Americans Ignore Mosquito Risks

Public Health Officials Worried That Not Enough Are Using Repellent

(WebMD) 
Are these good excuses? Zielinski-Gutierrez doesn't think so.

"One mosquito bite can transmit West Nile virus," she warns. "Putting on repellent takes a few seconds and can avoid the potential lifelong implications of getting infected."

It's especially important for the over-50 crowd to use repellent. West Nile disease is particularly dangerous for those over 50 -- yet people over 50 are among those least likely to use repellent.

New Repellents Available —

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that two new kinds of mosquito repellents work as well as DEET, although for shorter periods of exposure.

One is picaridin. The other is a chemical extract called oil lemon eucalyptus.

"These additional products are for short-term exposure -- if you're in the backyard for a couple of hours --- although a stronger version of picaridin should be available in the future," Zielinski-Gutierrez says. "You can use them in the same situation as the family-style DEET products. Neither of these new products are go-canoeing-in-the-swamp kind of products."

Some, however, may prefer the new products. The picaridin product has little odor. The oil-of-lemon eucalyptus product has a strong odor that some may find less obnoxious than DEET. However, it is NOT approved for children under the age of 3 years (and NO repellent is safe for children younger than 2 months of age).