Not All Bug Repellents Are Equal

Pay attention to the ingredients of bug sprays and other repellents, because they're not equally effective at warding off mosquitoes that carry diseases like Zika virus, researchers say.

Products with DEET or oil of lemon eucalyptus, which contains an ingredient known as PMD, are more effective at repelling the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and dengue, researchers found.

Wearable devices advertised as mosquito repellents should largely be avoided, their data suggest.

With the recent outbreak of Zika virus, many mosquito repellents became best-selling products, said Immo Hansen, of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, the senior member of the research team.

"They’re very popular," Hansen told Reuters Health, citing the number of products for sale just on Amazon.com.

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