Mosquito and tick season are in full swing and not only are you worried about West Nile, Zika and Lyme disease, but a newer, (and until recently) mostly unfamiliar disease named Powassan.

All of these illnesses can have devastating consequences and Powassan, (a tick-borne malady) has the potential (like West Nile virus) to kill you. So much for another carefree summer in the great outdoors!

But wait! There are things you can do to minimize the chances for these bugs to bug you. But the choices of products are mind-boggling: natural or not-so-natural, multitudes of sprays and lotions in both name-brand and store-brand varieties. Which ingredients actually work and which products can you find them in?

No worries! Consumer Reports has done all the work for you and made some discoveries along the way. The products with the best repellent ingredients also tended to be the best overall products and if they worked on mosquitoes they did a great job of repelling ticks too.

Consumer Reports said that their ratings are based on:

how long a product protected test subjects against mosquitoes. We also test for how well the product resisted causing damage to materials that repellents are likely to come into contact with, like fabric, paint, and nail polish. Our highest-rated ones protected for 6.5 hours or more; our lowest-rated ones lasted 2 hours or less."

The three active ingredients which were contained by the top recommended products in their study were: deet, picaridin, and oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE). Unfortunately the natural products they tested simply didn't repel pests adequately.

You can read the complete article for further information and see the list of nine recommended insect repellents here.

Source: Consumer Reports


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