SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE HOUSE-DUST MITE TO PESTICIDES AND DISINFECTANTS.

The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the house-dust mite is sensitive to commercially available chemical substances which could be expected to show a killing effect on the mite. Not only phytopharmaceutical agents with a known acaricidal activity, but also commonly used insecticides and disinfectants have been screened for miticidal properties. The results of the study show that the insecticides and disinfectants which have been tested here showed a negligible effect. Only Lindane effectively kills the house-dust mite when it is used in a concentration of 1 per cent.