Bug Off - What’s in your insect repellent?

August 11th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Buzzz! Buzzzz! Slap! Slap!

If you got her before she bit you, great. No itchy bite to scratch. If not, better get some insect repellent.

Ever wonder what was in your insect repellent and the toxicity to the human body. If you read the active ingredients and go to
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/ai_insectrp.htm, you will find a list of the EPA approved active ingredients used in applied and area insect repellents.

How do you tell if the active ingredients have been EPA approved? Look for the EPA registration number consisting of the two unique company numbers followed by a dash and the product number. There may be a third unique number representing the distributor number. Any EPA registered and approved active ingredient has been evaluated to ensure it does not present health or safety concerns or adverse effects on humans, the environment or non-target species. Only EPA approved and registered pesticides and repellents may be legally sold. Remember to always read the Safety Precautions before use to protect your pets and / or young children, your eyes and so on.

Commonly insect repellents are used against mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks and biting flies. The common active ingredients used are DEET and Picaridin. DEET formulations registered for direct application to human skin may contain from 4 to 100 percent repellent. For fly fishermen, washing or wiping hands throughly after applying DEET based repellents is recommended to avoid damage to fly line coatings and fly rod finishes. Since trout have very sensitive senses of smell and taste, it is probably a good idea to wash hands before handling flies too. Picaridin usually is 5 to 20 percent.

Alternative repellent ingredients are called biopesticides that are derived from natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria and certain minerals. Common biopesticides used for insect repellents are Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, synthetic Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, IR3535 used in Europe for 20 years with no harmful effects before being registered with the EPA in 1999, Oil of Citronella from dried, cultivated grasses. Oil of Citronella’s distinctive odor masks the CO2 or lactic acid on humans that attracts mosquitoes and other pests.

I’ll do some research on other organic repellents for a future post. In the meantime, here are some buzz off clothing alternatives. The information on the organic Insect Shield Technology Orvis uses is fascinating. Insect Shield Technology is registered with the EPA.