In 2012, when he was dismissed as a mere mosquito bite, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Admi Party said he was a dengue mosquito whose bite would trouble the Congress and the BJP. That prophecy came true, with Kejriwal winning the Delhi state elections and becoming Chief Minister for a short while. Even after his resignation, Kejriwal continues to be seen as a pest by his political opponents. Much like the mosquitoes, which abound regardless of the weather that prevails at the moment.

One way to keep the mosquitoes off is to use repellent creams and lotions, another is to plug in liquids, mats and gels, or use a battery-charged swatter.

Consumer Voice magazine, in collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs, studied the vapourisers as well as creams, lotions and oils in 2012. It found that All Out (95.10) was the most efficient, followed by Maxo (94.60 per cent), Knight Queen (93.50 per cent) and Mortein (80.70 per cent). Each brand of vapouriser was introduced into a glass chamber full of mosquitoes for 20 minutes to observe how many were knocked down.

For the application brands, the recommended quantity of repellent was applied on a volunteer’s forearm and put in the chamber. The analysis was made on the number of mosquitoes, their behaviour and activity (senseless, motionless and falling down) and the time taken for this to happen.

MOS OEL oil was found to be the most effective in the applied repellents tested. Odomos lotion and cream came second.

Mandatory information on the packaging should include the source of the product, dates of manufacture and expiry, ingredients, directions for use, lasting time (the duration the repellent lasts) and a cautionary notice as per Insecticides Act, 1968 and Rules. All the oil, cream and lotion brands were found to have less than the declared weight. However, the lasting time matched the claims made on the packs.

Good Knight (479 hours) vapouriser lasted the longest, followed by Maxo (478) and Knight Queen (445).

All the brands tested in the study contained the stated amount of active ingredient, the chemical used to deactivate the mosquitoes. Knight Queen vapouriser topped this list with the greatest amount, followed by Mortein and All Out. All brands in both categories performed well in biological tests as well as other qualitative tests. Based on the quality and performance test parameters, All Out topped the vapouriser types followed by Maxo and Knight Queen. In the application category, Odomos lotion topped, followed by Odomos and Good Knight cream.

The study, however, did not discss the safety aspects of the chemicals used in these products.

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