Natural Mosquito Repellent
Natural Mosquito Repellent manufacturer and exporter
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How Do Mosquito Repellents Work?
Repellents make humans unattractive to a mosquito so that it will avoid areas of the body that
have been treated with the product. Repellents do not kill mosquitoes. The best repellents will
provide protection from bites for a long period of time from just one application. The University of
Florida mosquito researchers test and evaluate the effectiveness of mosquito repellents based
on the amount of time the product will continue to repel mosquitoes after one application to the
skin. This is known as Complete Protection Time (CPT).
What Kind Of Mosquito Repellents Are Available?
Repellents that are currently available are either synthetic chemicals, such as DEET, or plant
derived chemicals such as Citronella. Various formulations of these repellents are available that
differ in the amount of active ingredient, which is the substance that actually repels the mosquito.
These products are available as sprays, wipe-on's, sticks, foams, and lotions.
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Will Garlic, Bananas, Or Vitamin-B Repel Mosquitoes?
There is no scientific evidence that eating garlic, vitamins, onions, or any other food will make a
person repellent to mosquitoes. The attractant level of each individual to biting arthropods is
based on a complex interaction of many chemical and visual signals. Certain foods in certain
individuals may effect their individual attractiveness to biting arthropods, for better or for worse.
What About Devices That Emit Sound To Repel Mosquitoes?
There is no evidence that wearing devices that emit sound will repel mosquitoes.
How To Decide Which Repellent Is Best
Keep in mind that repellents do not protect all users equally. The effectiveness of a natural
mosquito repellent depends on the mosquito species that is biting as well as the age, sex, level
of activity, and attractivness of the human using the repellent. Consider the following when
choosing a repellent:
What About Products That Combine Repellents And Sunscreen?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend using products that combine DEET with sunscreen. Sunscreens are intended for generous and frequent use while
DEET is intended for less frequent use. The concern is that use of a repellent that combines the two compounds may promote increased and unnecessary use of DEET.
Additionally, blending DEET with a sunscreen decreases the efficacy of both compounds. The CDC recommendation is to apply suncreen first, then the insect repellent containing
DEET, to be sure that each product works as specified.
What You Can Do to Help Fight Mosquitoes?
- Empty standing water in old tires, cemetery urns, buckets, plastic covers, toys, or any other container where "wrigglers" and "tumblers" live.
- Empty and change the water in bird baths, fountains, wading pools, rain barrels, and potted plant trays at least once a week if not more often.
- Drain or fill temporary pools with dirt.
- Keep swimming pools treated and circulating and rain gutters unclogged.
- Use mosquito repellents when necessary and follow label directions and precautions closely.
- Use head nets, long sleeves and long pants if you venture into areas with high mosquito populations, such as salt marshes.
- If there is a mosquito-borne disease warning in effect, stay inside during the evening when mosquitoes are most active.
- Make sure window and door screens are "bug tight."
- Replace your outdoor lights with yellow "bug" lights.
- Contact your local mosquito control district or health department. Neighborhoods are occasionally sprayed to prevent disease and nuisance caused by large mosquito
numbers. If you have any questions about mosquitoes and their control, call your local authorities.
What Can I Do to Reduce the Number of Mosquitoes in and Around My Home?
The most important step is to eliminate potential breeding habitats for mosquitoes. Get rid of any standing water around the home, including water in potted plant dishes, garbage
cans, old tires, gutters, ditches, wheelbarrows, bird baths, hollow trees, and wading pools. Any standing water should be drained, including abandoned or unused swimming pools.
Mosquitoes can breed in any puddle that lasts more than 4 days. Make sure windows and screen doors are "bug tight." Replace outdoor lights with yellow "bug" lights. Wear headnets,
long-sleeved shirts, and long pants if venturing into areas with high mosquito populations, such as salt marshes or wooded areas. Use natural mosquito repellents when necessary,
always following label instructions.
Should I Take Steps to Reduce Exposure to Pesticides During Mosquito Control Spraying?
Generally, there is no need to relocate during mosquito control spraying. The pesticides have been evaluated for this use and found to pose minimal risks to human health and the
environment when used according to label directions. For example, EPA has estimated the exposure and risks to both adults and children posed by ULV aerial and ground applications
of the insecticides malathion and naled. For all the exposure scenarios considered, exposures ranged from 100 to 10,000 times below an amount of pesticide that might pose a health
concern. These estimates assumed several spraying events over a period of weeks, and also assumed that a toddler would ingest some soil and grass in addition to dermal
exposure. Other mosquito control pesticides pose similarly low risks. (For more details on health and environmental risk considerations, see the separate EPA fact sheets on the
specific mosquito control pesticides.)
How Does EPA Ensure the Safest Possible Use of Pesticides?
EPA must evaluate and register pesticides before they may be sold, distributed, or used in the United States. The Agency is also in the process of reassessing, and reregistering
when appropriate, all older pesticides (those registered prior to 1984) to ensure that they meet current scientific standards. To evaluate a pesticide for either registration or
re-registration, EPA assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. The producer of the pesticide must provide data
from tests done according to EPA guidelines. These tests determine whether a pesticide has the potential to cause adverse effects on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including
endangered species and nontarget organisms. Other tests help to assess the risks of contaminating surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff, or spray drift. If a pesticide
meets EPA requirements, the pesticide is approved for use in accordance with label directions. However, no pesticide is 100 percent safe and care must be exercised in the use of
any pesticide.
How Are Mosquitoes Controlled with Pesticides and Other Methods?
The first step in mosquito control is surveillance. Mosquito specialists conduct surveillance for diseases harbored by domestic and nonnative birds, including sentinel chickens (used
as virus transmission indicators), and mosquitoes. Surveillance for larval habitats is conducted by using maps and aerial photographs, and by evaluating larval populations. Other
techniques include various light traps, biting counts, and analysis of reports from the public. Mosquito control programs also put high priority on trying to prevent a large population of
adult mosquitoes from developing so that additional controls may not be necessary. Since mosquitoes must have water to breed, methods of prevention may include controlling water
levels in lakes, marshes, ditches, or other mosquito breeding sites, eliminating small breeding sites if possible, and stocking bodies of water with fish species that feed on larvae.
Both chemical and biological measures may be employed to kill immature mosquitoes during larval stages. Larvicides target larvae in the breeding habitat before they can mature into
adult mosquitoes and disperse. Larvicides include the bacterial insecticides Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus, the insect growth inhibitor methoprene, and
the organophosphate insecticide temephos. Mineral oils and other materials form a thin film on the surface of the water which cause larvae and pupae to drown. Liquid larvicide
products are applied directly to water using backpack sprayers and truck or aircraft-mounted sprayers. Tablet, pellet, granular, and briquet formulations of larvicides are also applied by
mosquito controllers to breeding areas.
Q. What is the pest management industry contributing to mosquito control?
A. Member companies manufacture and exports some of the products available for protection against mosquitoes, including insect control products and repellents. They are working
with concerned municipalities to create effective control programs, involving strategies targeted to both mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes. The industry advocates an integrated
approach to control that includes personal repellents, proper clothing, avoidance and mosquito control. The industry is also offering a comprehensive collection of WNV
information at www.croplife.ca/WNV, to help the public better understand the efforts being made to control the insects that spread WNV.
Q. Is there some level of government overseeing mosquito control and repellent products?
A. Yes. All products designed to manage, destroy, attract or repel pests that are used, sold or imported into Canada are regulated by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory
Agency (PMRA). The federal legislative authority for the regulation of pesticides in Canada is the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). The use of pesticides is also subject to regulation
under provincial/territorial legislation.
Q. What products are available to control mosquitoes?
A. There are two types of mosquito control products.
Larvicides are used to control mosquito larva, an immature stage of the insect. Larviciding
involves placing pellets or granules containing anti-larvae pest control products in mosquito breeding sites, such as storm-sewer catch basins, ponds and other water containing
areas.
Adulticides are products that control mosquitoes at their adult stage. Adulticides are applied as a spray or fog in areas where adult mosquitoes are present. Both types of control
options must be used in conjunction with repellents and other control practices in an integrated pest management program.
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