Insects (mosquitoes, gnats, chiggers, ticks, etc.…) commonly bite children and can make them miserable. There are many safe and effective insect repellents that you can use to protect your child, including those that use
DEET,
picaridin, citronella,
oil of lemon eucalyptus, or
soybean oil. Remember to only use products that are approved for children, follow the manufacturer's instructions and wash off the insect repellents when you return indoors.
Insect repellents with deet are probably the best and most commonly used. Although it is absorbed through your child's skin, it is generally safe as long as the product has less than 10-30% DEET. You should apply the deet product to all exposed skin, except near the eyes, mouth, open cuts or hands of small children (who may rub their eyes or put their fingers in their mouth). DEET is absorbed through the skin, so you may want to limit how much you put on younger children, wash it off as soon as possible, and apply it more to clothing than skin.
Although it used to be generally recommended that you only use insect repellents with less than 10% DEET, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says that insect repellents 'with a concentration of 10% appear to be as safe as products with a concentration of 30% when used according to the directions on the product labels'.
What is the difference between insect repellents with 5%, 10%, 30% or 100% DEET? It is mainly how long the protection against repelling insects lasts. 10% DEET provides about 2 hours of protection, while 24% provides about 5 hours of protection, with the effect peaking at a concentration of about 30% DEET.
Remember that DEET is not recommended for infants under 2 months of age.
Although deet insect repellents are effective for several hours, they do wash off with water and sweat, and you may have to reapply them to be most effective (follow the product's instructions to be safe), although many experts recommend that DEET should not be applied more than once a day.
Insect repellents made with picaridin offer an alternative to DEET that also provide long lasting protection and are available as:
- Off! Skintastic Clean Feel
- Cutter Advanced Insect Repellent
- Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus Picaridin
Other non-DEET insect repellents that are generally safe in children include those made with Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, Citronella, soybean oil and other plant based materials, such as:
- Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard Insect Repellent (Citronella Oil)
- Bite Blocker All Natural, "Deet Free" Insect Repellent (Soybean Oil)
- Bull Frog Mosquito Coast
- Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent (Lemongrass Oil, Citronella Oil, and Rosemary Oil)
- Buzz Away Extreme, Natural Insect Repellent (Soybean Oil, Citronella Oil)
- California Baby Bug Repellent with Citronella
- OFF! Botanicals Plant Based Insect Repellent (oil of lemon eucalyptus)
- Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent
IR3535 is another biopesticide repellent, like Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, which had been used in Europe for over 20 years. It is now available in the United States as Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus IR3535 Expedition.
Remember that insect repellents do not protect against most stinging insects, including wasps, bees and fire ants.
To keep your children safe from insect bites, you can also:
- Make sure to keep as much of her skin covered with clothing as possible, including long sleeve shirt, long pants, socks, and a hat.
- Wear light colored clothing, so as not to attract bugs.
- Avoid using any scented soaps or other products on your baby, since the fragrances can also attract insects.
- Consider applying insect repellents to clothing instead of to skin so that it won't be absorbed.
- Wash off insect repellents as soon as possible.
- Avoid areas with insects nest.
- Follow the instructions, including age restrictions on any insect repellent you are considering using.
