There are so many mosquito repellent products, which ones are the safe and effective mosquito repellent ingredients?

The weather is getting hotter, and there are more mosquitoes. Rong Ge'er didn't care before, but now that I have a baby, I can't be careless. Every time I take the baby out, I have to spray mosquito repellent. If you have pets at home, you must be even more careful. How to choose mosquito repellent products is really worth a discussion with Rong Ge. There are many types of common mosquito repellent products on the market. Generally speaking, the following mosquito repellent ingredients are recognized as safe and effective: DEET , picaridin , dimethoate , lemon eucalyptus oil , p-menthane diol and 2-undecanone . Let's talk about them one by one.

DEET is the most widely used mosquito repellent ingredient and the most recommended mosquito repellent ingredient for children by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It does not kill mosquitoes, but it can block the function of the mosquito's olfactory protein odor receptors. Simply put, it makes mosquitoes unable to smell human odors, so they naturally cannot find their targets.

The mosquito repellent containing DEET available on the market usually contains about 7% to 10%. The higher the concentration, the better. After all, DEET is corrosive. High concentrations of DEET can dissolve plastics, chemical fibers, and leather. It also has a bad smell and feels sticky.

The concentration mainly affects the duration of action. A concentration of 7%-10% can last for about 2 hours, which is enough to support children's two hours of outdoor activities every day. For furry children, high concentrations of DEET can indeed cause poisoning in cats and dogs, but this is mainly because they like to lick and are easily ingested by mistake. Just stop them from licking and they will be fine.

Picaridin is currently considered to be the most effective mosquito repellent besides DEET . The principle is to interfere with the mosquito's receptors so that it cannot determine the location of people. Compared with DEET , Picaridin has more advantages: no odor, no irritation, no stickiness, and no corrosion to plastic nylon; the only disadvantage is that it is expensive. As for pets, although there is not enough research evidence to prove that it is toxic, you still need to be careful not to let them lick it.

There are also some domestic mosquito repellents that use chlorpyrifos and lemon eucalyptus oil . Compared with DEET , chlorpyrifos is less toxic and gentler to use. However, the mosquito repellent effect is indeed worse. There is currently no clear age limit or contraindication for use, and there is no evidence that it is harmful to pets. The mosquito repellent effect of lemon eucalyptus oil is also slightly worse than that of DEET and picaridin , and many organizations have clearly stated that children under 3 years old should not use lemon eucalyptus products. Animal experiments have also shown that they are toxic at certain concentrations.

Mosquito repellent products using menthanediol and 2-undecanone are rare on the market, so we won’t go into details.

Mosquito repellent, mosquito repellent, the main function is to drive away mosquitoes, not to kill them. If you want to kill mosquitoes, you have to use mosquito coils. Whether it is a mosquito coil or a mosquito coil liquid, most of the ingredients are pyrethroids , which are pesticides. Of course, if used correctly, low-toxic pyrethroids are relatively safe for the human body. They are difficult to be absorbed by human skin and are easily metabolized by the liver. They are also less toxic to dogs.

However, it is highly toxic to fish, amphibians and reptiles, and is also very toxic to cats. So if you have fish or cats at home, try not to put your pets in the same room with the lit mosquito coils. When using it for children, it is best to open the window for ventilation.

Speaking of pesticides, in fact, the chlorpyrifos and DEET in mosquito repellent water are also pesticides. What are pesticides? Pesticides are drugs used to prevent and control insect pests, and mosquitoes are insect pests! Therefore, any product that claims to be able to "repel mosquitoes" must be under the jurisdiction of the agricultural department. Products with a "pesticide production license" mean that they have undergone formal inspections and are safer.

Of course, for babies, the most reliable and safe method is what Brother Rong said in the previous program - physical mosquito repellent. If you are interested, you can review it. Brother Rong will not say more. For older babies, you can spray mosquito repellent on clothes, or spray it on adults' hands first and then pat it on children. If you have a dog at home, you can use mosquito coils appropriately. If you have a cat... Recent studies have also shown that the pseudonepetalactone in catnip has a mosquito repellent effect. Why don't you let your cat sniff more catnip!