The EPA concludes DEET is safe for use on Americans of any age if used as directed. The EPA's announcement came this May after more than 11 years of extensive testing.

DEET was developed by the U.S. government in 1951 after testing 11,000 compounds for their effectiveness in repelling insects. It is approved by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) as an insect repellent, and no other substance has been found to be more effective. Repellents with DEET are used safely and effectively by approximately 30% of the U.S. population during a given year, with an average of seven to eight applications per person. This results in more than 400 million exposures to DEET each year.

There is no other product that works as effectively and is so safe to use.

To date 36 major safety studies have been performed at a cost of more than $5 million. These studies have confirmed what more than 40 years of research have consistently found --that DEET products are safe when used according to label directions. When reactions to DEET are reported, they are generally limited to eye irritation from inadvertent exposure to the eyes and infrequent skin reactions from sensitive individuals.

The bottom line is that DEET repellents can be used confidently by following label instructions. In a study by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, only 0.15 of 1% of calls made to the Poison Control Centers over a five-year period involved DEET products and of those calls, the majority were inconsequential. And of these few reported calls, no correlation was found between the number or severity of reported incidents and the concentration of DEET in products."

Risks from Insect Bites and Stings

Everybody has experienced the annoyance of itching insect bites. But some insect bites result in far more serious problems. Approximately 100 Americans are reported to die each year from insect bites or stings. However, the true number is probably much higher since researchers are convinced that an unknown number of deaths attributed to natural causes are actually caused by insect stings. For example, a severe allergic reaction to bee stings can masquerade as a heart attack.

Lyme disease is one of the better known insect-spread diseases; it is carried by ticks, most commonly the deer tick. While highly treatable in its early stages, if undetected Lyme disease can cause serious long-term disabilities, including arthritic joints, severe headaches and abnormal heartbeat.

Cases have been reported in 49 states; the disease is common in the Northeast and upper Midwest.

Besides Lyme disease, ticks also transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever and several forms of encephalitis. Mosquitoes spread several forms of encephalitis, including Eastern equine encephalitis, which has a mortality rate of 50% to 60%.

The problems posed by insects, then, certainly warrant using protection when engaging in outdoor activities, particularly if you live in areas known to be infested with disease-carrying bugs. DEET has been proven effective against many types of pests, including mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, fleas, biting flies, biting midges (commonly called no-see-ums) and gnats.

Vacationers who plan to travel out of the U.S. should also be alert to the dangers of insects in other countries. For instance, researchers have found that increased outbreaks of malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, correlate with El Nino. The World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Army recommend people use DEET-based repellents when traveling to countries where insect-borne diseases are prevalent.

Used according to label instructions, DEET is a perfectly safe and most effective way to protect yourself from insects.