WASHINGTON — Researchers have identified seven possibilities for the next generation of mosquito repellent, some of which may work several times longer than the current standard, DEET. The next step: testing to make sure they’re not harmful.
While the new repellents aren’t likely to be available commercially for a few years, early tests on cloth were promising, with some chemicals repelling mosquitoes for as long as 73 days and many working for 40 to 50 days, compared with an average of 17.5 days with DEET, according to a study in today’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Several of the new chemicals “were just phenomenal,” said Ulrich R. Bernier, a research chemist at the Agriculture Department’s mosquito and fly research unit in Gainesville, Fla. “I was so surprised.”
