Mosquito Repellant Fabrics

Preparation of Mosquito Repellent Fabrics

Abstract:

A mosquito repellent substrate includes a fabric which is impregnated with a repellent carrier composition. The carrier composition includes a mosquito repellent (e.g. permethrin, prallethrin etc.), binder, emulsifier and cross linker. The carrier composition is applied as a finish or printed onto the fabric.

1. Introduction

1.1 About Mosquitoes

Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever, have plagued civilization for thousands of years. There are many kind of mosquitoes, each of which has a different habitat, behavior and preferred source of blood. About ten of these species are so numerous, and such vicious biters of man and animals, that an organized mosquito control is necessary because mosquitoes are not a nuisance as biting insects, but are also involved periodically in transmitting disease to humans and animals.

Only female mosquitoes bite. When adult mosquitoes emerge from the aquatic stages, they mate, and the female seeks a blood meal to obtain the proteins for the development of her eggs. After a blood meal is digested and the eggs are laid, the female mosquito depending on her stamina and the weather may repeat this process many times without mating again. They usually feed every 3 to 4 days; in a single feeding, a female mosquito typically consumes more than its own weight