Video How to protect yourself from tiger mosquitoes? Essential oils, repellent, insecticide spray… “Envoyé spécial” tested different products

It is the cousin of a universally hated insect, but smaller, quieter and much more aggressive. Striped in black and white, the tiger mosquito is above all a formidable vector of tropical diseases, such as dengue fever, the Zika virus or chikungunya. Mosquito control campaigns eliminate a large number of them, but how can you protect yourself individually from its bites? Under the supervision of entomologist Grégory L’Ambert and with the participation of females of the species Aedes Albopictus thirsty for blood (like other mosquitoes, they are the ones who bite), “Envoyé spécial” tested the products available on the market.

Among the so-called natural methods, there are mosquito repellent bracelets that diffuse essential oils of lavender and geraniol, which are said to keep insects away. The journalist from “Envoyé spécial” is going to play the guinea pig: wearing such a bracelet, she slides her hand into the middle of the biting insects…. Not at all bothered, they attack immediately: at least seventeen bites in a few seconds. Verdict: “Ineffective”.

A clear difference is noted by spraying an icaridin-based repellent on the other hand, which disrupts the olfactory system of mosquitoes, disorienting them and preventing them from locating human targets. Along with DEET, IR3535 and eucalyptus citriodora, it is one of the four substances recognized as effective against tiger mosquito bites. The famous citronella, on the other hand, will have “at best an efficiency of a few minutes“, specifies the specialist, and only at the place where it is applied. Citronella candles therefore do not protect against mosquitoes…

Let’s move on to diffusers and other coils. The former contain either repellent or insecticide… which we breathe in; the latter most often a chemical product. These substances therefore present a certain toxicity, just like insecticide bombs… In the absence of health risk, Grégory L’Ambert “do not recommend using chemicals“, except in cases of dengue fever reported nearby or if you are traveling to a country where diseases transmitted by the tiger mosquito circulate.

Finally, the researcher settles the account with UV lamps, not to be used outside under penalty of “kill a lot of insects that are very useful to your garden or the environment“, and to ultrasound devices,”yet another popular legend: it has been proven since the 80s that it had no effect“.

Excerpt from “Tiger Mosquito Alert”, a report to be seen in “Envoyé spécial” on September 12, 2024.

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