When it comes to protecting our homes and families, most people will stop at nothing to ensure both are well taken care of. This remains true even when it comes to choosing the safest and most effective insect repellents. It's important to eliminate any pests, but you'll also want to make certain that you aren't exposing your loved ones to toxic chemicals.
Which Insect Repellent Is More Effective?
Ticks are not only an annoyance but, depending on where you live, there is a 25% chance that a tick will carry Lyme Disease. DEET is the the most recognizable name when it comes to chemical insect repellents but experts have begun to caution parents from using the chemical on children. What other options are there that work? ABC News put bug repellents to the test to figure out which repellent works the best against ticks; Deet, Lemon Eucalyptus Oil, or a synthetic compound called Picaridin.
For each of these tests the reporter, Becky, put a hand or foot covered in repellent on a sheet with ticks, waited 5 minutes, and recorded the tick activity. As a control test, Becky tested to see how many ticks would crawl onto her hand when she used no repellent and after 5 minutes there were 5 ticks on her hand. The Deet repellent successfully repelled ticks for five minutes as did the Picaridin-based spray. By the end of the 5 minutes with the Lemon Eucalyptus no ticks remained on her hand but two had ventured onto her hand before immediately jumping off. According to the ABC News experiment, It looks like Picaridin, which is made to resemble a pepper plant, works just as well as Deet while giving parents peace of mind.
Reminder
It is still important to check yourself and your family members for ticks after spending time outdoors to monitor any bites for signs of Lyme Disease and contact your doctor if you start to show symptoms.
Check out the video at https://gma.yahoo.com/video/parents-protect-kids-ticks-125247049.html. Go-Forth Pest Control offers a service that is designed to protect your yard from ticks and other biting pests so you have one less thing to worry about when your children go outside to play. Learn more about Go-Forth's tick control.