Picaridin is an insect repellent. It inhibits A. aegypti odorant receptor 2 (AaOR2) or AaOR8 in the presence of their odorant activators, indole and octenol, respectively, expressed in Xenopus oocytes (IC50s = 1,452 and 1,911 μM, respectively). Picaridin reduces the number of entries into a food chamber by female D. melanogaster in an olfactory-based choice assay. It acts synergistically with the non-pyrethroid insecticide pyrimiphos methyl to increase mortality of A. gambiae and reduce blood feeding when used at a concentration of 10 g/m2 on nets surrounding guinea pig cages. Formulations containing picaridin have been used as insect repellents against flies, mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, and fleas.
