Overview
For many destinations insect repellent is an important piece of your kit. Repellents can stop the irritation of bites and stings but more importantly its can protect you from diseases such as Malaria.
But which one do you buy? There are now numerous numbers of insect repellents on the market with different ingredients and sizes. In this guide we give advice on the best option for you.
Which Size?
There is nothing worse than being caught running out of repellent as then you'll definitely get bitten! Before choosing a size think how much you'll need to use it. In Europe you may only need a little bit in evenings whereas in Asia you may need to apply it through the day and night.
For occassional application throughout the day we would recommend a 50-60ml bottle per week and for constant application a 100-120ml per week per person.
What Type of Applicator?
Insect repellent comes in a variety of applicators including sprays, aerosols, rolls ons, lotions and liquids. We would personally avoid aerosols as much of the repellent can end up around you than on you. Roll ons and lotions are good for the skin and sprays are probably the most universal as you can also easily spray onto clothes as well as skin.
Deet or No Deet?
You may never heard of deet but its the main chemical used to deter insects and is in most repellents. You may have heard stories that its unsafe to use. Deet was originally developed as a plastic softener and so its true that it can damage some plastics and related products. However in terms of danger to your health there have been only 15 cases of toxic illness in the last 30 years. If you put this against the hundreds of thousands of people that use it each week on holiday it sounds rather safe!
There are a number of natural repellents on the market that don't contain deet but in our experience they don't have the performance of deet. They are find for use in Europe and similar countries but in Malaria risk areas we strongly recommend you use a deet repellent.
How Much Deet?
The next thing to think about is how much deet you need in your repellent. In general repellents come in three different strengths: 25%, 50% and 100%. For keeping away the odd insect in Europe or the UK we would recommend a 25% or 50% deet. For high risk malaria areas and places where there are lots of insects use a 100% deet. This can be used on clothes and skin but use sparingly.
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