Laboratory tests of arthropod repellents against Leptotrombidium deliense--noninfected and infected with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi--and noninfected L. fletcheri (Acari: Trombiculidae).

Laboratory tests were conducted to compare the response of noninfected Leptotrombidium deliense Sambon and Leptotrombidium fletcheri (Womersley & Heaslip) and L. deliense naturally infected with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi, the etiologic agent of scrub typhus, to 8 chemical repellents and toxicants. Low concentrations of permethrin, dimethylphthalate, diethyl methylbenzamide, benzyl benzoate, di-n-propyl 2,5-pyridine-dicarboxylate, 1-(3-Cyclohexen-1-yl-carbonyl)-2-methylpiperidine (AI3-37220), 2-hydroxymethyl-cyclohexyl acetic acid lactone, and a high concentration of dibutylphthalate (DBP) were toxic for noninfected larvae of both species tested. The median effective knockdown time for all chemicals, except 1% AI3-37220 and 5% permethrin, were longer against infected L. deliense than uninfected larvae of the same species. However, the results indicate that low concentrations of all chemicals, except DBP, should be effective against 2 important vectors of scrub typhus.