Insect bites are no fun for anyone, but they seem even rougher when it’s a baby dealing with that discomfort. When we’re looking at insect repellent for babies under 12 months, there are a few extra things to consider.
Babies under 3 months
It might seem strange, but you shouldn’t use insect repellent on babies under 3 months of age. This is because their skin barrier is still developing, so we don’t want to put anything too harsh on them.
There are still plenty of other ways to keep them protected from insect bites and stings.
- When in insect prone areas, keep them in a pram covered in netting
- Dress them in long pants and sleeves, with elastic ankles and wrists to prevent insects getting inside their clothing
- Be sensible! Avoid areas that are known to have lots of bugs and stay away from standing water, which can attract mosquitoes.
Babies over 3 months
Once bub has turned 3 months, you can start to use insect repellent. There are a few things we’d recommend when you’re looking for insect repellent for babies under 12 months. First of all, a cream is a better choice than a spray. You can get better coverage and you’re less likely to get the repellent in baby’s eyes or have them breathe it in than if you’re using a spray.
As with newborns, dressing an older baby in long sleeves and pants will make a big difference. You only have to apply cream to exposed skin – but we’d recommend avoiding the hands or fingers, as they’ll definitely stick them in their mouths. As lovely as our insect repellent is, it doesn’t taste great!
When choosing an insect repellent for babies under 12 months, we recommend our Good Riddance Sensitive Insect Repellent. It’s a very gentle cream formula that does an amazing job of keeping away the bugs. It actually used to be called our Baby Insect Repellent, but we found it’s a fantastic option for anyone with sensitive skin.
In general, babies have more delicate, sensitive skin than adults, so we always recommend doing a patch test and keeping an eye out for any skin irritation when trying out a new product.
Keep the insects away
Insect repellent isn’t the only way to stop your baby getting bitten. If you take a few precautions you can prevent insects getting inside in the first place – they can’t bite if they’re not there!
- Use mosquito netting if required
- Close windows before turning on lights in the evening
- Repair any rips and holes in the insect screens of your windows
- Change water in bird baths regularly
- Don’t hang around near standing water
Protect your baby's skin
Babies have such lovely soft skin – of course we want to protect it as much as possible! We can do this with clothes, netting and (if they’re over 3 months) a gentle insect repellent.
Good Riddance’s Sensitive Insect Repellent for babies under 12 months is a great choice and will help protect their delicate skin.