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You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticide Ingredients Pesticide Products Pesticide Types Insect Repellents

Choosing and Using Insect Repellents

Insect repellents can help reduce your risk of being bitten by insects and therefore reduce your risk of getting a disease carried by mosquitoes or ticks. Numerous products are available to repel mosquitoes and ticks. Sometimes, it can be difficult to decide which product to use when you are planning to be outdoors. The information below and our Insect Repellent Locator can be useful when deciding on insect repellents.

Topics on this page:

• Using Insect Repellents
• Children and Insect Repellents
• Comparing Efficacy of DEET and Other Insect Repellents
• DEET Use and Safety Information
• Insect Repellent Toxicology

Using Insect Repellents:

• Insect Repellents: Use and Effectiveness - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Insect Repellents: Reducing Insect Bites - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Regulation of Skin-Applied Repellents - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Insect Repellent: What you need to know - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Insect Repellent Use and Safety - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Traveler's Health: Avoid Bug Bites - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Safety Tips on Using Personal Insect Repellents - Health Canada
• Insect Repellent Use and Safety - New York City Department of Health
• Repellent Wars - University of Florida Extension
• Interim Guidance for Protecting Workers from Occupational Exposure to Zika Virus - Occupational Safety & Health Administration

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Children and Insect Repellents:

• Can insect repellents be used on children? Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Insect Repellents - American Academy of Pediatrics
• A Minute for Kids (audio) - Insect Repellents - American Academy of Pediatrics
• DEET-based Insect Repellents: Safety Implications for Children and Pregnant and Lactating Women - Koren et al., 2003; Canadian Medical Association Journal 169(3)
• Exposure of Children to DEET and Other Topically Applied Insect Repellents - Menon and Brown, 2005; American Journal of Industrial Medicine

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Comparing Efficacy of DEET and Other Insect Repellents

• Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention, and Control: Repellents (pg 41-42) - Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Insect Repellent Use and Safety (Summaries of Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents from NEJM 347(1):13-18, see next link for original article) - CDC
• Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents against Mosquito Bites - Fradin and Day, 2002; New England Journal of Medicine 347(1):13-18
• Mosquitoes and Mosquito Repellents: A Clinician's Guide - Fradin, M. S., 1998; Annals of Internal Medicine 128:931-940
• Mosquito Repellents - University of Florida Extension
• What's the Scoop on Insect Repellents? - University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension
• Repellent Wars - University of Florida Extension
• Insect Repellents - American Academy of Pediatrics

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DEET Use and Safety Information

Children and Pregnant/Nursing Women

• DEET and Pregnancy - Organization of Teratology Information Service (OTIS)
• DEET-based Insect Repellents: Safety Implications for Children and Pregnant and Lactating Women - Koren et al., 2003; Canadian Medical Association Journal 169(3)
• Exposure of Children to DEET and Other Topically Applied Insect Repellents - Menon and Brown, 2005; American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Safety of the Insect Repellent DEET in Pregnancy - McGready et al. 2001; J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 65(4)

DEET and Sunscreen

• Can I use an insect repellent and a product containing sunscreen at the same time? - Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Insect Repellant Interactions: Sunscreens Enhanced DEET Absorption - Ross et al., 2004; Drug Metabolisn and Disposition 32:783-785

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Insect Repellent Toxicology

DEET

• DEET Information - NPIC
• The Insect Repellent DEET - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• DEET RED Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• DEET Reregistration Eligibility Decision - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

IR 3535

• IR3535 Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Oil of Citronella (Citronella Oil)

• Oil of Citronella Information - NPIC
• Citronella (Oil of Citronella) Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Oil of Citronella RED Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus

• p-Menthane-3,8-diol (Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus) Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Permethrin

• Permethrin Information - NPIC
• Permethrin Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Permethrin RED Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Picaridin

• Picaridin Information - NPIC
• Picaridin Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Icaridin (Picaridin) - World Health Organization (WHO) Specifications and Evaluations for Public Health Pesticides

Soybean Oil

• Flower and Vegetable Oils (includes Soybean Oil) Reregistration Eligibility Decision Fact Sheet - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email us at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

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Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.