With the arrival of the hot season, the mosquitoes are also back. To protect us from their annoying bites there are many on the market repellents To be applied directly on the skin, in various formulations: lotions, spray, vapo and wipes. But which product to choose? And are they all suitable for children or to be used in tropical areas where the risk of diseases transmitted from mosquitoes is higher?
To answer these questions, Altroconsumo conducted an in -depth test on retaliar for mosquitoesevaluating effectiveness, safety and ease of use of different products available on the market.
Between September 2024 and May 2025, numerous spray repellents, lotion and wipes were purchased and tested, available in the pharmacy, large retailers and specialized supermarkets. The test also includes products of previous years still on the market.
The repellent were divided into three categories:
The overall evaluation is mainly based on repellent effectiveness, which weighs for 60%, followed by the risk assessment and safety with a weight of 20%, and finally by the quality of the label and packaging, also considered for 20%.
But let’s find out the ranking immediately.
The best anti -media repellents
Here are the best products according to the test AltroconsumoOf “excellent” quality:
From good quality Instead:
From medium quality were results:
Finally of Low quality:
How the laboratory test was conducted
The laboratory test on the repellents was very rigorous and provided for the application of products on the arms of volunteers anonymously, which then had to immerse them in a plexiglas cage containing 100 female mosquitoes of Aedes albopictus, the tiger mosquito widespread in Italy and vector of tropical diseases such as Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya.
The test measured the duration of the protection, calculating the time spent from the application of the product to the first puncture, with observations every half hour for three minutes. The products were then classified on the basis of effectiveness, high, medium or low, while safety has been evaluated considering the danger indications shown on the label, such as flammability or irritation, and the presence of safety systems such as the Childproof closure or the Bitrex, a bitter substance that prevents accidental ingestion.
In addition, the clarity and completeness of information on the label and the sustainability of the packaging have been analyzed, evaluating materials and weight/content ratio. Finally, the evaluation took into consideration the consistency between the claims of the product, such as “for children” or “for tropical use”, and the real composition and indications, penalizing the products that did not respect these statements.
