And if you prefer not to use deet, our tests have found products with two other active ingredients to be effective: 30 percent oil of lemon eucalyptus and 20 percent picaridin. Our experts agree, though they recommend sticking to products that contain 15 percent to 30 percent deet. The Aspectek is able to be hung on the wall with the included chain, or sit upright on any flat surface. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the EPA both say that deet is safe when used properly, even for pregnant women. For indoor mosquito and flying insect control, the Aspectek 20W Bug Zapper is a top pick thanks to its versatile design and high-power electric grid. Several of the plant-based repellents CR has tested lasted just 1 hour or less against the Aedes aegypti mosquito-the kind that can spread Zika, yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya.ĭaniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of the Natural Products Association, told Consumer Reports that natural repellents vary in their effectiveness the same way that other repellents do. And our testing indicates that they don't.
Because of that loophole, companies that sell those repellents don't have to prove that they actually work. Because the Environmental Protection Agency deems the chemicals they contain harmless, the agency does not evaluate them for effectiveness. But here's the problem: Natural repellents are regulated differently than other repellent products.
