Insect Repellents
July 7, 2025 (Issue: 1732)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
recommend using insect repellents to avoid being
bitten by mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods
that transmit disease-causing pathogens....more
- EPA. Repellents: protection against mosquitoes, ticks and other arthropods. Available at: https://bit.ly/3HIvk52. Accessed June 18, 2025.
- QD Nguyen et al. Insect repellents: an updated review for the clinician. J Am Acad Dermatol 2023; 88:123. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2018.10.053
- N Giangrande et al. Anaphylactic shock to a DEET-containing insect repellent. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2021; 31:336. doi:10.18176/jiaci.0644
- ZM Haleem et al. Exposure to N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide insect repellent and human health markers: population based estimates from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020; 103:812. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.20-0226
- H Ghali and SE Albers. An updated review on the safety of N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide insect repellent use in children and the efficacy of natural alternatives. Pediatr Dermatol 2024; 41:403. doi:10.1111/pde.15531
- L Goodyer and S Schofield. Mosquito repellents for the traveller: does picaridin provide longer protection than DEET? J Travel Med 2018; 25(suppl_1):S10. doi:10.1093/jtm/tay005
- MRG Fernandes et al. Efficacy and safety of repellents marketed in Brazil against bites from Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus: a systematic review. Travel Med Infect Dis 2021; 44:102179. doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102179
- NP Charlton et al. The toxicity of picaridin containing insect repellent reported to the National Poison Data System. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2016; 54:655. doi:10.1080/15563650.2016.1186806
- SP Frances et al. Comparative field evaluation of repellent formulations containing DEET and IR3535 against mosquitoes in Queensland, Australia. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 2009; 25:511. doi:10.2987/moco-09-5938.1
- L Goodyer et al. Characterisation of actions of p-menthane-3,8-diol repellent formulations against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2020; 114:687. doi:10.1093/trstmh/traa045
- B Colucci and P Müller. Evaluation of standard field and laboratory methods to compare protection times of the topical repellents PMD and DEET. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12578. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30998-2
- CR Connelly and JE Gimnig. Mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods. April 23, 2025. CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel, 2026. Available at: https://bit.ly/4n2rVOn. Accessed June 18, 2025.
- BE Witting-Bissinger et al. Novel arthropod repellent, BioUD, is an efficacious alternative to DEET. J Med Entomol 2008; 45:891. doi:10.1093/jmedent/45.5.891
- BW Bissinger et al. Novel field assays and the comparative repellency of BioUD, DEET and permethrin against Amblyomma americanum. Med Vet Entomol 2011; 25:217. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2915.2010.00923.x
- CDC. Vector-Borne Diseases. Press kit: nootkatone. April 24, 2024. Available at: https://bit.ly/3SRhgsj. Accessed June 18, 2025.
- EL Siegel et al. Ixodes scapularis is the most susceptible of the three canonical human-biting tick species of North America to repellent and acaricidal effects of the natural sesquiterpene, (+)-nootkatone. Insects 2023; 15:8. doi:10.3390/insects15010008
- M Fernandez Triana et al. Grapefruit-derived nootkatone potentiates GABAergic signaling and acts as a dual-action mosquito repellent and insecticide. Curr Biol 2025; 35:177. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.067
- TC Clarkson et al. Nootkatone is an effective repellent against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Insects 2021; 12:386. doi:10.3390/insects12050386
- HA Luker et al. Repellent efficacy of 20 essential oils on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and Ixodes scapularis ticks in contact-repellency assays. Sci Rep 2023; 13:1705. doi:10.1038/s41598- 023-28820-9
- S Mitra et al. Efficacy of active ingredients from the EPA 25(B) list in reducing attraction of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) to humans. J Med Entomol 2020; 57:477. doi:10.1093/jme/tjz178
- K Daftary and W Liszewski. Allergenicity of popular insect repellents. Dermatitis 2023; 34:70. doi:10.1089/derm.0000000000000897
- L-M Yiin et al. Assessment of dermal absorption of DEET-containing insect repellent and oxybenzone-containing sunscreen using human urinary metabolites. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2015; 22:7062. doi:10.1007/s11356-014-3915-3
- B Londono-Renteria et al. Long-lasting permethrin-impregnated clothing protects against mosquito bites in outdoor workers. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2015; 93:869. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0130
- C Mitchell et al. Protective effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin impregnated clothing against tick bites in an endemic Lyme disease setting: a randomized control trial among outdoor workers. J Med Entomol 2020; 57:1532. doi:10.1093/jme/tjaa061
- RV Patel et al. EPA-registered repellents for mosquitoes transmitting emerging viral disease. Pharmacotherapy 2016; 36:1272. doi:10.1002/phar.1854
- KM Sullivan et al. Bioabsorption and effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin-treated uniforms over three months among North Carolina outdoor workers. Parasit Vectors 2019; 12:52. doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3314-1
- W Bao et al. Association between exposure to pyrethroid insecticides and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the general US adult population. JAMA Intern Med 2020; 180:367. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6019
- SD Rodriguez et al. Efficacy of some wearable devices compared with spray-on insect repellents for the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). J Insect Sci 2017; 17:24. doi:10.1093/jisesa/iew117
- US Environmental Protection Agency. Repellent-treated clothing. March 6, 2025. Available at: https://bit.ly/3gERGD4. Accessed June 18, 2025.
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