Mosquitos have to be one of my least favourite insects in existence. I realize they serve a purpose, but they’re ultimately little shits that pride themselves in going around pricking people and feasting on their blood, only to leave them in ultimate discomfort thanks to insane itching.
That’s just my own subtle opinion on the topic of these things, in case you were wondering.
Bug spray, you would think, is the best way to repel these assholes. I’m willing to bet, though, that we have all had the unfortunate experience of lathering ourselves in bug spray, only to be absolutely ransacked by bites regardless.
It’s rather frustrating.
An article by Andy Corbley from Good News Network caught my eye as it discusses which products do, in fact, repel mosquitoes, and which do not. Take a look.
“DEET, a chemical called N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, has been shown to be effective since 1957, and took its place as the common insect repellent ingredient for the U.S. Army, before arriving in civilian stores as well. As the world’s most thoroughly studied insect repellent, DEET, has been shown to be remarkably safe. (Here is a 2020 study offering more scientific evidence.)
“Icaridin, also known as picaridin, is a good alternative to DEET and provides equivalent protection for up to 7 hours. It has broad efficacy against various insects such as mosquitos, ticks, gnats, flies and fleas, and is almost colorless and odorless. A study performed in 2010 showed that a spray or cream at the 20% concentration provided 12 hours of protection against ticks.
“Citronella, a formula commonly-found in mosquito repelling candles, was actually pegged as totally ineffective by one study. The authors believe that it’s actually the accompanied plant oils, like linalool and geraniol, that are sometimes added to the flowery-lemon scented citronella, which are actually repelling the mozzies,” the article states.
Hopefully this information can be use to anyone who, like me, has a personal, deep-rooted issue with mosquitoes.
ontheedgeofeverything 