Deet

Infection can be prevented by wearing long-sleeved clothing and using mosquito nets, as well as chemical insect repellents such as DEET.

Using mosquito repellents is also recommended — so long as they have active ingredients approved by the EPA, such as DEET, Picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus, Farned said.

The most effective of them is DEET.

Researchers have developed other insect repellents, but they never last as long as DEET.

But that yes comes with an asterisk: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids should use insect repellents that contain no more than 30% DEET.