How to Choose a Bug Spray for Kids

While your kids are out playing all day in the summertime, disease-carrying mosquitoes and other insects are out and about, too, looking for their next meal. Insect repellent is the best way to protect your child from these pesky bugs, but they must be used with caution when it comes to kids. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics have specific recommendations for selecting and applying insect repellent to children.

Instructions

    • 1

      Check the DEET levels. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that insect repellent for children contain no more than 30 percent DEET, a chemical repellent highly effective in repelling a wide variety of bugs, including mosquitoes and ticks.

    • 2

      Avoid DEET repellents combined with sunscreen for children. The DEET chemicals could make the sunscreen less effective, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. You don't need to reapply DEET as often as sunscreen, so using a combination product could result in an unnecessary overexposure to DEET chemicals.

    • 3

      Consider alternatives to DEET-based repellent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses the use of insect repellent containing picardin, a synthetic compound most commonly used in bug spray in other parts of the world. It also recommends insect repellent with oil of lemon eucalyptus, a plant-based repellent ingredient. The CDC believes both options work as well as DEET products without the unpleasant greasiness and smell. However, repellent with oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under the age of 3, according to the Food and Drug administration.

    2. Previous:

    Next: