The Least Toxic Ways to Protect Yourself from Ticks

When it comes to keeping away creatures that creep and crawl, the U.S. doesn’t mess around. More than 198 million Americans used insect repellent last year, a figure that is expected to top 200 million this year. Much of that is to ward off ticks, which are technically arachnids and carry more than a dozen diseases. But the repellents themselves can present concerns of their own with their pungent smells, occasional irritation, and labels full of mystifying chemicals most people have never heard of. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] With 2023 turning into one of the worst tick seasons in recent memory, plenty of people are looking for ways to repel the pests without quite so much commercial chemistry. The question is, do natural alternatives to chemical repellents even exist, and if they do, how effective are they? Here’s what to know about tick repellants. More from TIME [video id=OKBbLLJa autostart="viewable"] DEET The most common ingredient in insect repellants is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, better known as DEET. It was developed in the 1940s by the U.S. military and the Department of Agriculture. Scientists know it is effective at keeping pests away, but they haven’t yet figured out whether it’s because there is something in the odor of the chemical that repels the bugs or something that masks the attractive smell of humans and causes insects like mosquitoes or arachnids like ticks simply to fly or crawl past us. “It was a long...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Public Health Source Type: news