Alternative Therapies

While DEET has been the gold standard for bug repellent many alternative and natural repellents have been studied as well.

Lemon Eucalyptus

The active ingredient, para-menthane-2,8-diol, was originally isolated from the waste distillate in the production of lemon eucalyptus oil extract. It is commercially sold as repel that also includes the inactive synthetic ingredient.

• US Department of Agriculture studies have shown that lemon eucalyptus to be as effective as 7 and 15% DEET and offer around 2 hours of protection time

Overall, Repel is the most superior alternative therapy to DEET offering equal protection to DEET at 7 and 15% concentration.

Side Effects- Allergic reactions- hives, contact dermatitis, and anaphylaxis

Soybean Oil

Is a plant based repellent commercially available in combination with geranium oil and coconut oil as Bite Blocker.

• The New England Journal of Medicine in 2002 reported Bite Blocker to offer 3.5 hrs of protection with a decrease of bites by 97% vs. 86% with 6.5% DEET spray
• US depearment of agriculuture in 2004 reported Bite Blocker to offer increased protection time over 7% DEET but was less effective than 15% DEET.
• In various studies the length of protection has varied from 1.5-3.5hrs

Overall, Bite Blocker has an equal amount of protection to the lowest concentration of DEET and is the only effective ALL natural bug repellent on the market.

Side Effects- Allergic reactions- hives, contact dermatitis, and anaphylaxis

Citronella

Extracted from Cymbopogon nardus. Citronella is commercially available and studied in lotion, oil, candle form and as a plant that claims to continually release citronella oils. As reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine:

• 10% lotion decreased bites by 84% vs 96% with 14% DEET over a 4 minute period of time

• 5% oil decreased bites by 88% and provided an average of 1.9 hrs of protection vs 6 hrs with 12.5% DEET. However the study showed a maximal effectiveness in the first 20-40 minutes that incrementally declined.

• 3% and 5% candles reduced bites by 42% vs. 23% for a regular candle (however was not statistically different)

• Citrosa plant has not been shown to offer protection against bites

Overall, citronella is an effective bug repellent but has a shorter period of protection than DEET, this can be partially compensated by more frequent applications of citronella.

Side Effects- Allergic reactions- hives, contact dermatitis, and anaphylaxis

Avon Skin-so-Soft

Avon Skin-So-Soft received mass media attention in the early part of the century as offering additional insect protection however numerous studies have shown only an average of 10 minutes of protection time.

Ultrasonic Electronic Devices

Manufacturers claim these devices emit a sound that repels mosquitoes. Studies have shown that they do not work.

Bug Zappers

Studies have shown that they do not work because the bugs are more attracted to the animal odor than the zappers

Other alternative bug repellents

Other alternative bug repellents such as geranium, cedarwood, clove, peppermint and thyme  have been studied on a smaller scale that soybean oil, lemon ecucalyptus, and citronella however the results have been unimpressive with less than 20 minutes of action. However peppermint oil a concentration of 100% and geranium oil at a concentration of 75% have shown moderate effectiveness at 0.75 and 2 hours respectively. Click here for more information.