Arm in cage tests to compare skin repellents against bites of Aedes albopictus

The efficacy of commercial insect repellents was evaluated against Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera Culicidae) by means of arm in cage assays. The tested products included a DEET-based repellent (Off Spray), a commercial preparation of Icaridin (Autan Active), three formulations containing DMP (Helpic, Sandokan Body Gel, and Sandokan Body Spray) and four plant-derived products (Orphea, Senzazzz, Tigreño Dermo, and Zanzoff Natura). Products were applied to volunteers’ forearms and the time elapsed between the application and the first mosquito bite was considered as the time of protection. Off Spray and Autan Active provided the longest mean protection times (250 and 220 min, respectively). Helpic, Sandokan Body Gel, Sandokan Body Spray, Tigreño Dermo, and Orphea were less effective showing protection times between 85 and 34 min. Zanzoff Natura afforded protection from mosquito bites for 15 min after the application. Sticky plasters (Senzazzz) provided less than 1 min of mean protection time.