CHOOSING INSECT REPELLANT

Is it necessary to use a spray containing DEET?

Click here for previous newsletters.

1. Counselling Conundrum: a real question from a patient

2. Concise Conclusion: a straight-forward patient-friendly answer 

3. Quick Wrap-up 

Clearly, there are nuances that may not be captured in this format. The goal here is to provide you with helpful counselling tips which often draw from multiple sources or those which are not commonly accessed by busy healthcare providers serving the community.

Counselling Conundrum: "Do those bug repellant wrist bands and stickers work? My kids hate bug spray."

Concise Conclusion: The only reliable way to protect yourself against bug bites and their diseases is to use something containing DEET or icaridin. Wrist bands and stickers typically contain citronella (which only repels mosquitoes for a short time) or lemon eucalyptus (may be comparable to DEET 15% but not for tics).

Quick Wrap-up: Remind patients that more DEET means longer protection (not better). Icaridin, contrary to DEET, is odourless, does not damage certain materials, and is more cosmetically pleasing, but DEET is still considered the gold standard due to the abundance of existing evidence. Bracelets, stickers, and other alternatives are unreliable.

Dive Deeper

1) Personal Insect repellents - Canada.ca

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