Is DEET Really Your Best Choice? We Explored Your Options for Insect Repellent. From picaridin to herbal solutions, there's a wide variety of non-DEET repellents on the market. But which work, and which are just snake oil? No one wants to spend long evenings huddled in a tent hiding from mosquitoes. But choose the wrong insect repellent, and this sad scenario could be in your future. After all, mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects aren’t just annoying—they can be dangerous, spreading diseases like Zika, West Nile, Alpha-gal Syndrome, and Lyme. Fortunately, the EPA has registered and approved a number of active ingredients in insect repellents that are both safe and effective when used correctly. We spoke with Andrew Li, a research entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture about which repellents are most effective and why you might want to reach for something different on your next excursion.

Vector-borne diseases are found at almost every travel destination. Because few vaccines are available to protect travelers, the best way to prevent vector-borne diseases is to avoid being bitten by ticks and insects, including mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers, and flies, that transmit pathogens that cause disease. Travel medicine specialists should advise travelers to use repellents and take other precautions to prevent bites.

EXPLAINER | How do mosquito repellants work? To ward off mosquitoes, there are a wide variety of repellants, with the most tried-and-true products based on a substance called DEET. DEET acts as a contact-based repellent and conveys a chemical message to mosquitoes to leave. Citronella products are also used to keep mosquitoes away, but testing shows these products are far less effective than DEET. It's summertime, and for many of us that means plenty of time outside - and, unfortunately, mosquitoes. The combination of the increase in temperature and plenty of water is ideal for these blood- sucking insects to make their presence felt.

Keep Mosquitoes Away with These Tried-and-True Repellents Mosquito experts break down how to choose and use the best mosquito repellents High angle closeup of Black woman spaying legs with bug repellent Only insect repellants with Environmental Protection Agency–registered active ingredients such as diethyl toluamide (DEET)[AS1] , p-Menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) or icaridin (also known as picaridin) have been scientifically proved to effectively keep mosquitoes away. Mosquitoes are masters of speed and subtlety. Rarely do we catch one on our skin mid-bite. And when we do, the damage is often already done: the blood has been sucked, the itch-inducing saliva has been secreted, and, in some cases, a disease has already been transmitted.