Conclusions

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Conclusions

In general, when preventing insect bites a multi-prong approach should be used in addition to insect repellent such as:

Removing standing water (which is necessary for the mosquitoes life cycle)
Wearing protective clothing
Minimizing the use of floral fragrances (i.e. soaps, lotions, perfumes, etc.)
Wearing light colored clothing vs. darker colored clothing
Avoiding infested areas

When it comes to choosing your insect repellent DEET is still the gold standard for its broad coverage and length of protection. However lemon eucalyptus and soybean oil appear to be as effective as DEET at its lower concentrations and are an acceptable alternative in the appropriate environment. Fortunately the United States is not as effected by malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever as many other countries. Even with the emergence of West Nile Virus in the country the threat of mosquito born illnesses is still minimal. Therefore, for short term use in minimally infested areas a low concentration of DEET, lemon eucalyptus and soybean oil are an effective agents for protection against mosquitoes. When traveling out of the country where the risk of mosquito born illnesses is higher it would be more prudent to use a higher concentration of DEET for protection in addition to mosquito nets, anti-malarial medications and yellow fever vaccinations depending on your destination.

While natural bug repellents for the protection against mosquitoes has been thoroughly studied, the protection against flies, chiggers, and ticks has not been as thoroughly investigated as it has for DEET. Therefore if you are traveling or hiking in tick country it would be prudent to use DEET to prevent tick bites which has the potential to lead to lyme disease.

Studies are currently ongoing to find the "ideal" agent with broad range coverage, 8+ hours of protection, and no side effects. Current research is focusing on determining why some people are more susceptible to insect bites than others and isolating the compounds that offer natural protection to these people.