In the spring, blood-sucking insects begin to massively multiply, they do not allow you to relax and enjoy nature. A drug that repels them is called a "repellent". This substance does not kill parasites, but drives them away. Apply it in gardens, fields, forests from midges, mosquitoes, horseflies, ticks, fleas.
Appearance and application
Previously, smoke of fires was used to scare off the nests, the premises were fumigated with candles with wormwood and clove oil. Oils were applied to the skin - camphor, eucalyptus, clove, juniper, fir, nutmeg, cedar, lavender. And then they invented synthetic repellent. This was a breakthrough, since all gardeners, mushroom pickers, and hunters found salvation in it. Repellents are applied to the skin, they spray clothes, mosquitoes, canopies, curtains, nets, as well as the outer part of the tent to limit mosquito infestation.
Structure
Preparations are currently produced in the form of lotions, creams, gels, aerosols, emulsions, pencils. The composition contains the main substances (DETA), essential oils (pine, lavender, clove, geranium) and additives that have repellent properties and prolong the action of drugs. Oils are weak and added to enhance the effect.
Cream-repellent is based on diethyltoluamide - a chemical compound that paralyzes the nervous system of mosquitoes, midges, and midges. It has a pungent odor and is highly toxic, so children and allergies should not use it. In addition to diethyltoluamide, the following can be used in the preparations:
- Permethrin - has a paralytic effect on insects, applied to clothing, equipment, shoes. It is stored on clothes even after washing. Can not be used by pregnant women and children up to a year.
- Picaridine is an analogue of DETA, but has a prolonged effect. Picaridin-based repellent spray does not cause skin irritation, but is dangerous if swallowed and gets into the eyes.
- Alletrin is a substitute for the natural repellent contained in chrysanthemum flowers. It has no smell, protects not only the person, but also the territory around him. Harmless to humans, but unpleasant to insects.
Repellent Performance
Evaluation of the funds is carried out according to the following parameters:
- impact force;
- the number of species of insects that it repels;
- time of action;
- smell;
- safety for humans and animals;
- storage duration.
The “action time” parameter is not always the same. Repellent is, as mentioned above, a drug that repels insects. Therefore, it is absorbed into the skin, comes out with sweat, therefore, only by experiment can we establish the duration of the deterrent effect.
It must be remembered that:
- There are soft repellents (valid for 2 hours), medium (active for 3-4 hours) and the highest category (active for 5 hours). The longer the effect, the greater the toxicity of the drug.
- Repellent is a potent chemical, so it must go through a certification commission.
- The action of repellents depends on the thermoregulation of a person, climatic conditions (heat, rain).
Synthetic drugs really help fight parasites, but their effect is associated with paralysis of the nervous system of insects. In small doses, the products are safe for humans, but you must be extremely careful: the repellent should not get into the eyes or mouth. This is especially true for young children.