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Repellent effectiveness
Synthetic repellents tend to be more effective and/or longer lasting than
'natural' repellents. However, some plant-based repellents are comparable to, or
somewhat better than synthetics - depending on the formula.Essential oil
repellents can be short-lived in their effectiveness, since essential oils can
evaporate completely.
A test of various insect repellents by an independent consumer organization
found that repellents containing DEET or picaridin are more effective than
repellents with 'natural' active ingredients. All the synthetics gave almost
100% repellency for the first 2 hours, where the natural repellent products were
most effective for the first 30–60 minutes, and required reapplication to be
effective over several hours.However, some products in the market like essential
oil candle and natural herb mosquito coil can give protection to an entire room
up to 8 hours.
For protection against mosquitos, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a
statement in May 2008 recommending equally DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon
eucalyptus and IR3535 for skin. Permethrin is recommended for clothing,
gear, or bed nets. In an earlier report, the CDC found oil of lemon eucalyptus
to be more effective than other plant-based treatments, with a similar
effectiveness to low concentrations of DEET. However, a 2006 published study
found in both cage and field studies that a product containing 40% oil of lemon
eucalyptus was just as effective as products containing high concentrations of
DEET. Research has also found that neem oil is mosquito repellent for up
to 12 hours. Citronella oil's mosquito repellency has also been verified by
research, including effectiveness in repelling Aedes aegypti, but requires
reapplication after 30–60 minutes.
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