Does insect repellent kill coronavirus and what products contain Citriodiol?

27 August 2020, 16:08

There have been reports insect repellent can kill coronavirus. Picture: Getty

By Alice Dear

As it's reported the military are using insect repellent to kill COVID-19, we take a look at how it works.

Insect repellent and Mosi-Guard has been flying off the shelves ever since it was reported a compound in the products can kill COVID-19.

Recently, it has been reported the military are using insect repellent as an added level of protection from coronavirus, spraying it on their clothes and skin.

However, Good Morning Britain's Dr Hilary has warned that more research is needed and people should not be using insect repellent instead of face masks, washing their hands and social distancing.

Does insect repellent kill coronavirus?

There is a compound found in insect repellent called Citriodiol that can kill off COVID-19, research has found.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Dr Hilary explained: "The military have been using this in addition to other PPE, visors and masks for example.

"The researchers at the military facility in Porton Down, where they do all the important microbiology research work, have found that you can use this, put the droplet with viruses and it will kill something like 100,000 viruses within one minute, and only ten remain."

He added: "It's not something you can take externally, it's something that you can spray on, it's a protective. It would work for a few hours as a barrier it would kill off some virus."