What's The Best Insect Repellent?

BODRUM

hi everyone on IM,

bit of a stupid question but can anyone tell me the brand of their favourite insect repellent.the one i got in uk says on the can"for use in countries with no known risk of malaria or other insect trnsmitted diseases".

im in delhi on tuesday so thnking of getting some there.

thanks for your help guys.

Nick-H

Best or personal favourite?

Best, at least as far as mosquitoes go, and that's the main thing, here, remains anything DEET based. Whilst it has also been considered completely safe for decades, recent research has raised doubts.

for use in countries with no known risk of malaria or other insect transmitted diseases -- sounds like someone is trying to cover their legal backside. Out of interest, what is it?

The travel shelf at your local Boots will have a selection. Autan is an alternative to DEET-based; for me it does not work.

Personal favourite, You can get suggestions ranging from lavender oil to custard

Discussed ad infinitum on this forum; a quick search would have saved yu the trouble of starting a new thread.

rsk11584

I think you should use TORTOISE MOSQUITO COIL to repel mosquitoes, or HIT , MORTEIN , INSECT SPRAYS.

Nick-H

Those are not repellents: they are insecticides.

jituyadav

I consider them ( Mortein, hit etc) more of human repellents as insects seem to enjoy them somehow. Btw,where is OP?

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Pintz

The Best I have found while on the move is LEMON GRASS.
Just take a few blades of lemon grass, crush them in your hands and rub the juice onto your skin. IT WORKS! By the way, that's where Citronella comes from, an ingredient used in mosquito repellents. I had planted a few in my garden and I've not seen a single mosquito since then! It has a rather strong smell. It is also used extensively in making herbal teas.

shere

The stuff from Lidl is pretty good, only problem is that it is an occassional special so may not be in stock. I stocked up when they reduced to £1. You can also pick up a similar repellant from Home Bargains (if you live close to one).

simv

Mosquito net beats them all. The foldable ones are awesome and can be carried and used very easily.

Something like this.

Electric repellents - GoodKnight and All-out are ok.

Haylo

The OP was asking specifically about insect repellents.

Personally, I find mosquito nets inconvenient and unfashionable when taking an evening stroll...

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federica

For me Odomos worked the best. The DEET stuff I brought from Europe was just good to remove my nail polish

Haylo

I use various DEET based products; Jungle Formula lotion, a handy mini aerosol can, and Tesco impregnated wipes. They were all 100% effective, and on average I suffered less than one mossie bite per trip to India. Pretty amazing for someone who mossies usually home in on from miles around!

Note that higher strengths of DEET don't repel insects any more effectively, they just last for more hours.

freenote

but the active ingrediant in odomos is deet ,and it still removes nail polish

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federica

I know! I used the odomos cream, maybe it was easier to apply than the liquid spray I brought

As I get allergic reactions on some repellents, I use it only in "danger zones" and on exposed body parts, especially feet as these beasts love to bite in my ankles .

But I remember so many threads on this topic, and the general outcome was:

It's a highly personal experience, and you're the only test person

Haylo, you lucky one. I guess after the first 20 bites I gave up.

eyesonyouu

All out works well in case you are indoors and have an electrical point!

indiaddict

Odomos - highly effective, cheap and smells nice