As the war over Zika virus treatment spending wages on in Congress, sales of mosquito repellent have skyrocketed.
According to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, 99 million units of bugspray were sold in the last year, an increase of 648% from last year.
Companies that make bug spray have responded to the demand, both by increasing production and also boosting prices.
SC. Johnson, the largest global manufacturer of repellents and insecticide sold 13.7 million units of Off Outdoor Insect Repellent in the 52 weeks ended May 15, up 334% from last year, according to IRI. The average unit price for the product was $6.35 over the last year, up $0.19 from the prior year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised pregnant women to wear mosquito repellent this summer, even though the virus hasn’t yet reached the continental US. According to the CDC, 618 cases have been reported in the US, all of them travel related.
SC Johnson’s OFF! Line of products are available in aerosols, spritzers, creams, and towelettes and Public Affairs Manager Jeff McCollum said that the range of these products have been popular.
“Production has increased substantially,” he said. “In the US, earlier this year demand was about 50% higher than last year...In Brazil and other parts of Latin America, demand from November 2015 through earlier this year was about three times what it was last year.”
SC Johnson has also ramped up its production capabilities.
“At the beginning of May we moved to a 24/7 repellent operation at all our plants across the Americas and our suppliers are running at full capacity,” McCollum added. “We’re committed to doing our part to help with the global health crisis that Zika has presented and will be ready for any surge or spike in demand.”
McCollum emphasized the real and growing threat of mosquitoes in the US and around the world.
“Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal/insect on the planet,” he said. “Zika is obviously driving a lot of the demand for repellents, but you cannot ignore other mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue fever and chikungunya. Malaria is a huge problem in certain parts of the world, with something like over 230,000 deaths in 2015. Here in the states I’m already seeing reports about West Nile.”
McCollum said SC Johnson is selling a lot of its products where mosquitos are most active and the most threatening.
“Right now the US southern states with the warmer temps and recent flooding is busy and Latin America, which has been the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, has also been quite busy,” he said.
The company has also committed $15 million in product donation and prevention education to help with the international health crisis, contributing its 60 years of bug research.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is also making an effort to help mitigate the growing problem. The drug store operator teamed up with the CDC earlier this year on a prevention program in Puerto Rico, dedicating space in all of its 120 stores on the island to provide information on CDC-recommended steps to prevent the spread of Zika virus.
The company also lowered the price on CDC-recommended items in our Puerto Rico stores, including insect repellent with DEET, condoms and thermometers to monitor for fever, to make Zika virus prevention products easily available and more affordable.
