Tag: deet

The Buzz on Mosquito Repellants

  • A team is researching the next generation of bug sprays, some that may not be as smelly or as sticky as DEET (Photo by Lester Graham)

It’s summertime – sometimes known as
mosquito and tick season. For decades, bug
sprays with DEET have been the most effective
to keep those disease-carrying pests away.
But there are some new repellants on the
market – and even more to come. Julie Grant
has the buzz on bug sprays:

Transcript

It’s summertime – sometimes known as
mosquito and tick season. For decades, bug
sprays with DEET have been the most effective
to keep those disease-carrying pests away.
But there are some new repellants on the
market – and even more to come. Julie Grant
has the buzz on bug sprays:

Hot summer nights haven’t changed all that much since
1957. Sure, they’re selling sushi at ball parks these days.

(sound of baseball game)

But, for the most part, people are still using the same bug
spray.

DEET was designed in the 1950s for military use.
Stores started selling it soon after. At this kids’ baseball
game in northeast Ohio, there are as many opinions about
DEET and bug sprays as there are people.

Person 1: “I if I did use bug spray, I would use DEET. I heard that’s the
best.”

Person 2: “No, actually, I am concerned about any kind of chemical. I
don’t like to use it. I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Person 3: “I’ve been scratching all week.”

Julie Grant: “Why don’t you use it?”

Person 3: “Stinks.”

Person 4: “Probably looking for something without DEET, of course,
which is pretty much outlawed anyway.”

Child: “I have a bug bite on my neck.”


Person 4: “Yes, you do have a bug bite on your neck, which is why
we need to go look for something.”


Actually, DEET is not even close to being outlawed. It’s used
hundreds of millions of times each year – by backyard
barbeque-ers and soldiers, alike.

In all these years, there have been only fifty reports of skin
problems or seizures – and those were attributed to gross
overuse, and couldn’t be definitely connected to DEET.

But it is a plasticizer. If it touches your watch face, it will
smear the plastic. And that makes people a little nervous.

And while it does drive away a wide array of bugs, including
mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus, DEET does not protect
against mosquitoes that carry malaria, or ticks that carry
lyme disease and rocky mountain spotted fever.

The worst thing about DEET for lots of people is that
stickiness and that evil smell.

Trisha Branden is a health editor with Consumer Reports
magazine. She says lots of people just don’t like using
DEET.

“But I think everyone has their own sensitivity, particularly
when it comes to the smell and feel of DEET. It’s better to
have some protection than none at all.”

Consumer Reports has surveyed bug sprays and crèmes on
the market.

They found that the higher the concentration of
DEET, the longer it protects you from bugs. At the highest
level, 98% DEET, it lasted half a day.
But some products contain as little as 7% DEET because it
smells so bad.

Some people want something else. The EPA recently
approved a new chemical – called Picaridin. It smells better.
Consumer Reports found that Picaridin products kept
mosquitoes away for up to four hours. That’s not too bad.

It’s better than the natural products. If you use soybean or
peppermint oil, Branden says you’ll probably have to reapply
a lot – at least every two hours.

“If you compare that to Picaridin product or the low DEET
products, that is not nearly the protection.”

Chemist Ulrich Burnier is on a team researching the next
generation of bug sprays. He believes there are more
effective chemicals out there. They’ve tested thousands of
chemicals and narrowed it down to seven.

“If we’re successful, the ideal product will give you 24 hours
protection, so you only have to apply once a day, you’ll be
protected around the clock. It’s not a plasticizer. And,
actually, this morning, I spent time trying to pick up odors
from these seven compounds, and none of us participating in this
study could detect any disagreeable odors from any of these
compounds.”

DEET still works pretty well. But mosquitoes and other
invading insects are thriving. As we experience climate
change, levels of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria are
on the rise.

(sound of baseball game)

When you’re at your nephew’s baseball game, and fending
off bugs, you might need to be a little patient. It could take a
few years. But experts say you should be able to find new
products that you like and that work for you.

For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.

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Testing a Better Bug Spray

  • The USDA is testing a new bug spray to ward off mosquitos and other pests (Photo by Lester Graham)

Researchers are working on new chemicals
to keep mosquitoes from biting. The Environment
Report’s Mark Brush reports they might have found
a better alternative to DEET:

Transcript

Researchers are working on new chemicals
to keep mosquitoes from biting. The Environment
Report’s Mark Brush reports they might have found
a better alternative to DEET:

The EPA says DEET is safe to use on your skin. But the repellent’s smell and stickiness
turns some people off. And spraying DEET on your skin won’t protect you from all types
of mosquitoes.

So researchers are working on alternatives.

Uli Bernier is research chemist with the USDA. He says their research team is looking
for a compound that will work against some of the most dangerous mosquitoes.

“DEET works against a great variety of insects, but not against all of them. And in
particular some of the malaria transmitting mosquitoes will bite through DEET without
difficulty.”

Bernier says their research has turned up some chemicals that do a better job than DEET.
The chemicals keep mosquitoes from biting for up to three times longer. Bernier says their
next step will be to test the chemicals for possible human health effects and for their
effectiveness on other insects.

(mosquito buzzing sound)

For The Environment Report (sound of swat) – gotcha – I’m Mark Brush.

Related Links

West Nile Virus Returns

West Nile Virus has swept the nation from east to west, but it’s hitting some areas
harder than others. Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

West Nile Virus has swept the nation from east to west, but it’s hitting some areas
harder than others. Lester Graham reports:


Nationwide this year, there have been 576 cases of West Nile Virus reported in humans this
year. The mosquito-borne disease has spread across the nation. Emily Zielinski-
Gutierrez, with the Centers for Disease Control, says some areas are worse than
others. There are West Nile Virus hotspots in the Dakotas and Nebraska, but it can
pop up anwhere… especially where there’s been a lot of rain or flooding:


“Basically, if you’re anywhere in the United States, you need to worry about a
mosquito bite that you get. If you’re in these states that have experienced and
communities that have experienced more intense activity, you need to be even that
much more concerned about protecting yourself from mosquito bites.”


She says look for the ingredient DEET in mosquito repellant. The CDC warns just
because you’ve not heard a lot about West Nile Virus in the news this year doesn’t mean it’s
not a problem in your area.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

Bumper Crops of Mosquitoes

  • A mosquito taking a blood meal. Only a tiny fraction carry West Nile virus, but health officials say it's best to avoid being bitten. (Photo by Lester Graham)

With above normal rain in much of the country this spring… mosquitoes have been heavier in many areas. The quick warm up after a cool spring has also helped hatch out a lot of the pests. The GLRC’s Lester Graham reports you only have to step out your door to see the result:

Transcript

With above normal rain in much of the country this spring mosquitoes have been heavier in many
areas. The quick warm up after a cool spring has also helped hatch out a lot of the pests. The
GLRC’s Lester Graham reports you only have to step out your door to see the result:


It’s not so much hot days, but the fact that the nights are warmer that’s helping the skeeter broods
hatch out in hordes. I’ve been painfully aware of the mosquitoes this year because I live right next
to a river in a year where there’s been plenty of rain to make little pools of stagnant water
everywhere. It’s a real nuisance.


(sound of mosquitoes)


“I’m in a very hot car and a lot of mosquitoes are trapped in here with me.
(pause) All these mosquitoes got here, just because I opened my hatchback and took
some groceries out, and they just swarmed in.”


(sound continues… smack!)


I don’t like ‘em much. Most people don’t have a very high tolerance for mosquitoes. They’ve
actually studied that. John Witter is a biologist with the University of Michigan who spends a lot of
time in the woods, studying bugs. He says there was a Michigan State University study that tracked
interaction of people and mosquitoes while camping.


“If you have more than about four mosquitoes landing on your body per minute, the people leave
the hiking trail. They go back to their campers because they just cannot handle that annoyance.
So, higher population numbers of mosquitoes, more bites, more annoyance.”


But not everyone, or everything, can get away from the pests. Jenny Barnett works at the Binder
Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan. The zoo is in the middle of a forest. The mosquitoes love it
there.


(sound of birds)


The zoo’s tried to use different kinds of fumigation in past years, but with sensitive animals and birds
like the ones we’re watching there was a lot of concern; and really it just didn’t work.


“With 430 acres and a lot of it being wetland, we didn’t even make a dent on it. So, after a couple
of years, we stopped doing anything.”


The mosquitoes weren’t always that bad, and guests at the zoo didn’t seem to mind that much. A
little mosquito repellant and everyone was good to go.

Then along came West Nile virus. Like a lot of zoos, Binder Park put its birds inside – not good for
the birds – not good for the people who wanted to see the birds. A couple of years after West Nile
was detected, a vaccine that was developed for horses and it was used on birds, too. Jenny Barnett says it
seems to work.


“So far we’ve had success with it and we are continuing to do testing on their blood to check for
West Nile virus and we’ve been successful so far, but we will continue to vaccinate. We’ll
vaccinate our horses, and we’ll always worry about it, but a lot of the birds do have immunities right
now.”


And it’s assumed a lot of people also have immunity to the West Nile virus. They probably have been
infected and didn’t even know it. People with immune deficiencies are at much greater risk, but
many healthy adults can contract it and dismiss it as a summer cold or bad allergies, but health
officials say do what you can to avoid being bitten. Now, they’re not saying that you shouldn’t go
outside. They’re just saying if you do go outside, you should use a mosquito repellant with DEET.
Natasha Davidson is with the Health Department in Ingham County Michigan. She says don’t
douse yourself in repellant. A light spray will do.


“And if you’re applying it to your face, you should really put it on your hands first and then apply it.
And even applying it to children, it’s better an adult put on their hands first and then apply it to a
child.”


Davidson says don’t use DEET on children six months of age and younger, and don’t put it on
toddler’s hands because they’ll just put them in their mouths. Ugh… not good to ingest DEET.
Some advise using a cream based repellant because it doesn’t go into the skin as easily, and stays
on the surface where it can do some good. It’s also a good idea to wear loose fitting clothes with
long sleeves and long pants. I know it’s hot, but it beats scratching mosquito bites for days on end.
Natasha Davidson says even on heavy mosquito years like this one you can help reduce your
exposure to the pest.


“Other things that people can do is to make sure they have no standing water in their yard,
whether it’s at home or at a vacation property. Empty your gutters. Make sure that they’re clean
so that the water flows through. Make sure that you don’t have flower pots that have standing
water in it, old tires, different things like that. If you have a bird bath, change the water in the bird
bath once a week.”


Beyond that there’s not much you can do. Mosquitoes aren’t going away and with a little
preparation…


(sound of spray)


…you should just go ahead and enjoy the outdoors.


For the GLRC, I’m Lester Graham.


(sound of door opening and closing)

Related Links

BUMPER CROPS OF MOSQUITOES (Short Version)

You might be seeing more mosquitoes this year. Conditions are right in many areas to see a bigger than normal crop of mosquitoes. The GLRC’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

You might be seeing more mosquitoes this year. Conditions are right in many areas to see a
bigger than normal crop of mosquitoes. The GLRC’s Lester Graham reports:


The mosquito populations in a lot of places are high this year because of above normal rainfall.
Although you don’t hear as much about West Nile virus these days, it’s still a threat, especially
to those with compromised immune systems, particularly older people. Natasha Davidson is with
the Health Department in Ingham County, Michigan where there’s been a bumper crop of
mosquitoes lately. She says the best prevention is avoid getting bitten:


“Well, you want to make sure you’re wearing an insect repellant. And also when you’re outdoors
when mosquitoes are active been dusk and dawn, wear long sleeves; wear long pants; wear
socks. And apply the insect repellant to your clothing.”


So far there’s no West Nile vaccine for people. Researchers are working to come up with one.
They believe healthy people who’ve already contracted the virus and built up antibodies might be a
source for a successful vaccine in a couple of years or so.


For the GLRC, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links