The heat waves may be winding down, but the mosquitoes are just revving up. August and September are prime mosquito months, and this year, the disease-carrying bloodsuckers are doing more than sucking our blood: They’re grabbing national headlines.

The mayor of Dallas, Texas, declared a state of emergency after 10 confirmed deaths in his city were attributed to the West Nile virus, and Texas state health officials have confirmed 23 deaths and at least 640 people infected across the state. It’s no wonder that the Dallas political consultant Carol Reed has dubbed the insect repellant OFF! the new Chanel No. 5 in a New York Times article about a run on bug spray.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75 percent of West Nile virus cases reported come from 5 states: Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. But even further north, a few cases of the rare eastern equine encephalitis, another mosquito-borne disease that can be fatal, have been found in mosquitoes in Massachusetts.

But before you go scouring drugstore shelves to scoop up a coveted bottle of insect repellant, take heed: DEET, the most commonly used active ingredient in bug sprays, comes with some disturbing side effects including links to birth defects and neurological damage. To add insult to injury, a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that some disease-carrying mosquitoes are growing resistant to DEET.

The good news: These natural insect repellents are just as effective—if not more so—than DEET:

Picaridin A chemical derived from pepper, picaridin has shown the most promise as being an effective DEET replacement without any negative health effects, and has been shown to be more effective in repelling some  mosquitoes spreading dengue fever (yet another disease that has spread from the tropics to 28 US states). You can find picaridin-containing products at most national drugstores. One option: Cutter 53663 Advanced 6-Ounce 7% Picaridin Insect Repellent Pump Spray ($ 6.89, amazon.com)

Oil of lemon eucalyptus The only plant-based repellent recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, oil of lemon eucalyptus is effective for warding off disease-carrying mosquitoes, and may do so up to three hours longer than products contain 6% DEET, based on a 2004 study in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Look for products carrying at least 26% oil of lemon eucalyptus, such as Repel HG-406T Lemon Eucalyptus 4-Ounce Insect Repellent Pump Spray ($ 12.60, amazon.com).

IR3535 It sounds more like an auto-correct-text-gone-wrong than an insect repellent, but this ingredient, found in Avon Skin So Soft, was shown to be as effective as DEET against West Nile–carrying bloodsuckers, according to a study in the Journal of Medical Entomology. It’s a synthetic version of amino acids found in vitamin B, and has been used for decades in Europe with no reported adverse side effects.

Other plant-based repellents That same Journal of Medical Entomology study also looked at products containing soybean oil, citronella, neem oil, and geraniol (the oil found in geraniums), and found that while all were effective against mosquitoes for up to three hours, soybean oil was the most effective of the four. Soybean oil worked for more than seven hours, just as long as products containing 15% DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535. Geraniol was next in line, warding off bugs for up to five hours, followed by citronella and neem oil, which worked for three hours before needing to be reapplied.

From Prevention.com with additional reporting by Elizabeth Narins

Get More:
Why Mosquitoes Bite You More Than Your Friends
Get Relief from Summer Bug Bites
Common Insect Bites and How to Recognize Them

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