Reader Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5

Just got back from a one-night trip using the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus instead of Deet.

Conditions: The trip was in a heavily wooded state park along the Missouri River. Although now receeded, the river was recently flooding leaving many remaining bogs. Humidity felt high and high temps were in the low 80's. Winds were fairly brisk which kept the mosquito population down except in the dense woods (which is the case in most of this park).

After I applied the Repel, I was often buzzed by mosquitos, but none of them landed on me. After 3-1/2 hours, the little buggers started chewing on me again. During that period I was actively hiking and sweating. A second application of Repel took care of things until I set up camp for the night in a breezy location.

So...This stuff seems to work very well for 3-1/2 hours. It has a pleasant scent and doesn't leave you feeling greasy after using it. Only a small amount is needed.

Concerns: The packaging warns to use this product at most twice in a day. A total of 7 hours of coverage is seldom enough. There's no reason given for the two-a-day limitation. I wouldn't think this all-natural product would be toxic......but do I want to find out the hard way? The pleasant scent might also be a problem in bear country.

I gave it a score of 4 because it does effectively replace Deet for periods of up to 3-1/2 hours per application. I'd give it a 5 if I could apply it repeatedly during the day.

Rating: 4 / 5

I've used this stuff for two seasons of Sierra mosquitos. One year was horrible, one year was mellow. I've noticed that it is a very effective deterrent for mosquitos when first applied. The effectiveness dwindles starting about an hour after application.

The only drawback is that for longer trips a sizable amount is needed to provide constant protection. If you just use it to occasionally deter the worst of the mosquitos, then its perfect.

If, like me, you avoid DEET because of it's potent toxicity as well as ability to melt nylon, then this is a great product. It is the most effective non-DEET solution for mosquitos that I have used.

Rating: 2 / 5

Smells nice, works when there aren't too many mosquitoes around. Doesn't cut it for really bad bugs. Really, I've been using 100% DEET for over 35 years and I am okay; both physically and mentally. You do not have to use much DEET to be effective, but it works. Permethrin sprayed on the clothes is also effective.

Rating: 3 / 5

I am a huge fan of 3M Ultrathon largely because the stuff works REALLY WELL... for what I use it for. So this is sort of my "gold standard"... encapsulated DEET lotion.

That said, different people have different needs.

I used this on a recent weekend trip and I'll say that it worked for a while but that I had to reapply it twice. I missed the labels warning that said not to apply it more than twice per day as another reviewer noted!

So for me this won't be replacing 3M Ultrathon.

However, for my family, and especially my kids, this is probably the way I will go. While I don't have any issues with DEET for my personal use, I don't like to use it on my kids. So in the past I have chosen a repellent that has as little DEET as possible and reapply it as needed. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus might be a good alternative for this application.

I guess it did have a nice smell and was not greasy, but for me these are secondary concerns. On my own I generally don't have a nice smell after a few days. Someone posted that they wondered if bears would be drawn to the nice smell. I have no clue but I think this is a valid concern worth investigating.

Also, I do have my concerns about it's active ingredient. People seem willing to claim that this is a good alternative to DEET but has anyone read anything about the safety of "oil of lemon eucalyptus"? Mother nature can whip up some nasty chemicals... who is to say this stuff is safer than DEET? I am not saying it isn't safer, just that making the assumption that it IS safer because it's called "Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus" rather than "PMD" (p-menthane 3,8-diol)... a pesticide derived from eucalyptus plants... doesn't work for me.

So I am giving it a rating of 3 because I think the context for most readers of BPL reviews is that of a hiker looking for bug repellent and not of parents looking for a family friendly alternative to DEET. The stuff works, which is more than I can say of a lot of products on the market. It doesn't work as well as what some people would call their "gold standard" but for others there are features like the smell and non-greasiness that will be valuable considerations.

Edited by jjpitts on 05/26/2007 11:14:47 MDT.

Rating: 3 / 5

I am in agreement with the other reviewers so far with the exception of the smell. I, for one, don't particularly like the smell. I would say that in comparison to Ultrathon or MaxiDeet it has only a slightly less repugnant odor. I also plan on sticking to Ultrathon.