DEET Can Be Used Safely on Children and Adults

September 2003

Recently, there has been some conflicting information published about the safety of insect repellents containing DEET used on children. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) would like to remind people that following our re-evaluation of DEET in 2002, we have established new use guidelines for DEET on children and adults. This re-evaluation included a thorough assessment of risks to human health through evaluation of all toxicology and exposure data as well as adverse effects reports from poison control centres. After considering the recent studies on DEET released by the Canadian Medical Association and the University of Manitoba, we have determined that no changes to our current guidelines are required.

Our use guidelines for DEET on children can be found in Insect Repellents. Details on the re-evaluation of DEET can also be found on the Mosquito Control page.