The products we are talking about here are so-called skin repellents.
So what exactly is a repellent?
It refers to a repellent that is designed to prevent ticks from attacking the particular person or animal that a product is designed to protect.
Depending on the product, skin repellents are designed for use on the person or animals with a repellent effect against ticks.
The deterrent effect advertised on product labels can thus be closely scrutinized.
Why is this important?
Ticks belong to the class of arachnids and are obligate bloodsucking parasites. Obligate comes from the Latin word obligatio and means "obligation". What this has in common is that these parasites depend on a host for nutrition/development. In this case, the purposes rely on the blood of an animal or human to continue developing.
They are capable of transmitting a variety of different pathogenic microorganisms. So we are talking about microorganisms or even viruses, that can lead to a disease of the host. The problem, undetected or untreated, can be fatal. Thus it is of great importance to be able to protect oneself against bites in the best possible way.
In other words, it is extremely important that these products really protect us.
How can the efficacy be tested?
Testing possibilities
Products are tested to be applied on human or animal skin.
Requirement according to "BPR" is to test a "Repellent efficacy", which proves the efficacy of products according to the recommended dose, the stated technical information, and method of application on the label. The presence of insecticidal efficacy (killing) must also be tested in this process and must not be present for the product to be classified as a repellent.
"Simulated-use test
Depending on the parasitizing developmental stage on the host, the efficacy of products against the individual developmental stages (adults and nymphs) of ticks (common wood tick, Ixodes ricinus) is demonstrated in a simulated-use test.
It is also possible to determine which concentration has a sufficiently repellent effect on the target organism. For this purpose, at least 10 voluntary test persons of different age (20 - 60 years) and gender, as well as differentiated skin and hair condition are used to test the efficacy of the products hourly or half-hourly up to 12 hours, of course without being bitten.
At BioGenius GmbH, we have been performing these efficacy tests at simulated-use-test level for years for orientational screening tests or for the approval of these products according to the European Biocide Directive (BPR).
If you have a need for skin repellent and/or bite preventive tests against ticks, please do not hesitate to contact us! With our expertise we are happy to help you!
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