As seen on social media: Testing mosquito repellants

3 years ago 266

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Most radical would effort thing to support mosquitoes away.

But wherefore spot if the products enactment by sacrificing your ain skin? News4Jax took products she recovered connected societal media, to the University of Florida’s world-renowned entomology laboratory and got an expert’s instrumentality to assistance support you and your household safe.

Dr. Philip Koehler is simply a retired prof astatine the University of Florida. He’s studied mosquitoes for astir 50 years and has 28 patents involving the pests. That’s wherefore he’s the cleanable adept to decipher which products worked and which would permission you arsenic a mosquito’s adjacent meal.

Koehler had Lauren hitch a stone successful her hands to get odor, sweat and each different factors that mosquitoes are attracted to. The rocks were placed connected apical of a mosquito cage to pull the bugs.

Then we tested 4 products: a citronella candle, a ThermaCell, bug-repellent bracelets and a instrumentality that says it tin relieve immoderate of the itch and swelling if you’ve already been bitten.

First up, the bracelets. We recovered a acceptable of 12 for $12.99 connected Amazon.

“These are cool. These are fundamentally associated with nutrient similar citronella to support the bugs away,” explained Koheler.

But does it work?

We tied a bracelet astir the rock, and astir instantly the mosquitoes avoided immoderate country wherever the bracelet landed. But that’s the grade the set kept them away.

“If you wanted to support the mosquitoes from biting your wrist, enactment it on. But the remainder of your assemblage is available,” said Koheler.

Next up, A ThermaCell mosquito repeller we bought for $39.99.

Since this was the priciest item, we expected bully results. It didn’t disappoint.

Koehler said these devices are bully enough, that if we enactment it adjacent to the container of mosquitoes since the bugs had obscurity to go, they would each apt die. While Koehler wouldn’t hazard his alleged children, Lauren was blessed to enactment this instrumentality to the trial successful her ain backyard. She acceptable it up, and fto it go. Overall, she’d springiness it her stamp of approval. However, Koehler warned these devices aren’t going to enactment arsenic good connected a windy day, oregon successful ample space.

Next up the citronella candle we bought for a small implicit $6.

Just similar with the Thermacell, Koheler said these candles bash not enactment unless successful a controlled area, with nary wind. We lit the candle and waited but rapidly realizing it did precise small to support the bugs distant from the rocks. Overall, Lauren says skip the candle.

Moving on, the Bug Bite Thing promises alleviation from a mosquito wound by sucking retired the venom. Lauren recovered retired it was easier said than done.

“Basically, it astir apt isn’t going to beryllium excessively palmy due to the fact that mosquitoes are putting their proboscis and injecting the saliva mode down into your skin. It astir apt won’t assistance you excessively overmuch with a mosquito,” said Koehler.

Out of the 3 repellents I brought him, lone 1 got the thumbs up astatine keeping the bugs away.

But retrieve portion the Thermacell whitethorn connection relief, it is the lone instrumentality that uses chemicals.

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