Popular insect repellent deet affects nervous system: study

The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology say that more investigations are urgently needed ...

New mosquito repellents that work better than DEET

In the age-old battle against mosquitos, DEET has proven effective at keeping this nemesis at bay, but the repellent is smelly and its protection is short-lived. Now, researchers report in the Journal of Agricultural and ...

What makes mosquitoes avoid DEET? An answer in their legs

Many of us slather ourselves in DEET each summer in hopes of avoiding mosquito bites, and it generally works rather well. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on April 25th have made the surprising discovery ...

Sniffing out new repellents: Why mozzies can't stand the DEET

The smell of mozzie repellent is as much a part of summer as barbecues and the cricket. Despite supermarket and pharmacy shelves overflowing with insect repellents, there are actually only a few active ingredients to be found ...

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DEET

N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, abbreviated DEET, is a slightly yellow oil. It is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. It is intended to be applied to the skin or to clothing, and provides protection against tick bites, mosquito bites, chiggers, and other insects that can transmit disease.

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