WMD of insect repellents

[Atash Hagmahani]

Not sure where this goes, but I thought it was significant as mosquitos are major disease-vectors:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1385649/The-WMD-insect-repellant-Bug-spray-developed-thats-THOUSAND-times-powerful-regular-stuff.html

Jams their chemical recognition system by overloading it. All their receptors go off.

[Dame]

So, what does it do to people; or did they bother to test for that?

[Atash Hagmahani]

I dunno what it does to people, but unlikely to be any worse than DEET, which penetrates our skin, gets to our nervous system, and damages it. I heard a tragic story about a couple of young girls who died from using strong insect repellent every day.

That's one of the things that interested me was whether it would be less damaging to humans.

[Beeherder]

If you put the deet on your clothing not your skin it works. Still have to put it on hands and such but it doesn't take much.

That odour sensing system is the method of communication between critters so this could have impacts on other insects like bees too. Wonder if they did any testing about impacts to species besides mosquitos?

[Lady Lilya]

There are many essential oils that do the job very well.  Oil of Eucalyptus is the one I use, because it is on the cheaper side.  There is also Citronella Oil and Lemongrass Oil and Geranium Oil. Probably more I can't remember.  A lot of people add a few drops of the essential oil to a carrier oil (like canola or soy oil) and apply it as a lotion.

[offdalip]

So, what does it do to people; or did they bother to test for that?

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/05/04/1102425108.full.pdf

If you look at Figure 1A, you can see the chemical structure of VUAA1.


N-(4-ethylphenyl)-2-((4-ethyl-5-(3-pyridinyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)thio)acetamide

is the actual name.

[offdalip]

dead end , this is as far as I can get.

http://www.chemicalbook.com/ChemicalProductProperty_EN_CB2438292.htm

but it looks like works at a few thousand times at least lower concentrations than DEET so that you don't have to
use anywhere near as toxic a dose. Structure does not imply much toxicity, but that's an educated guess.

It'll sure confuse the insects a lot!!!!!!!

[Dame]

When fragrances are entirely eliminated from ones person and home, mosquitoes are much less a problem.  There is also some pH issue they seem to be adverse too that is natural in some people.

[offdalip]

When fragrances are entirely eliminated from ones person and home, mosquitoes are much less a problem.  There is also some pH issue they seem to be adverse too that is natural in some people.

You've obviously never been introduced to the particular family of inbred Florida Redneck "Cracker" Mosquitoes..............

They ain't too particular on what you're wearing or taste like,.......... to them, it's all good.................

[Beeherder]

Anybody remember West Nile Virus? Mosquitos were the transmission agent. That one seemed like a vector test to me, but what do you expect from a paranoid. Introduced in the east coast spread nationwide in two years then faded from the news scene but it is still here and is a very real threat. The local counties test for west nile mosquitos every summer. Effective insect repellents seem like a necessary good preparation.

Gee maybee its me but killing the sense of smell of most insects might have some broader impacts. I still have the essential oil recommended by LL last year and that seems like a much better approach. Instead of no sense of smell you smell good to humans and not so good to bugs. Seems like a no brainer.

[silverseeds]

   you can try eating garlic for mosquitoes. Learned this from my grandfather who swore by it. It works for me and most ive told it to. Others who tried it, it didnt work for. Not sure why..... My grandfather used garlic pills as he found garlic to strong to eat. Myself I eat a clove a day if Im working outside alot with the insects around..... I rather like the taste myself.

   

[offdalip]

Yes, there are natural repellents out there as well as chemicals ( DEET ).
I have a bunch of lemongrass planted by the pool which seems to work a little
and was thinking of adding neem but I don't want to scare the ladybugs and other beneficial insects away.

But, the point of the article is that the new compound may work in nanoMolar or microMolar concentrations
rather than in milliMolar or greater concentrations as with today's current arsenal. In that way it does not pose as high
a toxicity threat to humans since only a half drop is sufficient to work rather than a huge amount more.

@ SS, I'm sure our mosquitoes here are avid garlic connoisseurs since I load up on the stuff too and they keep
coming back for 2nd and even 3rd helpings...........

[silverseeds]

@ SS, I'm sure our mosquitoes here are avid garlic connoisseurs since I load up on the stuff too and they keep
coming back for 2nd and even 3rd helpings...........

your where its hot right? I was in arkansas last summer, along the river and some lakes. It was insane. There must of been 20 times more mosquitoes then I was ever around before.... Im not sure much of anything can block those things. Maybe some kind of mosquito proof body suit. Stuff like insect repellants never worked for me in ohio or here in new mexico, I couldnt imagine it doing a think in a fog of them.

[Lady Lilya]

But offdalip, is it possible that the nano versions are significantly more toxic to humans than the lager particles? Like with sunsceens.  There was all that fuss the last 4 years that the nano-particle ones were getting into people through the skin while the traditional ones weren't.  So even a tiny bit of the nano ones was more toxic than a large amount of the others.

I think I'll stick to putting oil of eucalyptus in the rinse water of the laundry.

I actually haven't started doing that yet, but I will do it starting with the next load of laundry.  2 days ago I had a tick feasting on me.  Ick!

[Dame]

Mosquitoes generally ignore me, spiders on the other hand go out of their way to chew on me.