Insect Repellent Misuse Blamed on Lyme Disease

The fear of catching Lyme disease from tick bites is causing people to use insect repellents in potentially harmful ways, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Friday.

The EPA, which regulates the pesticides used in insect repellents, said misuse of repellents could result in adverse skin reactions, headaches, mood changes and possibly even convulsions or unconsciousness.

Only a “small number” of reports of ill effects have been received, but they have prompted “concern that fear of Lyme disease or the use of repellents for other biting pests may result in misuse or overuse of these products,” the agency said.

Cynthia Georgeson, a spokeswoman for S. C. Johnson Wax, manufacturer of the insect repellent Off, said the company endorsed the EPA advisory because “it’s very important to have people continue to use these products properly.”

The widely used insect repellent accounts for about 70% of the repellent market.

Georgeson said that, because of the widespread publicity surrounding Lyme disease, which is transmitted by deer ticks, sales of repellents are expected to be about 10% higher this year.