DEET Free Insect Repellent
DEET is an abbreviation for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, a chemical developed by the United States Army and made available to the general public in the mid 20th century. When applied correctly to clothing or skin, DEET will provide several hours of protection against biting insects.
While DEET has long been chosen as a mosquito repellent because it has very effective insect repelling properties, there may be good reasons to choose DEET free insect repellents instead.
* Some people are sensitive to DEET and there are reports of it causing skin reactions and eye irritations
* Many people would simply prefer not to put chemicals on their skin and would rather use natural products
* DEET can have a chemically smell and a greasy feel (although the newer repellents may be more pleasant to use)
* DEET can be damaging to plastics and other man made materials including glasses, clothing and jewellery because it is a solvent
* There is also a slight question mark over DEET's environmental safety, due to concerns that it may be toxic to certain species of fish
There is a range of DEET free repellents and natural insect repellents that will also give you several hours of protection from insect bites.
Some ingredients to look out for in DEET free mosquito repellents include picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus and citronella. Also soybean oil, geranium oil and peppermint oil have been reported as having insect repelling properties, but there is some debate over their effectiveness.
DEET has been used safely for decades, and it has been proven to provide excellent protection against insect bites. You are unlikely to suffer any ill effects if you use a repellent containing around 30 percent DEET and if you follow safety instructions.
But if you're going to go DEET free, choose your options carefully and don't leave yourself vulnerable to attacks from mosquitoes or other biting insects, especially if you are in an area where there is a risk of insect borne diseases such as malaria.
