Area repellents

Area repellents are materials that are intended to keep animals away from a broad area. They include predator scent such as Hon or tiger manure, blood meal, tankage such as putrefied slaughterhouse waste, bone tar oil, rags soaked in kerosene or creosote, and human hair (84). Although few controlled tests have been mn on these materials in the past, more recent investigations of predator odors have shown promise (85). 

If so, is it an area repellent, feeding inhihitor, or activity depressor ... 

Control of rodent and other herbivore damage Area repellents Predator odors... 

Predator odors are also effective area repellents for lagomorphs. A rabbit warren sprayed with an extract from lion feces had as many as 80% fewer animals than before the treatment and also fewer than a control warren. Adult rabbits stayed away from the treated warren longer than young ones. The effect lasted up to 5 months (Boag, 1991 Boag and Mlotkiewicz, 1994). 

For odors to work, certain environmental conditions have to be met. Townsend s voles, Microtus townsendii, avoid a repellent odor if no cover is available. With cover present, they feed whether or not the area is scented. Therefore, for effective area repellents, the pest rodent should be able to retreat to unscented areas in preferred habitat such as sufficient cover (Merkens etal, 1991 Table 13.2). 

R. A. Wirtz et al. Mosquito area repellents Laboratory testing of candidate materials against Aedes aegypti. Mosq News, 40, 432, 1980. 

Repellents come in many different formulations including pump sprays, aerosols, lotions, roll on, wipes, area repellents (coils and sticks), laundry fabric treatments, and more recently in combination with cosmetic products. The demands from consumers for products that are more pleasant to use have led to an increase in the range of deet-based repellents containing less than 10% deet. These products are often marketed as low scent or low irritant formulations. However, there is also a growing resistance to the use of these chemical repellents by some sectors of the community due to perceived adverse health effects. Despite repeated assessments of deet, as well as picaridin, showing that these topical repellents pose no significant health risk, -" " many in the community have a desire to use natural products. 

Spatial or area repellents create a three-dimensional zone from which biting arthropods are repelled or within which they fail to bite. The potential advantages of spatial repellents include protection of several people with a single product, ease of use without the need to make applications to the skin, and a continuous level of protection. People have probably used smoke as a spatial repellent for tens of thousands of years and historical records have shown the use of particular plants since ancient times. The subject of this chapter includes the various systems for dispersing chemical spatial repellents. Physical systems can be as simple as fans or screened enclosures, or as complicated as radio-frequency generators, but these are not discussed here. 

If spatial repellents do not kill vector insects, then there is concern that diversion of vectors from the protected area will actually increase the risk for people outside the protected area. Accurate study of many aspects of the effects of an area repellent would be necessary to make a realistic appraisal of this risk. First, the actual number of insects diverted by the area repellent might be trivially small compared to the population exposed. Second, nonlethal effects on the insects might prevent biting even though they are not killed. Finally, the area in which there is partial protection from low concentrations of the area repellent would have to be determined. 

D. Strickman, Area repellents. In Insect Repellents Principles, Methods, and Uses, Debboun et al. (eds.), p. 385. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 2007. 

B. Alien et al.. Field evaluation of an area repellent system (ThermaceU) agwnst PMebotomus papatasi (Diptera Psychodidae) and Ochlerotatus caspius (Diptera Culicidae) in Sanliurfa Province, Turkey, J. Med. Entomol., 40, 930, 2003. 

Repellents are available in two forms area and topical repellents. The area repellents are nsn-ally based on the release of an active ingredient into the air with the intention of forming a clond of... 

Spatial or area repellents that are applied between the human/animal and the immediate source of pest/vector arthropods. Usually they hum/heat or emit chemicals such as essential plant oils and inseetieides. 

Spatial or area repellents are designed to repel and kill biting arthropods in relatively small, semienclosed areas. These prodncts are generally formulated as candles, coils, or prodncts with some type (often bntane) of catalytic converter to burn and passively dispense the active ingredient. These prodncts often contain either essential oils, such as oil of citronella, or allethrin as the active ingredient. Commonly available products include Cutter Area Repellent Holiday Bucket Candle and Trip Wick citronella candle (United Industries), OFF PowerPad lamp and lantern, OFF Yard and Deck Area Repellent II, OFF Mosquito Coil III, OFF citronella... 

Area repellents appeal to consumers for several reasons. First, they are easy to use, especially if several people are gathered together. Second, they do not require skin application. Finally, their use often corresponds to other daily customs, for example, lighting candles. Unfortunately,... 

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