Dr. Aleksandra Gliniewicz from the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene suggests how to use repellants to make them effective and safe at the same time.
Repellents – how to use them to make them work?
— If we need protection against both the sun and mosquitoes, first apply a cream with a UV filter, and only then – a repellent – says Dr. Gliniewicz. And he explains that a repellent covered with a UV filter may be less effective at repelling mosquitoes.
The interviewee emphasized that each repellent package should bear the registration number of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products. “This is a guarantee that the repellant has passed the effectiveness tests,” he says. So if it is written on such a product, for example, that it repels mosquitoes for four hours, and ticks for two – it means that it has been experimentally confirmed.
In Poland, it does not necessarily make sense to use repellants designed to repel tropical mosquitoes.
– There are different conditions in the tropics. In Poland, we do not have to scare away mosquitoes with the maximum concentration of DEET or another substance with a repellent effect – he points out. And he advises choosing a repellent rather in terms of the time you want it to protect us from insects.
The expert also points out that there are stronger repellants available on the market for physically active people and athletes, because sweat attracts mosquitoes more strongly.
How to protect yourself from mosquitoes?
How does the repellant work? It prevents the mosquito from perceiving the person as an object to be directed towards.
– Mosquitoes do not look at their victims, but with chemoreceptors. They are sensitive to smells emanating from victims. They are attracted by substances contained in sweat, such as butyric acid, as well as the concentration of carbon dioxide or heat – says Aleksandra Gliniewicz. He points out that, therefore, mosquitoes are more likely to target people with faster metabolism.
In addition to repellants for use on the body, candles or mosquito repellent coils (for outdoor use) or electrofumigators (for indoor use) can also be helpful in fighting mosquitoes.
You can also protect yourself from stings by covering your skin with clothes. Where there are a lot of mosquitoes, it is worth wearing long-sleeved hooded sweatshirts or long pants.
– Ideally, they should be light colored clothes. This is because dark fabrics first heat up faster. And secondly, mosquitoes are used to the fact that they sting the dark furto of animals – explains the entomologist.
In houses, it is worth installing mosquito nets, or at least making sure not to open the windows when the light is on inside (mosquitoes are flying towards it).
So if we do not want mosquitoes to find shelter in our garden during the day – we can eliminate overgrown bushes. A researcher from the National Institute of Hygiene explains that mosquitoes like to stay in humid and shaded places. If we take such places from them, they will move to somewhere where they will be better off.
However, Dr. Gliniewicz does not encourage garden owners to use spraying in the fight against mosquitoes.
– Such measures will kill not only mosquitoes, but also other insects. In addition, this method is not durable – it only works until the first rain. It may make sense when you organize a mass event, but in your own garden – it’s really a pity for the bees – the researcher believes.
author Ludwika Tomala / PAP
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