Nobody really enjoys outdoors while being eaten up by various insects, mosquitoes probably being most annoying of all of them. So, of course, we all reach for whatever insect repellents are available on the market, most likely the ones that promise to keep the pesky little creatures away from us and those around us for a very long time.
We all know that mosquitoes and ticks carry diseases, such as West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever or lyme disease. Thus, it is quite natural that we want to be protected from the insect bites as much as possible. However, the repellents containing the chemical DEET can give you headaches and even cause severe long-term health problems. Luckily, there are a number of products available these days that contain plant-derived ingredients, therefore using repellents with harsh chemicals is unnecessary. Besides, it is always better for both your health and the environment to choose more natural products.
For most of outdoor adventures, such as barbecuing, playing in the backyard or hiking trips, you can keep mosquitoes, ticks and other biting insects with products containing plant oils (for instance geranium citronella, tea tree, catnip, marigold, lemon balm, lavender and peppermint), oil of lemon eucalyptus (which is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) or picaridin (considered as effective as DEET on mosquitoes found in the US).
Furthermore, mosquitoes and ticks (to a certain degree) can be eliminated by proper lawn maintenance (but remember to go green on the lawn products as well), introducing plants that repel insects or by using mosquito dunks (small disks, which slowly release bacteria that will kill the insects after ingesting).
And last, but not the least, stay away from insect repellents that also contain sunscreen. While you should reapply the sunscreen products often and use a fair amount of it, the repellents should only be used when needed. And remember that not all products that word off mosquitoes will work for ticks as well, so best thing to do is read the labels to a make sure you get the right products for the right circumstances.
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