ReviewsInsect repellents: An updated review for the clinician
Section snippets
N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide
N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) has been considered the most broad-spectrum, efficacious IR since the 1950s, and is currently used by 50 to 100 million individuals in the United States annually. Originally created by the US Army, DEET was made commercially available in 1956. Currently, there are >200 DEET products available on the market, ranging from concentrations of 5% to 100%.8 In the majority of circumstances, concentrations of 10% to 35% will enable adequate protection, with efficacy
Natural compounds
Natural compounds are a category of IRs approved by the FDA that encompass a variety of essential plant oils, or their active compounds, that act as the main active ingredient. These natural products are generally safer for human use compared with synthetic nonbiodegradable products, such as DEET.63, 64, 65 The list of plant-derived IRs are numerous. In this section, we focus on the EPA-registered natural compound IRs.
Permethrin
Permethrin is a pyrethrin, and pyrethrins are extracts of the chrysanthemum flower. Permethrin should not be applied directly to the skin.88 This product is intended to be used only to treat clothing, and represents the only IR currently registered to treat fabric in the United States.89 First marketed in 1973, permethrin acts as an IR and insecticide that is highly effective against mosquitoes, ticks, and flies equally,53 and has even been shown to repel ticks more effectively than DEET.90
Uncited Table
Table I.
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Cited by (29)
Developing attractants and repellents for ticks: promises and challenges
2024, Current Opinion in Insect SciencePhysiological impact of personal care product constituents on non-target aquatic organisms
2023, Science of the Total EnvironmentSynthesis of polymeric particles with insect repellent for potential application on textile substrates
2022, Materials Chemistry and PhysicsCitation Excerpt :IR3535® is a synthetic compound based on the amino acid alanine, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1999. It is a colorless, relatively odorless, and biodegradable material, and its formulations are applicable in concentrations of 7.5–19.7% to aerosols, lotions, pump sprays, and wipes among others [6]. IR3535® has low levels of toxicity and is prescribed for pregnant women and babies aged over 6 months; thus, it is considered to be the most suitable option among synthetic insect repellents [1].
Repellent and acaricidal activity of coconut oil fatty acids and their derivative compounds and catnip oil against Amblyomma sculptum
2021, Veterinary ParasitologyCitation Excerpt :The 7-day repellency was previously reported by Zhu et al. (2018) while tested against another tick species, R. sanguineus s.l. from coconut oil fatty acids. Catnip oil is known to repel various blood-sucking insects including biting flies, mosquitoes and ticks, but with a relatively shorter effective period (< 24 h) (Nguyen et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2014). It is somewhat surprising the 4-day long effectiveness in repellency observed in the present study against A. sculptum.
Funding sources: None.
Conflicts of interest: None disclosed.