They prevent insects, especially mosquitoes, from finding us. For this, repellents use substances that have the ability to clog the microscopic pores of these little animals’ antennae when they approach us. It’s just that mosquitoes use their antennae to smell things and know where they are. As we breathe and perspire all the time, we don’t stop releasing smells that attract insects. With the repellent, part of this antenna mechanism is out of action. And the animal does not know where to bite. This all seems simple enough, but the effectiveness of repellents still faces some problems. First, the body releases 340 chemicals, and no one is sure which ones attract bugs. Second: there are 2,500 species of mosquitoes and there is no repellent that can disturb everyone’s antennae. Therefore, there is no such thing as a completely effective product. But there are reasonable substances, which cope well with at least the most common insects.
The best one is called DEET, which is in almost every repellent we can find out there. This artificial substance was patented by the United States Armed Forces in 1946, after being created to protect soldiers from bites. Shortly thereafter, in 1957, DEET repellents were sold worldwide. They usually protect the body for two to eight hours and are usually only toxic when overused. There are also repellents made with natural substances, such as citronella oil, an essence extracted from a small plant. They have the same principle of action as DEET and appeal to people who don’t like artificial products. The problem is that they are even less effective, working for two hours at most.
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