Do mosquito repellent patches work?

 Consumers looking to avoid DEET-based repellents constantly search for alternative products. But the effectiveness of some of these products is cause for concern.

Every editorial product is independently selected, though we may be compensated or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links.

When warmer temperatures arrive, so do mosquitoes. You know you need to protect your bare skin from these flying predators, but you also need to protect yourself from the diseases they can carry such as Zika and the West Nile Virus.

While DEET is likely the most recognized insect repellent, it is known to cause rashes on some people with sensitive skin. There are some newer mosquito repellent methods on the market, but do they really work?

Bands

Mosquito repellent bands are marketed as safe mosquito repellent because you don’t have to rub or spray anything on your skin. However, a test by Consumer Reports found mosquito repellent wristbands are ineffective.

“When our testers stuck their arms into a cage full of mosquitoes while wearing one of two wristbands — the Coleman Naturals Insect Repellent Snap Band and the Superband Wristband — the bugs started biting immediately,” CR noted.

The Federal Trade Commission fined Viatek, another wristband maker, for deceptive marketing. The FCC said the company’s claims of protection against mosquitoes were not backed by scientific evidence.

Patches

Mosquito repellent patches use vitamin B1 as a repellent. The patches work by saturating your skin with vitamin B1, which is supposed to make your body’s scent unattractive to mosquitoes.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information said the “results of a small number of published studies suggested that vitamin B complex supplements are not effective as repellents, but these studies were limited by the use of very few human subjects and only one species of mosquito.”

So, although alternative mosquito repellents may sound promising, they don’t appear to work very well and may be a waste of money. If you’re looking for other ways to keep these flying, biting pests at bay, here are 16 ways to win the war against mosquitoes.