Mosquito repellents

Test results

How we test

Testing was carried out in an independent laboratory.

Each repellent was tested on four people. Each person had the repellent applied to a clean forearm according to the directions, then placed their forearm in a transparent cage with approximately 40 unfed mosquitoes.

The repellents were tested to the full amount of time they claimed to be effective, to a maximum of six hours.

At set time intervals, each tester exposed their arm for three minutes. The number of attempted and successful mosquito landings were recorded. An attempted landing is when a mosquito touches the skin but doesn’t stay there. A successful landing is when a mosquito lands and stays for more than one second.

All the repellents tested claim to protect against other biting insects, but those weren’t included in this test. Repellent effectiveness can vary between insect species, including different mosquito species.