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.

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Sawyer Picaridin 喷雾剂

来自小队

与我们的社区（从小队成员和大使到品牌合作伙伴和 Sawyer 团队）进行篝火对话。

在索耶

4 MIN

媒体报道

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

Mac

特约撰稿人

媒体报道

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.

杰格-肖

Owner & Managing Editor

媒体报道

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.