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There are over 150 registered plant insect repellents but the most common ones are oils of cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint,canola, rosemary, eucalyptus and soya bean. They are used as insect repellent by people who try to limit their exposure to DEET. The oils are considered to be safe in low percentages. Their effectiveness however is short lived and they have to be frequently reapplied. Insect repellents containing more than 10% essential oils can cause skin irritation. Brand names such as Avon's Skin-So-Soft and Bite Blockers use natural oils as the active ingredient in their insect repellents.

Citronella

Citronella is the active ingredient most commonly found in "natural" or "herbal" insect repellents. Citronella oil has a lemony scent and was originally extracted from the grass plant Cymbopogon nardus. Studies show that citronella can be an effective repellent, but it provides shorter complete protection time than most DEET-based products. Frequent reapplication of the repellent can partially compensate for this.

In recent years plants such as Citrosa have been promoted as having insect repellent properties. These plants many of the same chemicals found in oil of citronella. However studies show that these plants do not repel insects indoors.

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