How to Select an Effective Bug Spray – With or Without DEET

Choosing a safe but potent insect repellent to protect against mosquito- and tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, West Nile Virus and dengue fever can be challenging due to the many products on the market.

Only repellents containing either the active ingredients DEET or picaridin have research to back their effectiveness. While DEET's safety has been debated through the years, the Environmental Protection Agency deemed in 1998 and again in 2014 that, if used according to directions, it does not pose a danger to human health.

Continue reading to learn more about selecting an effective bug spray, written by Courtenay Harris Bond.

Staff Writer

Courtenay Harris Bond

Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.

‍

Chunguza Maudhui Zaidi

Dawa ya Picaridin ya Sawyer

Kutoka kwa kikosi

Mazungumzo ya Campfire na jamii yetu, kutoka kwa Wanachama wa Squad na Mabalozi kwa Washirika wa Brand na timu ya Sawyer.

Hapa kwenye Sawyer

4 MIN

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

Cnoc’s ThruBottle also features a 28mm thread, allowing you to use it with filters such as the Sawyer Squeeze.

Mac

Mwandishi wa Kuchangia

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

Sawyer Squeeze + Cnoc VectoX 2L 28mm is widely considered to be the most reliable filter-bladder combo in existence, and we agree 100% with that sentiment.

Jaeger Shaw

Owner & Managing Editor

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

I carry the Sawyer Squeeze in my day pack in case of emergencies and as a backup to my larger water filter on backpacking trips where I know I’ll be relying on streams.