Field and Laboratory Evaluations of the Efficacy of DEET Repellent against Ixodes Ticks

The objective of this study was to clarify the efficacy of a currently available N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) repellent against tick species in Japan. We performed 2 different field trials: "human trap," and "flag-dragging." In total, 482 ticks were collected from white flannel cloths in the field studies. The collected tick species were Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus, which accounted for 5.3% and 94.7% of the ticks in the human trap test and 31.4% and 68.6% in the flag-dragging test, respectively. The repellency levels of DEET-treated flannel cloths in the human trap and flag-dragging tests were 84.0% and 99.7%, respectively. The escape times for I. persulcatus and I. ovatus female adults from DEET-treated flannel cloths were determined. The median escape times for I. persulcatus and I. ovatus on DEET-treated flannel cloths were 48 s (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30-96) and 10 s (95% CI: 5-24), respectively. In contrast, many ticks remained on the untreated flannel cloths for 10 min after mounting. These results indicate that DEET repellents appear to prevent tick bites and that the use of DEET repellents against ticks is an effective personal protection measure.