美国国家公共电台 NPR To Repel Ticks, Try Spraying Your Clothes With A Pesticide That Mimics Mums

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We have been reporting on the rise of some really nasty diseases caused by tick bites - everything from Lyme disease to Rocky Mountain spotted¹ fever. Well, now a new study is shedding light on an old technique to repel² ticks that many people don't use. It is a repellent that you spray on your clothing and not on your skin. And here's more from NPR's Allison Aubrey.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE³: Back in the 1980s, the U.S. military tested the use of a pesticide⁴ derived⁵ from the flowering chrysanthemum⁶ plant to protect soldiers from insect and tick bites. It's called permethrin, and now decades later, many outdoor enthusiasts⁷ use it, including Danny Quinteros.

DANNY QUINTEROS: I love being outside, whether it's hiking, backpacking, climbing.

AUBREY: He's got a plan to hike the Appalachian Trail, which cuts through many tick-infested areas, so he's got a can of permethrin, and he's about to spray it on a T-shirt.

QUINTEROS: What you want to do is to stay back 6 to 8 inches away from the clothing.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPRAY)

AUBREY: He applies an even coat, then flips⁸ it over to spray the back.

QUINTEROS: Just one single layer is fine.

AUBREY: He says, in combination with skin repellent that he sprays on his exposed skin, he's found that permethrin-treated clothing really works. And there's a fair amount of science to back him up. Neeta Connally oversees⁹ the Tickborne Disease Prevention Lab at Western Connecticut State University.

NEETA CONNALLY: There are several studies now that provide pretty compelling evidence that wearing permethrin-treated clothing has the potential to reduce tick bites.

AUBREY: The most recent comes from a study done by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They purchased a bunch of pretreated clothing. These are garments treated with permethrin by the manufacturer. Lars Eisen is the study author. He explains, they tested different species of ticks on the clothing, including blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, which can transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

LARS EISEN: We wanted to see how long they have to be in contact with the treated clothing to be incapacitated and die.

AUBREY: Eisen says when the blacklegged nymphs came into contact with the treated clothing...

EISEN: It took them less than a minute to receive a dose of permethrin that killed them.

AUBREY: Even though they don't die right away, the permethrin quickly incapacitates them, so they're unable to bite. So why don't more people use permethrin? Neeta Connally says her research suggests that many people don't know about it, or they're hesitant to use a pesticide on their clothing. But there's evidence it's safe. It's the same chemical that many of us have put on our kids' heads to treat head lice.

CONNALLY: When, you know, I think of the potentially serious illnesses that my family members or I could get from a single tick bite, I feel very comfortable wearing treated clothing.

AUBREY: The benefits outweigh¹⁰ the risks. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

5 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 chrysanthemum   

n.菊，菊花

参考例句：

• Each mourner wore a black armband and a white paper chrysanthemum.每个吊唁的人都佩带着黑纱和一朵白纸菊花。
• There are many species of chrysanthemum.菊花品种很多。

7 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

8 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

9 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

10 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。