Mosquitoes appear every year, how to avoid them? In order not to be harassed by these vampires, humans have been constantly developing various weapons to deal with them. From passive defense of mosquito nets and screens, to active insecticides and mosquito killers, toilet water with ambiguous effects, to the internet celebrity product mosquito repellent bracelet in recent years, who among the various factions can really do it? Safe and effective?
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Pyrethroids
A weapon for active killing
The idea of dealing with mosquitoes can be divided into two schools: active killing and passive defense. Among them, the active killing faction not only has a long history, but also has intuitive effects. Among household mosquito killers represented by mosquito coils, electric mosquito sheets, electric mosquito coil liquids, aerosol insecticides, etc., the main active ingredient is pyrethroids. It is a broad-spectrum insecticide that can control a variety of pests and has a strong contact killing effect. Its mechanism of action is to disrupt the nerves of insects, causing them to go from excitement, convulsions to paralysis and death. When using mosquito killers, in order to better kill mosquitoes, the indoor environment is usually kept as airtight as possible to maintain the content of pyrethroids at a relatively stable level.
The most significant advantage of pyrethroids is their high efficiency, requiring only a lower concentration to knock down mosquitoes. Although pyrethroids can be metabolized and excreted after being inhaled into the human body, they are still slightly toxic and will have a certain impact on the human nervous system. Long-term exposure may also cause symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, abnormal nerve sensations, and even nerve paralysis. . Therefore, when using mosquito killers while sleeping, it is best not to place them around the head of the bed to avoid inhaling air containing high concentrations of pyrethroids and causing discomfort.
In addition, aerosol insecticides often contain aromatic harmful substances, and people with allergies need to be careful to avoid them when using aerosol insecticides. For example, after spraying an appropriate amount, leave the room immediately and close the doors and windows, and then come back after a few hours to open the windows for ventilation. This can ensure the effectiveness and safety of killing mosquitoes at the same time.
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According to the relevant provisions of the country's " Pesticide Management Regulations", products that prevent, eliminate or control mosquitoes, flies and other products must obtain an pesticide registration certificate as long as they claim the effect of "killing mosquitoes" or "repelling mosquitoes" html number 2, and label toxicity on the packaging. Therefore, it is recommended that when purchasing mosquito killing and repellent products, you should look for the pesticide registration certificate number .
At present, the common pyrethroids on the market mainly include teflumethrin and halothrin . Studies have shown that the knockdown effect of halothrin on mosquitoes is better than that of transfluthrin, but the safety of halothrin is better than that of halothrin. Therefore, when purchasing mosquito killer products, you can make specific choices based on the person who will use them. If there are no children at home, it is better to choose products containing flumethrin; if there are children at home, it is safer to choose products containing flumethrin.
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Anti-mosquito spray and mosquito repellent water
Stay safe by deceiving mosquitoes’ sense of smell
After talking about active killing, let’s talk about passive defense. This genre is a bit like the "golden bell and iron shirt" in Jin Yong novels. It does not have a head-on confrontation with mosquitoes, but uses some methods to keep these "vampires" away from us and isolate them from a safe range.
Among them, anti-mosquito spray, mosquito repellent water are the main representatives. Their mosquito repellent principle is to interfere with mosquitoes by spraying them on the skin and clothing, using the unpleasant smell of mosquitoes or forming a protective layer around the skin. The sense of smell prevents them from smelling the special odor emitted by the human body, thereby isolating mosquitoes.
Many people believe that toilet water, which also has the effect of "repelling mosquitoes", is a perfume product made with toilet oil as the main fragrance and mixed with alcohol. Their main functions are decontamination, sterilization, prevention of prickly heat and relief of itching. Although it can also have a certain anti-mosquito effect, compared with anti-mosquito spray and mosquito repellent water, both the working principle and the main ingredients are completely different, and the two cannot be used instead of each other.
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Mosquito repellent bracelet and Mosquito repellent patch
Whether it is useful or not depends on the core ingredients
In recent years, the types of mosquito repellent products on the market have become more and more abundant. Many of them are wearable mosquito repellent products such as repellent products. Mosquito patches, mosquito repellent buckles, mosquito repellent watches, mosquito repellent wristbands, mosquito repellent pendants, etc., are favored by many people, especially parents of children, because they do not require direct contact with the skin. This type of product is generally worn on the human body, and forms a protective layer around the human body with the help of the smell emitted by the agent, interfering with the mosquito's sense of smell, thereby driving away mosquitoes.
When purchasing this type of mosquito repellent product, in addition to checking the pesticide registration certificate number, you also need to check whether it contains truly effective ingredients, and select products with appropriate ingredients and concentrations based on the usage scenario and objects.
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Currently, there are U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered and U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended safe and effective mosquito repellent ingredients. There are mainly 4 types: DEET (DEET), Paika Picaridin, insect repellent (IR3535/ immonin), oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or its extract lemon eucalyptol (PMD). Among them, the first three are chemical compositions, and the latter are plant ingredients. In terms of effectiveness, DEET has good repellent effect and lasts for a long time, followed by picaridin and DEET, and lemon eucalyptus oil has the best repellent effect. Mosquitoes last a shorter time.
In terms of safety, since DEET is irritating to the skin, we generally recommend that children use mosquito repellent products with a DEET content of less than 10%. For babies under 6 months old, Do not use mosquito repellent products containing DEET. DEET has no toxic side effects on the skin and will not penetrate into the skin. It is currently recognized as a relatively safe mosquito repellent product and can be used daily. Lemon eucalyptus oil can be extracted from natural substances and is safe and non-irritating to the skin, but the terpenoid hydrocarbons it contains may cause allergies. Therefore, in many European and American countries, it is not recommended for children under three years old.
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For pregnant women and babies
we recommend safety-oriented physical mosquito repellent methods
Whether it is mosquito killers, mosquito repellent water or mosquito repellent patches, they all belong to chemical mosquito repellents. Although chemical mosquito repellent methods are effective and convenient, for pregnant women and babies under six months old, it is recommended to use safer physical mosquito repellent methods.
At present, the physical mosquito repellent products on the market mainly include mosquito killer lamp and electric mosquito swatter . The mosquito racquet is shaped like a tennis racket. It has high-voltage static electricity between the metal wires. Just waving the "racquet" can electrocute mosquitoes that unfortunately touch the net. However, due to the electricity, it is more recommended for adults. Mosquito killer lamps use the phototactic properties of mosquitoes to attract them, causing them to be sucked in, stuck or electrocuted, and eventually die of dehydration. Mosquito killer lamps operate at low decibels, which basically does not affect sleep, and has a high safety factor. However, please note that it needs to be set up out of the reach of children.
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