How does the percent of DEET in a product relate to the amount of protection it gives?
Based on recent studies: • A product containing 23.8% DEET provides an average of 5 hours of protection from mosquito bites. • A product containing 20% DEET provided almost 4 hours of protection. • A product containing 6.65% DEET provided almost 2 hours of protection. • A product containing 4.75% DEET and 2% soybean oil were both able to provide roughly 1 and a half-hours of protection. Choose a repellent that provides protection for the amount of time that you will be outdoors A higher percentage of DEET should be used if you will be outdoors for several hours while a lower percentage of DEET can be used if time outdoors will be limited. You can also re-apply a product if you are outdoors for a longer time than you expected and start to be bitten by mosquitoes.
