Just Say NO To Bugs: Protect Your Family's Health with Chemical-Free Insect Repellents

Long summer days mean backyard barbeques, afternoons spent by the lake, and hikes in the woods. They also mean the return of annoying bugs like mosquitoes, gnats, chiggers, and ticks. These irritating insects can put a damper on any outdoor adventure, but worse, they can spread serious diseases. West Nile Virus, spread to humans by infected mosquitoes, can cause flu-like symptoms including high fever, body aches, nausea, and swollen lymph glands. In some people, symptoms can be as severe as paralysis, vision loss, and coma, and in some cases, can lead to death.

Other pests can carry disease as well. A bite from a tick, for example, can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease. Choosing a safe and effective insect repellent is a summer-time must to protect your family's health.

Is Your Insect Repellent Safe?

Millions of Americans use chemical-based insect repellents every year. However, there is evidence that DEET -- the active ingredient in most mosquito repellents -- can cause serious health problems.

A study conducted by Duke University Medical Center pharmacologist, Mohamed Abou-Donia, PhD, found that DEET causes brain cell death and behavioral changes in rats after frequent and prolonged use. Abou- Donia's research found that the insecticide causes neurons to die in regions of the brain that control muscle movement, learning, memory, and concentration. While the chemical’s risks to humans are being debated, Abou-Donia says his 30 years of research on pesticides clearly indicate the need for caution among the general public.

Children in particular are at risk for neurological damage caused by DEET because their skin absorbs the chemical more readily and the chemical has a stronger affect on their developing nervous systems, reports Abou-Donia. Of 17 cases of reported significant toxicity from DEET exposure in the United States, 14 were in children under the age of 8. The most frequently reported symptoms of DEET toxicity in children were lethargy, headaches, tremors, involuntary movements, seizures, and convulsions.

A study released by the University of Manitoba warned against using DEET-based mosquito repellents with sun block. The study, led by professor of pharmacy Xiaochen Gu, found that when a 2.5-percent solution of insect-repelling DEET was mixed with oxybenzone, a common sunblock ingredient, the amount of DEET absorbed into the skin went from 9.6 percent to 30.2 percent.

Essential Plant Oils: Nature's Bug Repellent

Fortunately, many essential plant oils provide adequate and safe protection from biting, stinging pests. In fact, in 2005 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that repellents containing the essential oil of lemon eucalyptus and 2 percent soybean oil were as effective as DEET at keeping insects at bay.

Why do essential oils repel bugs? "They're very possibly the plants' protection against predators," says Mark Blumenthal of the American Botanical Council. In other words, the same oils that protect plants from insect invasion can do the same for humans.

Common oils used in natural insect repellents are citronella, thyme, geranium, lemon eucalyptus, neem, peppermint, and eucalyptus.

Several studies suggest that the best natural repellents work just as well as DEET-based formulas. In one study at The University of Guelph, a plant-based repellent containing soybean oil, geranium, and four other essential oils was just as effective as a 15-percent DEET formula at repelling mosquitoes. The same combination of oils has been proven effective at keeping ticks away for two and a half hours.

This summer ditch the chemical repellants and protect your family from insects the natural way, using safe and effective essential-oil based repellants.

References available on request.