Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Noah Hoelscher knows what it takes to be prepared for the outdoors. In fact, he plans to be plenty prepared for a camping trip with the guys during the Fourth of July weekend.
“I plan to take a lot of insect repellent,” Hoelscher, Lawrence junior, said.
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials recently found that within the past five years, there has been a rapid spread of the West Nile Virus. Because of the wet weather, students should take precaution to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
J. Gregory Burg, assistant director of undergraduate biology, said that July was the peak time for mosquitoes to reproduce. He said wet areas were just more places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.
During the holiday weekend, students try to find productive ways to protect themselves from the bites of mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers.
Hoelscher, employee at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, 804 Massachusetts St., said that natural repellents were becoming popular.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), plant-based products with oil of lemon eucalyptus are just as effective as products with low concentrations of DEET, a common chemical in bug repellent.
Burg said eucalyptus-based products would interfere with insects’ antennas, which would make it difficult for them to focus.
Matt Torres, Lecompton senior, who plans to have a cookout over the weekend, said he tended to use more products that were more natural. He said he tried to go without repellent unless there were a lot of bugs.
Torres said he used smoke as a way to keep insects away.
“I try to keep a fire going in my backyard,” Torres said. “The smoke seems to help a lot.”
Burg said smoke from fireworks usually cleared away mosquitoes because the smoke confused the insects. He said the chemicals masked a person and irritated the insects.
Burg said home products such as lotions, sprays and Citronella candles were other products known to repel insects. Other home creations such as sugar water, which have been used to distract insects from biting humans, wouldn’t be very effective.
Burg said sugar and water were just sources of energy for insects, and that the insects would still choose humans over sugar water. Burg said the most effective insect repellent were those with DEET in them.
DEET (chemical name N,N-diethyl-meta-touluamide) is the most common active ingredient in insect repellent. DEET is known to repel biting of insects such as mosquitoes, chiggers and ticks, according to the CDC.
Burg said DEET should be applied to any exposed areas.
DEET can be found in products like OFF, sprays or lotions, as well as Ultrathon and Cutler.
Hoelscher said he used the store’s insect repellent spray, Repel Permanone, which doesn’t have DEET in it. He said he used it because it was more convenient than repellent lotion and it worked just as good as products with DEET. He said even with products with DEET, he still got insect bites sometimes.
“DEET is not like a silver bullet,” Hoelscher said.
Burg said products such as Permanone couldn’t be applied directly on the skin. He said DEET would be the best repellent.
Burg said the amount of DEET affects how much the insects repel. He said the higher concentration of DEET used, the longer it would last and the more affective it was. He also said the lower the concentration, the less irritable the skin would get.
Hoelscher said he heard from customers that products with DEET often eats through camping gear, clothes and any material with water-proof coating, especially nylon.
He said other effective ways to ward off mosquitoes were mosquito nets, which were good for camping, and Cintronella candles, which were good for smaller areas like patios or decks.
— Edited by Mandy Earles
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