, the peak biting periods occur just before and after sunset and again just before dawn Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity.

Preventing insect bites primarily involves using a topical treatment to repel fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. When choosing a topical powder, spray or once-a-month flea control product, be sure to choose a product that not only kills fleas but repels them as well. Treatment of a serious infestation of insects or parasites such as fleas, ticks, lice, or mites can be remedied by your veterinarian and should be addressed ASAP.

Yes. Insect repellents help people reduce their exposure to mosquito bites that may carry potentially serious viruses such as West Nile virus, and allow them to continue to play and work outdoors. In pregnant or breastfeeding women, there are no reported adverse events following use of repellents containing DEET or picaridin. Click here for more information about using repellents safely.

Mosquitoes and other blood-feeding flies (such as black flies and deer flies) are attracted to hosts by skin odors and carbon dioxide from their breath. When a mosquito gets close to a host, DEET and some other repellents jam the insect's sensors and confuse the insect so it is unable to land and bite the host successfully. Repellents are effective only at short distances from the treated surface, so the user may still see mosquitoes flying nearby.

Numerous scientific studies have been conducted and published in peer-reviewed journals. In 2002, for example, researchers at the University of Florida's Medical Entomology laboratory compared the effectiveness of DEET-based repellents to some alternative products and found that DEET-based repellents were far more effective (Fradin-Day, New England Journal of Medicine, July 4, 2002).

Some non-DEET repellent products which are intended to be applied directly to skin also provide some protection from mosquito bites. However, studies have suggested that other products do not offer the same level of protection, or that protection does not last as long as products containing DEET. A soybean-oil-based product has been shown to provide protection for a period of time similar to a product with a low concentration of DEET (4.75%).

The effectiveness of both insect repellents and sunscreens are dramatically reduced when users apply them at the same time. Decide which is your top priority at the moment-protection from insects or from the sun-then apply either a repellent or sunscreen, plus use other measures to reduce insect and sun exposure. Some manufacturers produce a specially formulated product that combines both DEET-based insect repellent and sunscreen.

Use of repellents products may cause skin reactions in rare cases. Most products also note that eye irritation can occur if product gets in the eye. If you suspect a reaction to a product, discontinue use, wash the treated skin, and call a poison control center. If product gets in the eyes flush with water and consult health care provider or poison control center. If you go to a doctor, take the product with you.

Wasps, honey bees, hornets, yellow jackets and ants are the insects most likely to cause strong allergic reactions. Some biting insects (mosquitoes, flies, lice, kissing bugs and fleas) can cause allergies as well because they inject saliva to thin the blood when they bite. Finally, some caterpillars are covered with hairs that contain a substance irritating to human skin and this can sometimes cause allergic reactions.

We do not have scientific data regarding the use of DEET on household pets and recommend that you contact your pet's veterinarian to obtain appropriate advice.

Prevention of mosquito bites can be achieved either through undertaking active mosquito control or by the use of personal protective measures. A variety of active mosquito control measures are available, including habitat modification in order to reduce water availability for breeding of the larval stage, through to the use of appropriate insecticides for controlling the larval or adult stage.

Other than the routine precautions noted earlier, EPA does not recommend any additional precautions for using registered repellents on pregnant or lactating women. Consult your health care provider if you have questions. Yes. People can, and should, use both a sunscreen and an insect repellent when they are outdoors. Follow the instructions on the package for proper application of each product. In general, the recommendation is to apply sunscreen first, followed by repellent.

DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is the active ingredient in most insect repellents available in the United States that are applied to the skin. DEET was developed more than 50 years ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for use by our military. It was registered for use by the general public in 1957.

The CDC and the U.S. EPA both suggest that there is no evidence of adverse effects for pregnant or nursing women. There's specific information at www.cdc.gov/westnile. We suggest you also review a recent journal article by Dr. Gideon Koren and colleagues. Our recommendation is for pregnant women to consult their personal physicians about the use of DEET-based products during pregnancy and breast feeding.

No definitive studies exist in the scientific literature about what concentration of DEET is safe for children. No serious illness has arisen from use of DEET when used according the manufacturer's recommendations. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that a cautious approach is to use products with a low concentration of DEET, 10% or less, on children aged 2 - 12. Most guidelines cite that it is acceptable to use repellents containing DEET on children over 2 years of age.

Most of these repellents are sold at multiple retail, discount and drug stores. A wider selection may be available at “outdoor” stores or in hunting and camping sections. At this time picaridin is not yet registered with the state pesticide programs in NY and CA, and thus is not available in those areas.