Mosquito Attractants/Repellents - NYTimes (2)

The article mentions that permethrin treated clothing is now being
sold to the general consumer. Does anyone have information on this?

S. Snedeker, Cornell Univ

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>[WestNileVirus-L Moderator's Note:
>For more information about mosquito attractants and repellents, see
>the Environmental Risk Analysis Program's "West Nile Virus Resources
>for the General Public," Sections II "Insect Repellents" and Section
>III "Mosquito Biology and Control."
>Find research articles using ERAP's "West Nile Virus Bibliography
>of Scientific Literature," using the search term "Mosquito
>Repellents/Attractants." These resources are one click away from
>ERAP's West Nile Virus homepage:
>http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/WNV/ (use the Navigation Bar on
>the right side of the webpage).
>This topic has periodically been addressed on this listserv. Access
>previous WestNileVirus-L postings from the listserv archives:
>http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/WNV/WNV-LArchiveIndex.cfm.. --
>Lois Levitan]
>
>
>The New York Times
>July 1, 2003
>SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO COPE WITH BUZZ OF MOSQUITO SEASON
>
>By JAMES GORMAN
>
>It's the season of the whine - the high-pitched note that signals a
>prowling mosquito near your ear, and the even more annoying
>complaints emitted by humans wondering whether mosquitoes really
>should have a place in the web of life.
>
>It's also the season of gadgets and sprays. The pressure to defeat
>the ubiquitous little bloodsuckers is greater than ever, since
>mosquitoes may carry West Nile virus or Eastern equine encephalitis,
>as well as cause the familiar red, itchy bumps. Also, mosquitoes
>breed in standing water, and at least in the Northeast, a wet spring
>is producing a bumper crop.
>
>A vast arsenal is available for the mosquitophobe. A partial list
>includes Mosquito Deleto, the Electronic Swatter, Mosquito
>PowerTrap, Mosquito Terminator, Mosquito Magnet, the Bug Zapper,
>Mosquito Control Plus, the Solar Mosquito Guard, the Dragonfly
>Mosquito System, Mosquito 'Cognito, the Sonic Web and Insectivoro.
>Limited space makes it impractical to list every flowering of the
>American bug-killing imagination.
>
>Apart from gadgets, there are citronella candles, sprays and lotions
>galore, synthetic and natural, and clothing impregnated with
>permethrin. For anyone with a taste for the primitive a full body
>coat of bear fat or axle grease will discourage both insects and
>unwanted suitors. So many choices: what's a poor bipedal blood meal
>to do?
>
>Joseph Conlon has some thoughts on the matter. He is an ex-Navy
>entomologist who has solved numerous mosquito-related problems, like
>weaning the Marine Corps from Skin So Soft in the days before it
>added a new chemical repellent.
>
>He is now the technical adviser to the American Mosquito Control
>Association and is more than willing to offer advice on mosquito
>defense. He favors simple, direct action, and is blunt about some of
>the devices sold widely. "Don't be taken in by a lot of newfangled
>gadgets," he said.
>
>Instead, he says, you should first "know your enemy." For example,
>he says he gets calls from homeowners who say, "I've got these big
>mosquitoes that are bothering my kids." They're actually crane
>flies, he said, which look like giant mosquitoes but don't sting or
>bite.
>
>Second, eliminate breeding sources. In other words, depending on the
>neighborhood you live in, either get rid of the old tires on your
>front lawn or make sure water isn't accumulating in your terra cotta
>garden ornaments. For ornamental pools, fish help, or there are
>chemicals that kill the larvae in water.
>
>Fix your screens, make sure the bugs aren't getting in the house
>through air conditioners and consider the ultimate sacrifice: stay
>inside at dusk and early morning when the mosquitoes are most
>active. If you must go out to greet the dawn use insect repellents
>and wear loose-fitting clothing.
>
>Mr. Conlon was not favorably disposed toward devices that use light
>to attract and electricity to fry insects. "These things are
>worthless," he said. "Actually they're worse than useless." They
>kill mostly larger, beneficial insects.
>
>An often quoted study by Dr. Douglas W. Tallamy of the University of
>Delaware found that less than a quarter of a percent of insects
>killed by such a zapper were mosquitoes and at least 13 percent were
>beneficial insects. Zappers have undergone some changes, however,
>and some now use chemicals known to be effective at attracting
>mosquitoes.
>
>Bats and purple martins are not much better than zappers, Mr. Conlon
>said. They do eat some mosquitoes, but prefer bigger juicier meals.
>Anti-mosquito plants are effective at keeping mosquitoes away from
>themselves, but they won't help you much, he said. And those sonic
>devices to repel mosquitoes? Tests had shown "no repellency
>whatsoever," Mr. Conlon said.
>
>Dr. Tallamy concurred. He had not researched them himself, but said,
>"there's no physiological basis for them to work, and I've seen no
>evidence from any study that they work." Some frequencies of sound
>may, however, attract mosquitoes.
>
>There are devices that clearly do lure and kill mosquitoes, although
>that doesn't mean they'll keep you from getting bitten. Among these
>are traps that use carbon dioxide and other chemicals to attract
>mosquitoes, which are then killed by various means, like being
>trapped until they die of dehydration. Carbon dioxide makes a
>mosquito think of the warm exhalations of a person relaxing with a
>book in a hammock, and they follow it. Other chemicals are known to
>attract them.
>
>"The technology behind these and the theory behind these is really
>solid," Mr. Conlon said. But, how helpful they are in preventing
>bites depends on the situation. On isolated barrier islands they
>proved effective in reducing mosquito population. "In a subdivision
>they're not going to work as well," he said, because the
>neighborhood will provide a constant new supply.
>
>Dr. Daniel L. Kline, a research entomologist at the Department of
>Agriculture Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary
>Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., said the CO2 traps showed promise,
>but agreed that their effectiveness in the typical suburban yard was
>unknown. The question is how many mosquitoes you have. If you live
>near a salt marsh, using one trap would be like trying to empty the
>ocean with a cup.
>
>Citronella coils and candles are weakly repellent, Mr. Conlon said,
>but a cloud of smoke from a smudge pot or a cigar will work, if
>you're willing to let it surround you.
>
>Beyond clearing standing water, navigating the commercial minefield
>of mosquito gadgets, and staying inside, looms the prospect of
>protecting your person. Let's say you must venture into the yard, or
>perhaps you are planning to walk through a swamp in August, or
>you're a soldier and are being sent to an unpleasant location.
>
>Again, Mr. Conlon does not mince words: "DEET is still king." DEET
>(N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is the active ingredient in most
>commercial insect repellents. A variety of other substances, natural
>and synthetic, have some repellent effect, but DEET, said Mr.
>Conlon, is so far the best. That doesn't mean, however, that you
>need high concentrations. A 25 to 35 percent concentration is best,
>he said, the higher concentrations don't provide much added benefit,
>but simply extend the time of effectiveness.
>
>A report last year in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded
>that DEET was by far the most effective. The authors were Dr. Mark
>S. Fradin, a Chapel Hill, N.C., physician, and Dr. John F. Day, a
>medical entomologist at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
>
>They reported that a 28 percent solution of DEET offered complete
>protection for about five hours. A "soybean-oil-based repellent"
>worked for about an hour and a half, a formula with a relatively new
>chemical repellent IR3535 for about 20 minutes, and all other
>botanical repellents for less than 20 minutes.
>"Repellent-impregnated wristbands offered no protection."
>
>Avon, which has added the repellent IR3535 to its popular lotion,
>Skin So Soft, rejected the findings of the journal article, saying
>that laboratory studies are not as effective as field studies.
>
>Although many consumers worry about health effects of insect
>repellents, the Environmental Protection Agency has declared normal
>use of DEET products to pose no significant risks for children or
>adults.
>
>The American Academy of Pediatricians, a private group, takes
>positions on a variety of health issues that affect children,
>including the use of DEET. Its most recent advisory suggests that
>DEET is appropriate for use on children when there is a concern
>about insect-borne diseases, although children are much less likely
>than adults to become ill from West Nile virus.
>
>The academy recommends 30 percent as a maximum concentration and
>suggests using the lowest concentration that will last for the time
>spent outdoors. Products with 10 percent are effective for about two
>hours.
>
>The academy's advisory urges parents not to apply DEET more than
>once a day, also good advice for adults, and not to use a product
>that combines DEET with a sunscreen.
>
>Some new products may be on the horizon. A new class of repellent,
>called SS-220, has been patented by scientists working for the
>Department of Agriculture and is now undergoing toxicity tests.
>
>Dr. Kline's lab is investigating why mosquitoes find some people
>more attractive than others. There is definitely "scientific merit,"
>he said, to the observations that one family member tends to draw
>mosquitoes.
>
>Dr. Kline said a colleague at his lab, Dr. Ulrich Bernier, had
>patented several chemicals given off by unappetizing humans that
>seem to serve as masking chemicals or inhibitors. Any application of
>this research would be some way down the line.
>
>A method of personal protection widely used in the military and now
>sold to consumers is clothing treated with permethrin, an effective
>insecticide that shouldn't be applied to the skin. With the
>clothing, you still need to apply a repellent to exposed skin. The
>Army has other good advice, which everyone should follow. Do not
>wear dog and cat flea collars, not even on your legs, no matter how
>bad the bugs are. A June bulletin on pest management from the Army
>warns against wearing flea and tick collars. "Animal flea and tick
>collars are NOT for human use!" the warning states.
>
>The reason is simple. Dogs and cats don't sweat, but people do. And
>sweat can release some of the pesticides from the collars so they
>can be absorbed by the skin.
>
>The precautions the military takes can also be grim. Mr. Conlon
>recalled that one problem he solved in his military career involved
>marine recruits at Parris Island, S.C., who were being eaten alive
>when they assembled at 5:30 a.m.
>
>That, of course, was prime mosquito time. The solution was simple.
>Move the time up an hour, and have the recruits fall in at 4:30 a.m.
>After all, why should marines let some insects get a jump on them?
>
>Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy |
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>
>Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/01/health/01MOSQ.html?tntemail1

Suzanne M. Snedeker, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Translational Research
Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research
Cancer and the Environment
Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) Program
www: http://envirocancer.cornell.edu
Office location: 101A Rice Hall

Phone: 607 255-5943
Fax: 607 255-8207 or 607 254-4730
Email: sms31@cornell.edu

--
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