The Best Bug Repellent?
There’s an unofficial but infamous season this time of year in New England (my native homeland, for those of you who don’t know). In the weeks roughly between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is a period the locals call black fly season. For those of you unfamiliar with these creatures, there’s no overdramatizing their menace. They’re deceptively minuscule but ubiquitous, and their bites can mutilate. I remember a couple from the Midwest moved to our neighborhood just before the school year. Come spring, they’d heard the many jokes and well-intentioned warnings but scoffed when they first saw the flies themselves. “Those gnats?” they asked incredulously. About a week or so later they were both covered in welts after spending the weekend doing yard work with no protection. The woman’s hairline was chewed to oblivion. (These things tended to get around the neighborhood.) I still think of black fly season after all these years especially when I get questions from readers about bug season in their parts of the country. Increasingly, folks ask about a Primal alternative to chemical bug repellent.
The principle behind bug repellents, of course, is to repel. Whether chemically or naturally-derived, a repellent’s job is to make you as unappealing to bugs as possible. And, yes, some people are more enticing. Mosquitos, for example, target their blood donors (actually it’s the blood proteins they’re after) by their smell in addition to lactic acid (mmm…human sweat) and carbon dioxide output. The respiration part explains why the little ones (and pregnant women) tend to get eaten alive out there while others in your party escape with nary a bite. Using genetically modified insects, researchers have also found that taste plays a part as well as smell for mosquitos.
The two most popular conventional repellents are DEET and picaridin (a.k.a. Bayrepel). The vast majority of what you buy in the store today use these as active ingredients. DEET, the most common repellent in the U.S. has been used since the late 1950s. Picaridin is far newer on the block, introduced in Europe in 1998 and in the U.S. in 2005.
In the U.S., DEET remains the repellent of choice, but there’s plenty of reason to choose otherwise. Transdermal absorption of DEET in studies has ranged from 5-17% in humans, and absorption continues as long as the product remains on the skin. DEET has been linked to some fatalities in children who received multiple and extensive applications. It has also been identified as a neurotoxin, in that it inhibits the activity of cholinesterase, an enzyme of the central nervous system in both insects and mammals. A Duke University pharmacologist found evidence in rat studies that DEET exposure resulted in “diffuse brain cell death” in regions governing “muscle movement, learning, memory and concentration,” poorer performance in physical and cognitive tasks, and “behavioral changes” when used long-term.
Although governmental and medical organizations like the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics offer no conditions in their recommendation of DEET, I’d say the risks are enough to give this Primal mind pause.
Obviously, the more often and higher concentrations you use, the higher the risk. I’d suggest reserving DEET products for limited occasions if alternatives don’t work for you in a given situation. Also, more vulnerable members of the population like children, pregnant women, and those with autoimmune/neurological disorders should avoid using DEET. On a side note, some mosquitos are developing a resistance to DEET, including those associated with yellow fever.
There’s also a repellent called permethrin, which is approved for use on clothes only. Permethrin actually kills as well as repels mosquitos and ticks, which means it’s clearly nothing to fool around with. Be advised that even after your wash your clothes, the insecticide remains. For the average person, there’s probably little if any need for the risk inherent with this strong a product.
Less is known about Picaridin. So far, studies demonstrate low toxicity (PDF), and it appears to be the safest choice among conventional repellents. Check out the fact sheets, but little is published (in this country anyway) regarding ongoing study and safety reports.
According to clinical research, your best bet for minimizing bug bites with naturally derived repellents are those with active ingredients taken from essential oils. Oil of lemon eucalyptus appears to be the most effective, but this can be irritating to the skin of young children, particularly in higher concentrations. In a USDA study (PDF) comparing natural repellents against DEET products, a commercial repellent containing oil of lemon eucalyptus (Repel) was more effective than the low concentration DEET product marketed for children. Geraniol, a compound found in geranium plants, also looks promising as does peppermint oil. Geranium and peppermint oils at 100% concentration offer full protection, but the effect remains for a relatively short amount of time (2 hours and 45 minutes, respectively).
In terms of area as opposed to skin repellency, research has demonstrated that candles containing geraniol offered 81.5% protection within a meter’s distance in an outdoor environment, considerably more than the 35.4% protection offered by traditional citronella candles.
Other studies suggests the American beautyberry plant as another promising option for repelling both mosquito and blacklegged ticks (primary carriers of bacteria responsible for Lyme disease). The plant has been used as a folk remedy for decades. Pine oil apparently contains a compound called isolongifolenone that was more effective than DEET at repelling both mosquitos and two kinds of ticks. The compound has been patented for commercial production.
Some research suggests that natural repellent compounds may work more effectively in conjunction with one another. Formulations that contain multiple natural compounds or contain vanillin, which appears to offer a potentiating impact on other repellents, might be the most potent option. (On a side note, I should mention that Skin So Soft didn’t register as effective in any clinical study. Sorry to disappoint any Avon fans out there.)
The more concentrated the dilution, the longer it will last but the higher the potential for skin irritation. Keep in mind that herbal products need to be applied more often than conventional repellents, particularly the higher concentration products like Deep Woods Off, etc. If you’re going to be out for more than a couple of hours or if you’ll headed to a heavily wooded area, I’d suggest bringing extra applications with you.
Besides essential oils, there are the common sense measures. Clothing – especially densely woven fabrics – offer ample protection. (Hunters know what I mean here. Some of the best outdoor clothing for this purpose is designed for hunters.) Long sleeves and pants, scarves/bandanas, high collared shirts, and socks go a long way. Remember hats being required at summer camp? For me, it’s the hairline and the ankles that get it, and those are the area I either cover or apply oils to. As for the yard, consider candles containing geraniol for repellency.
Finally, there’s the question of diet and natural appeal/repellent. Does a particular diet makes you more or less sweet-smelling to a bug? Some people believe changing their diet makes a difference. With the knowledge that lactic acid attracts mosquitos, many fermented foods (as healthy as they are) would seem probable culprits. (Personally, I’d stick with the fermentation and just take more Primal minded precautions.)
I believe the diet and attraction connection likely has merit, but I haven’t seen conclusive evidence for it yet. I’m all ears for anyone who’s found studies on this one or who’s experienced personal success with it. More than anything, showering before that backyard BBQ might be your best bet by minimizing sweat on your skin. Just skip the cologne.
With that, I’ll turn it over to you, MDA readers. What have you tried and found to be effective? Do you make your own or rely on a particular brand?
To those in New England, the best of summer is yet to come. How was black fly season this year anyway? I remember some being worse than others. To everyone out there regardless of regional pest, thanks for reading, and enjoy your summer.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
When we go in forest, deep Canadian forest, a good choice is beer, not to much 1 to 2. My father in law use this technic all the time. Anyway, if we find the active ingredient that repel bugs, we could take it without alcohol. Maybe that’s the B vitamine that do it, I don’t know.
Yup, my family is from Maine. It always seems the worst from June 1st – July 1st. I now live in VA and never visit ME during black fly season.
From my own experience, coconut oil works wonders. I was in Costa Rica a few months ago and tested out the idea of the oil being a repellant because I came up on that info somewhere. Hands down the best thing ever for bug bites. Both my boyfriend and I were bite-free for the week we were in the jungle.
We had the same reaction as Toad did with his repellant. They would land and then fly off.
Did you use the coconut oil exxternally or just ate the coconut oil?
We used it externally head to toe like body lotion. It’s expensive to do that repeatedly, but I’m guessing putting it on only exposed skin would work, too.
When my family moved from Ireland to Australia, we were eaten alive by mosquitoes (‘mozzies’ in Aussie) lingo, and we also reacted really badly to the bites. We figured it was because we had ‘exotic’ Irish blood (that’s the first time ‘exotic’ and ‘Irish’ have been used in the same sentence!) My youngest brother managed to get bitten on the ear and ended up looking like Big Ears from ‘Noddy’… I have heard that Australian Aboriginals traditionally used Eucalyptus oil to repel mozzies. They probably had a high fat/low carb diet in the past too. I haven’t tried eucalyptus oil myself, and my mother instilled in me a healthy fear of chemical repellents, but I did notice that the mozzie bites weren’t so bad as I got older. I wonder if you can become acclimatised to them in some way?
I grew up in Louisiana. At times when I cooked a lot (I use a TON of garlic and onion, and a lot of capsaicin, too, I didn’t really get eaten. When I stopped consuming high levels of garlic and onion I started getting bit by mosquitos. Just my experience, but my ex wife picked up on it and told my kid the same thing. YMMV but it works for us.
I saw on a show once about the broadleaf plantain.
Broadleaf Plantain
Plantago major
Photo by Dr. John Meade, weed scientist emeritus
Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension
Broadleaf plantain, normally a perennial, sometimes behaves as an annual. It is a problem in lawns and sometimes in thin alfalfa and pastures as well as christmas trees. It is a low growing plant with large leaves. The leaves are purported to relieve the pain of insect stings if crushed and rubbed on the affected area. In the past the indians called it “White mans’ foot” because it was not native to the USA and since it has a sticky seed it was carried by the early settlers on their shoes.
I taught my kids to use these for bug bites. They really do work. Pick ‘em, then roll and crush them over the bite until they fall apart and the area is green. Repeat as necessary.
When we first got our cabin in the wilds of Quebec, we gassed ourselves out with bug-dope. Then one weekend I ate a whole lot of pickled ginger and no bites! Pennyroyal (a mint), the essential oil diluted in water and sprayed on works great too.
What about the iPhone app Repellent? It’s supposed to emit a sound that repels pests? I’ve gone hiking with it before and it seemed to work pretty well. But, could have just been a coincidence…anyone else tried it?
Interesting. I would worry about it draining battery life, myself
I live in California, so it’s not exactly the buggiest place on Earth (although I did study abroad in tropical Australia and man, some rainforest skeeters are like as big as your thumbnail). I have noticed, although never tested, that when I wear sunscreen, I get bitten far less often, if at all. ‘Course there certainly a lot of negative things to say about sunscreen too, but there you go.
Here in western NY the number of mosquitos varies with the amount of rain. I hate wearing repellants so usually just stay indoors at dawn and dusk when they are most active.
We also have black flies but not as bad as Vermont or NH. For some reason, even if I get bit, the bite is no big deal contrary to the first year I was exposed to them when large, hard, itchy welts would appear. Why this change, I do not know.
Lots of good suggestions here. Think I will plant an American beautyberry. Do you think it will also repel groundhogs?
Elder leave are a trad herbal remedy for bug repellent. Seems to work for some. Marmite is another much loved remedy here.
I forgot that you guys across the pond have a couple of varieties of Elder, I’m talking about Sambucus Nigra.
When you’re talking about mosquitos and black flies, the natural stuff tends to repel to a degree.
However, in the case of deer ticks, I’m not willing to give up on DEET. For the times I’m out in the brush and woods here in Southeast PA, I take no chances. The times I’ve ventured without high concentration DEET or with something sub-par, I’ve come home with a tag-along tick stuck somewhere in my skin. With a record high of Lyme’s on the East Coast, I’d much rather use DEET here and there than risk a debilitating disease.
Pyrethrin is great to apply to clothing, HOWEVER, for those that have feline pets, DO NOT use pyrethrin in or around them. It’s highly toxic to felines.
And as always, if you, too, live in tick country, always do a “tick check” when you venture back from being in the woods. Learn how to properly pull out the buggers with tweezers, too.
I’m not entirely willing to give up on DEET either. I check with the state health department for West Nile Virus info… I usually get eaten alive by mosquitos and meningitis/encephalitis doesn’t sound like much fun. That’s the kind of infection that would have taken Grok down.
Little to no WNV? I’ll take my chances with the natural stuff. But if there’s a lot of WNV activity, I use the DEET, nasty as it is.
Witch hazel mixed with a few drops of tea tree oil.
have heard a brew made with catnip works really well researched at UF & found to have good results…just watch out for flying cats..lol
My family has always used stongly brewed chamomile tea applied directly to exposed skin to repel mosquitos. Seems to work pretty well if you remember to reapply periodically. It may work for other flying/biting insects as well.
Maybe it’s an Italian thing, but my family has always used garlic (eaten in mass quantities) as a pre-camping bug repellant. Of course we also used it to cure colds, flu, and pretty much anything else that went wrong. When in doubt, eat garlic.
I gotta say, i do not miss the insects in Australia, lol
I’ve known tons of people who vouch on their lives that Avon skin so soft lotion and/ or apple cider vineager keeps nasty bugs away!
Having just survived black fly season in Maine, I can tell you the best way to fight them is, cover yourself from head to toe with a turtleneck, long pants, socks a hat and netting over the hat. They are vicious little critters, thankfully they only last a few weeks. Then there’s deer fly season…
I am in Florida, and before Primal, I would get eaten alive regularly. Mostly by the “No-See-Ums” or biting midges. I have scars from those things when I was on a grain-heavy diet. I haven’t been out much since switching to primal, but I will be out and about in the woods soon and will let you know how many welts I come back with.
I’ve a soft spot in my heart for Skin So Soft. When I was about four years old I doused my whole body with an entire bottle of the stuff. Man, it took forever to stop smelling like it.
Anyway, I like the sound of the stuff that Primal Toad mentioned, it may beat my addiction to SSS. I live in BC, so there are mosquitoes aplenty.
Garlic has never worked for me. I also tried sulfur powder – zilch. Ticks still leaped all over me and mosquitoes commenced feasting. It also made my car smell like sulfur for a month.
Skin-so-Soft with a bug repellant additive (I don’t recall what) has worked well for mosquitoes. Haven’t tried ticks yet.
I’ll have to give some oils a try.
Mosquitoes are brutal wear I live. I’ve seen a lot of essential-oil based repellents on the internet the past couple of weeks, but I’m skeptical.
Any chance of an MDA round-up on the efficacy of natural repellents?
I have heard that trials with Skin-So-Soft failed to show it was effective, but when I went to boot camp on Paris Island, S.C., it was the only thing that worked for the sand fleas. The big repellent they issued was worthless. Someone’s mom sent some Skin-So-Soft, and a few days later, everyone was getting their mom to mail them some. I never understood how the trials could say it did not work, I saw it work for everyone that tried it in my platoon. Weird, but I swear by the stuff.
Found a product a few years ago called “Bugband” (www.bugband.net) I am in no way associated with this company… just a highly satisfied customer! They are plastic bands you can wear as bracelets, hook on belt loops, etc. They contain geraniol (essential oil derived from geraniums) We have the nasty black flies here in Montana as well… their season seems to be when I need to be on the tractor in the orchard all day! I wear that band and they don’t bother me at all… works for mosquitos also. I buy a new set of them each spring… one for each kid, myself, hubby, and a couple of extras just in case. they come in a plastic pod to store them in (geraniol is volatile) so keep them in their pod in a ziploc when not in use and they will last all season.
Soon after beginning some challenging yard work last weekend, my husband came in to say he was being ‘eaten alive’ by mosquitos and was out of OFF (his preferred repellant). I found some old packets of Buzz Away which he applied liberally. We were both surprised at how well it worked for him because he is a true mosquito magnet while mosquitos bother me very little. I’ve used Buzz Away for years when I thought it prudent — probably got it at the local health food store (we live in downstate Illinois). You can check out a few reviews on Amazon.com. Some folks complain of the smell but I agree with those who find it acceptable, maybe pleasant.
I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s ideas and experiences. One thought on pennyroyal — pregnant women should not use it. Also, I have used nutritional yeast for years and hold the belief this has something to do with why mosquitos and other pests don’t bother me — the B vitamin hypothesis supported!
When I was in Africa the locals SWORE that drinking quinine would help to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Not sure if it helped or not, or if it was their way of justifying all those gin and tonics?
I remember back in the old days people smeared wood ashes all over their sweaty skin.
Has anybody tried that? Would probably make an awesome war paint for us Groks
We call mosquitoes the state bird in Oregon. They’re vicious and bite right through your nylon, permethrin-treated clothing. It’s no fun hiking in a headnet and bug clothes all day, but it’s about the only way to avoid being bitten. I even made myself bug mitts for this summer.
Catnip essential oil rocks. Surprised no one has mentioned it!