About Insect Shield | Videos | FAQs
Insect Shield® Repellent Apparel and Gear are the most
effective new tools launched in more than 50 years to help battle insects and
insect-carried diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria and Lyme disease. As
with any breakthrough technology, you are going to have questions.
So, we’ve got some answers…
-
Examples of Consumer Labelling Categories of Common Household Products
-
Can Insect Shield repellent apparel and gear be worn by children, infants and pregnant women?
-
How much protection is provided by Insect Shield repellent apparel?
-
What are the benefits of Insect Shield vs. other forms of insect repellent?
-
Why does the Insect Shield label say "dispose of in trash after use?"
-
How are permethrin-treated prducts being utilized to save lives?
What is Insect Shield?
Insect Shield® Repellent Apparel and Insect Shield® Repellent Gear are
revolutionary products designed to provide long-lasting, effective and
convenient personal insect protection. The durable protection provided by Insect
Shield apparel and gear is the result of years of research and testing. In
Insect Shield apparel and gear products combine the patent-pending Insect Shield
process with a proprietary formulation of the insect repellent permethrin—resulting
in effective, odourless insect protection that lasts the expected lifetime of a
product.
Is Insect Shield EPA-registered?
Following many years of extensive product testing, Insect Shield for apparel and
gear has been successfully registered by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
What does EPA registration mean?
The EPA registration process is designed to evaluate a proposed product to
ensure it will not have adverse effects on people or the environment. Insect
Shield products have been rigorously evaluated on multiple levels—the chemistry,
the application process and the final consumer product. The end result? Insect
Shield received the first-ever EPA registrations for insect-repellent clothing
and gear.
How does Insect
Shield compare according to the EPA?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a consumer labelling
category rating for each product registered. Insect Shield has been rated a
category IV by the EPA, which is the most favourable rating issued.
EPA Toxicity
Categories for Consumer Labelling.
The overall category is determined by the most severe route of exposure. (i.e.,
oral, dermal, ocular and inhalation)
| Category I | Danger |
| Category II | Warning |
| Category III | Caution |
| Category IV | None Required |
-top-
Examples of Consumer Labeling Categories of Common Household Products
The overall toxicity category is determined by the most severe route of
exposure.
| Product | Overall Category |
|---|---|
| Bleach | I |
| Liquid Disinfectant Bowl Cleaner | I |
| Disinfectant Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner | II |
| Mildew Remover | II |
| Insect Repellent, 23% DEET | II |
| Insect Repellent, 15% DEET | II |
| Insect-Repellent Clothing and Gear Spray, 0.5% permethrin | III |
| Disinfectant Daily Shower Cleaner | III |
| Military-Style Insect-Repellent Clothing Treatment, 0.5% permethrin | III |
| Insect Repellent for Kids, 7% DEET | III |
| Tick Repellent Spray, 0.5% permethrin | III |
| Insect Shield® Repellent Apparel | IV |
Note: Similar sounding products with
different EPA registration numbers may not be comparable in
toxicity to those shown above.
Are warning labels required on Insect Shield products?
No. During the registration process, the EPA issues a
consumer labelling rating for each product. Insect Shield
has been rated a category IV product by the EPA—which is the
most favourable rating issued. No warning labels are
required on category IV products.
Can Insect Shield repellent apparel and gear be worn by
children, infants and pregnant women?
Yes. Use of Insect Shield products by children of all ages,
and pregnant women, is consistent with the EPA registrations
of both Insect Shield apparel and gear.
Which
insects does Insect Shield repel?
Insect Shield® Repellent Apparel has been proven and
registered to repel mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies,
chiggers, and midges (no-see-ums). Insect Shield® Repellent
Gear has been proven and registered to repel mosquitoes,
ticks, fleas, and flies. The EPA requires extensive
effectiveness data to prove a product's ability to repel
insects. Many species and varieties of these insects have
been tested, including many that can carry dangerous
diseases.
How much protection is provided by Insect Shield repellent
apparel?
A small item of Insect Shield clothing provides less
repellency than a larger one. You may need to adjust the
amount of Insect Shield apparel you wear, depending on the
number of biting insects that are present. For example, you
might prefer to wear pants instead of shorts in certain
situations; long sleeves instead of short; or add a hat and
socks. Topical repellent can be used for exposed skin, and
is especially recommended for heavily infested locations.
-top-
Does the product
have an odour?
No. Insect Shield protection is invisible, odourless and colourless, and does
not change the feel of the garment.
How long will Insect
Shield protection last?
The repellency of Insect Shield apparel is EPA-registered to last through 70
launderings—which is more than double the average life expectancy of a garment,
as identified by the International Fabricare Institute. This is also well beyond
the life of most performance fabric finishes commonly used in the
technical-apparel industry. Insect Shield gear repellency remains effective
through 6 months of exposure to weathering, or through 25 launderings for
washable items.
Insect Shield products also have a long shelf life. Insect
Shield-treated garments stored for ten years have shown no loss of repellent
effectiveness.
What are the benefits of Insect Shield vs. other forms of insect repellent?
Insect Shield repellent apparel and gear puts insect repellency near your skin,
instead of on it, and the protection is odorless and invisible. Also, the
repellency is long lasting, so no re-application is needed, which is convenient,
and can help alleviate concerns about overuse and misuse of repellent.
Comparison of
Insect Shield to Tropical Repellents
-top-
Is
Insect Shield Responsible Insect Protection?
The patent-pending Insect Shield process is designed to prevent loss of active
ingredient outside the system, and once applied, Insect Shield repellency is so
tightly bound to fabric fibres that garments retain effective repellency through
70 launderings. Compare this to insect-control methods that require fogging or
spraying, and traditional topical repellents that last just a matter of hours
and readily wash off in water.
Why does the Insect Shield label say "dispose of in trash after use?"
This indicates that Insect Shield products can be simply deposited in the trash
and require no special disposal process. In the case of Insect Shield-treated
apparel, the “after use” can last for years in the used clothing market since
many people donate their clothing. Eventually, the repellency becomes exhausted
through wearing and laundering.
How do you care for
your Insect Shield products?
For items that can be washed, normal home laundering is recommended. Insect
Shield repellent apparel can be bleached, starched, pressed, etc., without
effect on the repellent quality; however, it should not be dry-cleaned.
Do Insect Shield
products require special storage?
No. And the repellency has a long shelf life. Insect Shield-treated garments
stored for ten years have shown no loss of repellent effectiveness.
Why can't the products be
dry-cleaned?
Dry cleaning removes some of the active ingredient—which reduces the insect
repellent quality of the apparel.
How can Insect Shield
impact world health?
As reported by the Disease Control and Prevention Centers (CDC) website, 41%
percent of the world's population lives in areas where malaria is transmitted.
Each year, 350–500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one
million people die—mostly young children in Africa. Additionally, Newsweek
International raised awareness about the effect of global warming on
insect-borne diseases, indicating that temperature increases can extend a
mosquito species' range and result in a longer biting season. Insect Shield
technology has the potential to greatly impact worldwide health by offering
durable and effective solutions to people whose lives are threatened by
insect-borne diseases.
Who recommends
permethrin-treated apparel?
The following international agencies recommend permethrin-treated apparel:
-
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), www.cdc.gov/travel
-
The World Health Organization (WHO), www.who.int
-
The American Academy of Family Physicians, www.familydoctor.org
-
The Public Health Agency of Canada, www.phac-aspc.gc.ca
Insect Shield represents a promising new approach to the
longstanding problem of protection against both insects and the diseases they
can carry. All of the above agencies actively encourage at-risk individuals to
use permethrin-treated clothing as a protective measure against insect-borne
diseases.
How did permethrin
originate, and how is it used?
Permethrin is a man-made version of a natural insect repellent found in certain
chrysanthemum plants. It has been successfully used in the United States as an
EPA-registered product since 1977, with an excellent safety record. Permethrin
is used in lice shampoos for children, flea dips for dogs, and various other
products, some of which are regulated by the FDA.
The Insect Shield process uses a proprietary formulation of permethrin in a
patent-pending system, and the resulting repellency is so tightly bound to the
fabric fibres of each garment that it lasts through 70 launderings.
The patent-pending process designed by our researchers specifically for creating
Insect Shield products and the proprietary formulation that is used are quite
different from permethrin-based technologies employed in other industries.
How are permethrin-treated products being utilized to save lives?
As reported by the CDC website, 41% of the world's population lives in areas
where malaria is transmitted. Each year, 350–500 million cases of malaria occur
worldwide, and over one million people die—mostly young children in Africa. In
response, millions of permethrin-treated bed nets are being distributed globally
via malaria control programs. Insect Shield-treated uniforms are now being
utilized by numerous international relief organizations to help protect them in
areas prone to insect-borne diseases. Research is also being done on the impact
of future alternative Insect Shield products.
-top-
Visit the Centre for Disease Control for more information.
