Keep the Bugs at Bay

Are you one of those divers who finds himself eaten alive by mosquitoes or no-see-ums as you walk to dinner, while your buddy is unscathed? Then heed Consumer Reports’ new tests of insect repellents. Testers bared their arms in mosquito-filled cages, recording how long it took for two common types of mosquitoes to start biting - - and for deer ticks to decide it was safe to crawl over treated areas.

“The six top choices worked for at least seven hours: Off! Deep Woods Sportsmen II, Cutter Backwoods Unscented, Off! FamilyCare Smooth & Dry; 3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 8, Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus, and Natrapel 8-hour with picaridin. The first four contain DEET in varying levels. The EPA judges DEET safe when used as directed . . . Consumer Reports thinks that no one needs a repellent with more than 30 percent DEET.”

Skin So Soft Bug Guard had a much shorter life, and Burt’s Bees Natural Repellent finished dead last.