Ticks and mosquitoes: Which insect repellents work the best?

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With warmer temperatures comes bugs — and ticks and mosquitoes can be both annoying and dangerous.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from mosquito and tick bites and the germs they spread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One of those ways is to use insect repellent.

You should use insect repellents registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which uses an active ingredient that is safe and effective, even for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Here are the active ingredients you should look for when buying an insect repellent:

DEET
Picaridin (known as KBR 3023 and picaridin outside the US)
IR3535
Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
2-운데카논

And if you’re using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and then insect repellent.

You can also use 0.5% permethrin to treat clothing and gear (such as boots, pants, socks, and tents) or buy permethrin-treated clothing and gear. It’s an insecticide that kills and repels mosquitoes and ticks, according to the CDC.

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Continue reading the full article written by Annalise Knudson here.

Journalist

Annalise Knudson

Annalise Knudson is an award-winning journalist covering local news for the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com. With a decade of experience, she is able to cover all areas of interest in reporting, photography and videography. A beat in education, she works to cover the country’s largest school system, focusing on Staten Island education through school visits and interviews with experts, teachers, and students. She covers a range of topics, from test scores that predict student outcomes, to profiles on prominent educators, and navigating the school system when new programs and opportunities arise. She won the 2021 Distinguished Beat Reporting award from the New York News Publishers Association for her reporting on New York City schools, with a unique focus on Staten Island — acting as an integral source of information for families and educators during the pandemic. She was also part of a team that received the 2020 Investigative Reporting Award from the New York News Publishers Association for her reporting on disparity in public schools on Staten Island. She holds a Master's degree in communications from Kean University and works as an adjunct instructor at Kean University in the communications department.

스쿼드에서

스쿼드 멤버와 앰배서더부터 브랜드 파트너와 소이어 팀에 이르기까지 다양한 커뮤니티와 캠프파이어 대화를 나눕니다.

미디어 언급

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Both Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) suggest that oil of lemon eucalyptus and picaridin can each serve as an alternative to DEET.