Effective bug repellents

The current standard chemical most commonly used is Deet, which has been shown to keep away mosquitoes for as along as 17 days. However, tests with new chemicals are repelling mosquitoes for as long as 73 days.

Tests were done on cloth treated with the chemicals then applied on the arms of volunteers. The next step was for safety tests applied directly on human skin.

Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The study will appear in Tuesday's edition of proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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