Murphy's Naturals
Mosquito Repellent Wipes
Wipe · FIFRA 25(b) minimum-risk botanical repellent; not EPA-registered
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Pros
- Convenient, fully disclosed wipes with vitamin E in the mix and a pleasant herbal scent.
Cons
- They don't really work, under 6 minutes of protection from a too-dilute oil blend.
- No tick protection, and lemongrass at 2.3% carries a real sensitization risk.
The full review
These single-use botanical wipes are not recommended, flagged for no proven mosquito protection. The diluted actives, topping out at 2.3% lemongrass oil, give our model a complete window of essentially zero to a few minutes, so the effectiveness pillar bottoms out and tick protection is unproven. The evidence is middling on a roughly neutral claim audit, but the format simply cannot deliver. Safety takes the larger deduction, with lemongrass oil's high sensitization risk, added irritation, and a pregnancy caution. The one real strength is transparency, since Murphy's discloses every active concentration and accounts for the full formula including inerts. Convenient and honest, but too dilute to keep bites off.
Scorecard
Expand any pillar to see exactly why it scored what it did.
Effectiveness45%6Mosquitoes: 0–0.1 h of complete protection. Ticks: minimal or unproven protection. Protection times are modeled from the actives, concentration, and format (see methodology). Scored on a saturating curve (each added hour counts less than the last), 65% mosquito / 35% tick, with reasonable confidence.
Mosquitoes: 0–0.1 h of complete protection. Ticks: minimal or unproven protection. Protection times are modeled from the actives, concentration, and format (see methodology). Scored on a saturating curve (each added hour counts less than the last), 65% mosquito / 35% tick, with reasonable confidence.
Evidence & honest claims25%55Rosemary oil is well-supported by published evidence, weighted by how close its concentration is to the studied effective dose (base 56). Of 4 marketing claims audited: 2 strong, 1 moderate, 1 weak, 0 unsupported (-1).
Rosemary oil is well-supported by published evidence, weighted by how close its concentration is to the studied effective dose (base 56). Of 4 marketing claims audited: 2 strong, 1 moderate, 1 weak, 0 unsupported (-1).
Safety15%66From published dermal toxicology (EPA/CIR/IFRA), scaled by each active's concentration against its leave-on limit: high skin-sensitization risk from Lemongrass oil at 2.3% (−18); moderate irritation risk from Lemongrass oil at 2.3% (−6); caution advised in pregnancy (−6); moderate aquatic toxicity (−4).
From published dermal toxicology (EPA/CIR/IFRA), scaled by each active's concentration against its leave-on limit: high skin-sensitization risk from Lemongrass oil at 2.3% (−18); moderate irritation risk from Lemongrass oil at 2.3% (−6); caution advised in pregnancy (−6); moderate aquatic toxicity (−4).
Transparency15%93This product publishes an ingredient list (+20); discloses 100% of active concentrations (+40); discloses 56% of all ingredient concentrations (+8); the full formula including inerts is accounted for (+25).
This product publishes an ingredient list (+20); discloses 100% of active concentrations (+40); discloses 56% of all ingredient concentrations (+8); the full formula including inerts is accounted for (+25).
Every pillar is scored from published rules. Read how we score.
How long it protects
Complete protection ends when the first bite gets through; partial protection keeps reducing bites as repellency decays. EPA label times are verified; the rest are modeled from the actives, concentration, and format.
Mosquito estimate basis (moderate confidence)
Estimated complete protection time from active ingredient + concentration; the source research used a lotion-style formulation, adjusted down for this wipe format (×0.80). Partial protection (reduced but real bite suppression) is modeled to extend to ~0.1 h as repellency decays. No published tick complete-protection-time data for citronella — Fradin 2002 measured mosquitoes only.
Tick estimate basis (low confidence)
Botanical actives show little to no reliable tick protection; reapply very frequently if used at all. No measured CPT below 10% for this active — estimated via sigmoid dose-response (×0.03 of Luker 2023 (10% lotion, CPT > 30 min)).
Ingredient disclosure
This product publishes an ingredient list (+20); discloses 100% of active concentrations (+40); discloses 56% of all ingredient concentrations (+8); the full formula including inerts is accounted for (+25).
- Rosemary oilActive
Active repellent · 2.1%
- Lemongrass oilActive
Active repellent · 2.3%
- Peppermint oilActive
Active repellent · 1.4%
- Cedarwood oilActive
Active repellent · 1.4%
- Citronella oilActive
Active repellent · 0.2%
- Soybean oil
Inert / carrier · concentration not disclosed
- Isopropyl myristate
Inert / carrier · concentration not disclosed
- Vitamin E
Inert / antioxidant · concentration not disclosed
- Cellulose
Inert / substrate · concentration not disclosed
Claims audit
What the marketing says, versus what the evidence supports.
“DEET-free”
Deet FreeStrongStated on official brand page, Amazon listing title, and Walmart listing title.
“Plant-based repelling oils on a biodegradable cellulose wipe”
NaturalStrongFull ingredient list disclosed; botanical actives.
“Repels mosquitoes for up to 1 hour per application”
DurationWeakOverstates duration: complete (bite-free) protection is ~0.1 h and reduced/partial protection only to ~0.1 h; the claimed 1 h is not supported as complete protection.
“Tested at New Mexico State University”
EfficacyModerateBrand reports the wipes repelled more than twice as long as a leading competitor in NMSU testing; study not independently published.
How to apply it
Wipe evenly over exposed skin. Can be used on the face, but avoid eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Do not let children apply wipes themselves and avoid applying to their hands to prevent accidental ingestion. Reapply about every hour as needed. Apply to skin only; not tested on fabric.