Possibilities of long-term protection against blood-sucking insects and ticks

Insecticidal and repellent properties and residual action of permethrin and deltamethrin and two commercial preparations Peripel 55 and Permanone were investigated under laboratory and field conditions. The tests were conducted on ticks, mosquitoes and houseflies. Permethrin in concentrations of 0.036-2.276 mg.m-2 caused 90-100% mortality and deltamethrin in concentrations of 0.012-0.75 mg.m-2 induced 78-100% mortality in ticks after 24 hrs exposure (Table 1). Good repellent properties of the preparation Peripel 55 were confirmed in experiments on mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (Table 2 and Fig. 1). Experiments confirmed good residual effects (Fig. 3 and 4) of the preparations tested. Peripel 55 retained 100% effectiveness up to 4 months and following two washings. The preparation Permanone exhibited 100% effectiveness for 1 month and a decrease in effectiveness to 52% after the first washing. In the period from June to September, the repellent properties of Permanone were observed in a group of 17 forestry women workers in a field trial. The index of repellency ranged from 57 to 80 (average 71) in June and July and from 40 to 100 (average 74) in August and September. The difference in the number of ticks that clung to the workers in the experimental group who had their clothes treated with the preparation tested was significant in comparison with the control group at p < 0.1, 0.05 and 0.01.