Effectiveness of controlled-release personal-use arthropod repellents and permethrin-impregnated clothing in the field.

Two topical controlled-release personal-use arthropod repellent formulations of diethyl methylbenzamide (deet) and permethrin-impregnated clothing were tested on human volunteers in a tropical rain forest near Innisfail, Queensland, Australia. The field trials were arranged in a four-way factorial design which compared fabric types, permethrin treatment and repellent treatments over a 14-hour test period. An analysis of variance with each factor treated as a fixed effect indicated that treatment of the clothing with permethrin and use of topical repellents were effective in preventing bites. The controlled release formulations were not significantly better than the current U.S. Army formulation of deet under field conditions. The repellent formulations and the permethrin-treated clothing used as one system provided better protection than the repellent formulations or permethrin-treated clothing used separately.