Aug 26, 2005
Big rush to buy mozzie repellents
Mosquito coils, sprays selling well because of dengue scare
By Marcel Lee Pereira
ANTI-MOSQUITO products have been flying off the shelves of stores
as Singaporeans, spooked by the number of dengue cases, scoop them
up.
Most companies selling such products, from mosquito coils to
anti-mosquito shower gel, report that sales are booming, especially
for common anti-mosquito products, such as insect repellents.
They, however, declined to disclose the volume of sales, revealing
only the proportional increase.
SC Johnson and Son, which sells the OFF! insect repellent spray,
said sales had increased by as much as 30 per cent since the end of
last year.
The company, which also markets the brand Baygon, had 43 per cent
more people buy its Baygon mosquito coils compared to last
year.
However, it was outdone by its competitor, Reckitt Benckiser, owner
of insecticide brands such as Mortein. Sales of the Mortein Liquid
Vaporiser, which uses electricity to turn a pesticide-laced liquid
into an odourless vapour, rose by 100 per cent this year, from last
year.
And for the past two months, 20 per cent more people bought insect
repellents and insecticides at supermarket chain FairPrice's 76
outlets.
Agricultural companies in Singapore have joined the fray.
Zagro, an agricultural products company, said that it is partnering
with FairPrice to introduce a larva killer, Vactor 1G, in the next
two months. The larva killer was sold only to nurseries and pest
control operators in the past.
Another local company, Okada Ecotech, already has a 'non-toxic'
insecticide called VSafe in the market, which is 'safer than the
sugar we eat', claims the company's executive director, Mr Chen
Kang Ning.
And when all else fails, Singaporeans are even willing to try out
the quirkier products, such as the mosquito plant. Its leaves
contain citronella oil, which has been used for more than 50 years
as an insect repellent.
Far East Flora marketing manager Peter Cheok said that he sells
more than 100 of these plants a month.
And how about a shower gel that repels mosquitoes? Local health and
beauty company, HealthWorkz, distributes such a product - the
Natural Spa anti-mosquito shower gel.
HealthWorkz director Alicia Shing said that there is demand for its
product, which has pure citronella oil as its active ingredient.
But she declined to provide any sales figures.
And are these products effective against the Aedes mosquito?
Yes, some of them, said Mr Patrick Koh, assistant secretary of the
Singapore Pest Management Association, who is also the director of
pest control firm Fumiga.
'Most insect repellents do have the prescribed chemicals that
control mosquitoes, so they generally work, provided they are
applied according to the instructions,' he said.
'But I've not heard of an anti-mosquito soap.'
Administrative officer Dorothy Lai, 29, who has been using the
shower gel every day for more than three months, is convinced it
works.
She said: 'I've put insect repellent patches around my bed, but
they weren't as effective.'
