WASHINGTON—If an outdoor venue is an offering at your property, don’t let mosquitoes ruin it for your guests. An insecticidal screen can kill the pests on contact and reduce the spread of mosquito-born illnesses.
Vestergaard manufactures PermaNet bednets, a widely purchased and tested Long Lasting Insecticidal Net (LLIN). With more than 750 million PermaNet bednets produced since 2003, PermaNet has protected more than an estimated 1.5 billion people from malaria across 200 countries on six continents, according to the company.
“Following the Zika crisis in South America and the emergence of Zika in the United States, we realized that there was a need to apply the long-lasting technology that has been so successful in the control of malaria, for the control of mosquitoes in the U.S.,” said Helen Pates Jamet, global head of research & market access, Vestergaard. “There is a culture of using door and window screens for physical protection from mosquitoes across many parts of the U.S., and a lack of sustainable mosquito control solutions. Our UV-stabilized PermaNet Screen was an ideal tool to fit these needs and provide an innovative, long-term solution for outdoor mosquito control.”
Hotels, bars and restaurants with outdoor dining and entertainment venues may be able to benefit from this type of protection from mosquitoes. The PermaNet Screen can be affixed to fences, or around the railings, decks and porches, to provide protection from mosquitoes.
“The screen uses the insecticide deltamethrin, which is also approved for use in bednets. The insecticide is embedded inside the fibers of the screen and slowly migrates to the outside of the screen. Mosquitoes die when they come into contact with the insecticide on the surface of the screen,” said Pates Jamet. “The insecticidal activity lasts for at least two years, meaning that guests and workers will have long-term protection from mosquitoes that would normally be feeding on them.”
According to the 2017 Global Monitor, 82% of U.S. consumers say “there are more health risks in society today than ever before.” Providing a bug-free zone outdoors for guests to enjoy enables the hotelier to maximize time spent at outdoor restaurants, event and entertainment venues.
Touting its numerous benefits, Frandsen says the PermaNet Screen is “suitable for use around people and pets and uses a specially formulated insecticide, deltamethrin, approved for use on mosquito nets. The product effectively kills mosquitoes by contact, including mosquitoes that can transmit the Zika, Dengue and West Nile viruses as well as general nuisance mosquitoes,” she said. “It’s easy to install and maintain on fences, windows, doors, around porches, decks and pools. The product is cost-effective, providing advanced protection from biting mosquitoes for at least two years.”
The company is committed to improving the lives of people through technology and it’s currently completing the registration process with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and will sell two versions of the product online—a multi-use product for installation in doors, windows, around porches and decks, and a PermaNet Screen with grommets for simple installation on fences and other outdoor structures.