What a beautiful day to be outdoors and have some lunch.
I'm going to sit right here.
OK.
Yeah.
But wouldn't you know it, a giant mosquito
swarms in to crash the picnic.
Don't you hate it when that happens?
Hey, mind if I sit here?
Sure.
What's for lunch?
Sandwich.
You?
The usual.
Cranberry.
Why do I suspect I'm being sized up for a refill?
But Consumer Reports' Joan Muratore
comes to my rescue just in time.
Jack.
Hi, Joan.
Joan?
How did you get rid of that pesky mosquito?
I'm wearing insect repellent, Jack.
Oh, OK.
Insect repellent.
I got to hear more.
Absolutely.
Let's go.
OK.
I can't believe I just saw that.
That was a big mosquito.
Tell me me about it.
For normal sized mosquitoes, we have
a whole array of products here that can help you repel them.
Joan and her research colleagues put a whole range of repellents
under the same scientific scrutiny
to help consumers figure out which ones
will protect them the best.
Bug bites are not only annoying, they
can also transmit diseases like Lyme disease, Zika, West Nile,
even malaria.
Yikes.
Now, I'm even more grateful that giant mosquito buzzed off.
So take me through the testing process of an insect repellent.
Oh, yeah.
OK, well, it's not pretty.
No?
We pay volunteers, and they come to the lab.
And we apply repellent to their arms,
and they stick their arms in two cages
full of disease-free mosquitoes.
You're kidding me.
Nope.
Nope, there's 200 mosquitoes in there,
and they have to keep their arms in there for five minutes.
The mosquitoes avoid exposed area of skin that's
been treated with repellents.
Researchers found that just about every repellent
on the market was effective.
But then the question is, for how long?
We repeat that test every hour for up to eight hours,
or until a panelist receives what we would call
confirmed bite, which is either two bites within one exposure
period or one bite in each of two consecutive periods.
Right.
So from that data, we can calculate an average number
of hours of protection provided by each repellent.
Do you need different types of insect repellents
for mosquitoes or ticks?
Well, we found it in our test products
that work against mosquitoes will work against ticks also.
So after you've done all this testing,
what kind of information do you gather that can help consumers?
You want to go by the active ingredient.
You want to make sure you're using
a chemical that works well.
In our tests, we've found that products containing
DEET at concentrations of 15% to 30% are effective,
as well as picaridin at 20%, and oil of lemon eucalyptus at 30%.
Many families have a lot of questions
about mosquitoes and ticks.
Here's one of them.
Let's ask CR.
Hey, Jack.
I'm Dara.
And I was wondering, what does DEET really mean?
That's a good question.
That is a good question.
DEET is a chemical called N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide.
It is a repellent chemical.
And chemicals like DEET, that have EPA registration,
are safe for use.
They're considered safe even for pregnant women.
There are also other factors to consider.
Joan's Bug Survival Guide--
research the area you're going to,
so you know what bugs to protect against.
Wear long pants tucked into your boots,
long sleeved shirts, and light colored clothing
to make it easier to spot ticks.
And cover all exposed skin with a good repellent.
Joan, thank you so much for the tips.
I really learned a lot.
You're so welcome, Jack.
I just remembered, I love my sandwich outside.
Oh, Jack, what if that big mosquito is still out there?
What do I do?
You need some protection.
You got to put some repellents.
Yes.
OK, am I good?
Looks good.
You're covered.
All right.
Thank you.
[INAUDIBLE]
Good luck, Jack.
Oh, you're [INAUDIBLE].
Hey, I wonder who took a bite out of my sandwich.
I wonder if they test bear repellent.