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5 questions and answers about natural mosquito repellent

5 questions and answers about natural mosquito repellent

Natural mosquito repellents are becoming increasingly popular in Australia. In fact, 1 in 4 Australians say they try to choose an insect repellent with natural ingredients. But what makes a natural mozzie repellent good? And how do you choose the right one for you and your family? We've compiled a list of the 5 most frequent questions we get asked about choosing a repellent with natural ingredients.

1. How do you know that a natural mosquito repellent will work?

In Australia we are very lucky to have the APVMA which is a government agency that regulates the sale of insect repellents (among other things). For a product to market itself as an "insect repellent" or "mosquito repellent", it must undergo extensive testing and be registered with the APVMA. These tests are designed to ensure that the product is effective at repelling mosquitoes, midges and sandflies (as well as any other bugs it claims to protect against). They also ensure that the product is safe to apply per the directions on the bottle.

It is extremely easy to tell whether a natural mosquito repellent is APVMA registered and therefore proven to work. All you need to do is check the packaging! By law, an APVMA registered product must list its APVMA registration number somewhere on the label. They must also list the active ingredients and their concentration on the front of the packaging.

2. How are mosquito repellents tested?

Part of the APVMA registration process requires a product to pass clinical trials which prove it works. These involve the product being applied to the arm of a test subject and then putting their arm into a chamber with a specified number of mozzies. The number of times the mozzies land on the person's arm, as well as the number of bites that they get are all recorded. And don't worry, the mozzies they use are bred in a lab so they are "sterile" and don't carry any dangerous mosquito borne diseases - the person is completely safe, aside from the itchiness!

A similar test can be used to test the effectiveness of an insect repellent against midges and sandflies, but this is usually done with a field test. This involves people going out into midge-infested mangrove swaps with the product on and counting the number of times a midges lands on or bites them.

Our natural mosquito repellents underwent all of these trials and passed with flying colours so you know they're safe and effective to use.

3. Why did we develop a natural insect repellent?

We created Good Riddance Insect Repellent because we couldn't find a repellent that actually protected us and our two young boys while we were travelling around the Top End of Australia. We were also pretty concerned about the effects of covering our little ones in DEET products multiple times a day. We knew there had to be a way to make an effective, natural mosquito repellent so we spent years developing and testing our unique, cream-based repellent in some of the most mozzie-prone areas of the NT.

4. What makes Good Riddance Australia's favourite mosquito repellent?

Good Riddance is a truely unique natural mosquito repellent for 3 reasons.

  1. The cream helps to hold the essential oil actives on your skin for longer (which means you're protected for longer!).
  2. The cream provides a physical barrier against tiny biting insects like midges and mozzies.
  3. It smells and feels amazing which means it can be incorporated into your daily personal care routine

Want to learn more about why our natural mozzie repellent works so well? Click here.

5. How do you make a sustainable insect repellent?

Insect repellents aren't renowned for being great for the planet. DEET is highly persistent in waterways and waste water where it can be toxic to small aquatic species. Additionally, the aerosol cans or plastic bottles are either difficult to recycle (or simply don't get recycled in the first place). Good Riddance is committed to being Australia's most sustainable insect repellent. We're doing this through our completely natural mozzie repellent formula (all of the ingredients are ethically and naturally sourced, plus they biodegrade rapidly in the environment). We've also introduced recyclable tubes that biodegrade within 10 years if they end up in landfill. We're also working on cutting our energy use during manufacturing and all of our shipping materials are home compostable. Plus, 1% of every sale is donated to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy!

So there you have it, the answers to 5 of our most commen FAQs. Got another question that wasn't answered? Head on over to our FAQs page here.