Which Mosquito Repellents Really Work?

Off! comes in sprays, coils, buckets and more. You can buy it almost anywhere and I think everybody has used it at some time. Off! contains DEET, which is one the active ingredients listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in products to repel potentially disease carrying mosquitoes and ticks. Among the people I informally surveyed, this was #1.

This system eliminates mosquitoes with a permanent automatic misting system or you can have their technicians spray a barrier mist every three weeks.

This one runs on batteries and has a little fan. It claims to protect against 98% of mosquitoes, black flies and "no see-ums," whatever they are. The repellent is allethrin, which is a synthetic duplicate of a component of pyrethrum, which is is a botanical insecticide extracted from chrysanthemum flowers.

Avon's Skin So Soft Bug Guard provides protection against mosquitoes, gnats, no-seeums, sand flies and biting midges. It's DEET-free. I know people swear by it, but it did not work for me.

Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent is plant based and derived from oil obtained from the leaves of the Eucalyptus citriodora tree. I've read that Oil of lemon eucalyptus provides protection similar to lower concentrations of DEET and probably shouldn't be substituted for DEET-based products in severe insect conditions where West Nile virus or malaria may be more prevalent.