Waumbek
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Consumer Reports July 2005 issue finds 7% picaridin as effective as 10% DEET:
". . . Cutter Advanced contains 7 percent picaridin, which we found as effective as 10 percent deet. It is more expensive ($5 vs. $4.50). Up to now, the most effective mosquito repellents have contained deet. Deet (short for N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) has been safely used for decades.
But some people don't like deet's smell or its feel on the skin; it poses a rare risk of skin irritation and, if misused, a remote risk of neurological side effects.
A new product, Cutter Advanced spray with the chemical picaridin, claims to offer a “truly effective alternative to deet.” Our tests show that it's worth a try.
Picaridin has been used worldwide since 1998. The World Health Organization regards the proper use of picaridin as safe.
We hired an outside lab to compare Cutter Advanced with Cutter Unscented, which contains 10 percent deet; the two supposedly have comparable repellency.
Testers had picaridin repellent applied to one forearm, the deet product to the other, then they inserted both arms into a cage swarming with a species of aggressive mosquitoes noted for carrying yellow fever. After 5 minutes they put their arms in a cage with tamer mosquitoes that can transmit the West Nile virus. They repeated the exposure every half-hour until they were bitten twice on each arm. Both repellents prevented bites for about 2 to 3 hours with the aggressive species, 8 hours for the other.
We also compared Cutter Advanced with several deet products for odor, feel, and damage to different materials. Cutter Advanced had only a very faint aroma of corn chips. The deet products had a distinct chemical odor, even ones labeled unscented or “fresh scent.” Only the deet-heavy repellents left skin feeling greasy. Deet damaged or stained plastic and leather.
The bottom line. Consider Cutter Advanced with picaridin, particularly if you need just a few hours of protection and if you don't like the odor or feel of repellents containing deet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it considers oil of lemon eucalyptus, like picaridin, as effective against mosquitoes as deet. We plan to test Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, the more concentrated of the two leading eucalyptus repellents. We expect to report our findings in the August 2005 issue.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using deet on infants under two months of age; it has not formulated recommendations for the use of picaridin on either infants or children.
". . . Cutter Advanced contains 7 percent picaridin, which we found as effective as 10 percent deet. It is more expensive ($5 vs. $4.50). Up to now, the most effective mosquito repellents have contained deet. Deet (short for N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) has been safely used for decades.
But some people don't like deet's smell or its feel on the skin; it poses a rare risk of skin irritation and, if misused, a remote risk of neurological side effects.
A new product, Cutter Advanced spray with the chemical picaridin, claims to offer a “truly effective alternative to deet.” Our tests show that it's worth a try.
Picaridin has been used worldwide since 1998. The World Health Organization regards the proper use of picaridin as safe.
We hired an outside lab to compare Cutter Advanced with Cutter Unscented, which contains 10 percent deet; the two supposedly have comparable repellency.
Testers had picaridin repellent applied to one forearm, the deet product to the other, then they inserted both arms into a cage swarming with a species of aggressive mosquitoes noted for carrying yellow fever. After 5 minutes they put their arms in a cage with tamer mosquitoes that can transmit the West Nile virus. They repeated the exposure every half-hour until they were bitten twice on each arm. Both repellents prevented bites for about 2 to 3 hours with the aggressive species, 8 hours for the other.
We also compared Cutter Advanced with several deet products for odor, feel, and damage to different materials. Cutter Advanced had only a very faint aroma of corn chips. The deet products had a distinct chemical odor, even ones labeled unscented or “fresh scent.” Only the deet-heavy repellents left skin feeling greasy. Deet damaged or stained plastic and leather.
The bottom line. Consider Cutter Advanced with picaridin, particularly if you need just a few hours of protection and if you don't like the odor or feel of repellents containing deet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it considers oil of lemon eucalyptus, like picaridin, as effective against mosquitoes as deet. We plan to test Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, the more concentrated of the two leading eucalyptus repellents. We expect to report our findings in the August 2005 issue.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using deet on infants under two months of age; it has not formulated recommendations for the use of picaridin on either infants or children.
