[CH] Chile news story
Naughyde@aol.com
Fri, 14 Aug 1998 10:35:50 EDT
Chili Pepper Is New Pest Repellent
.c The Associated Press
By DERRICK HENRY
SOCORRO, N.M. (AP) -- A new pest repellent taps the heat of the hottest chili
pepper in the world, a pepper so hot that only humans would be crazy enough to
eat it.
The repellent developed by the New Mexico Tech Research Foundation in Socorro
exploits the heat of the ripe, red habanero pepper, which is 60 times hotter
than its fiery cousin, the jalapeno, and 10 times hotter than cayenne.
Researchers are taking the non-toxic chili additive and mixing it into caulks,
paints, glues and rubber-coating materials. Any animal unfortunate enough to
take a nibble gets a spicy surprise.
Tests found roadrunners avoided pecking treated fence posts and rats shunned
cables coated in the substance. A corral post treated with the repellent kept
pests at bay for five years, said Darwin Van De Graaff, president of MEDD4, a
Santa Fe company that will market the stuff.
Zebra mussels, the meddlesome mollusks that have invaded water intake pipes
and displaced native species in the Great Lakes and Mississippi and Ohio
rivers, may be next on the hit list.
The Aquatic Research Institute at East Chicago, Ind., is field testing the
repellent 20 feet underwater in a mussel-infested Lake Michigan harbor. ``The
implication here is that if they've developed an effective material, it will
have an application,'' director Tim Early said.
``It worked in the lab, will it work in the environment?'' he asked.
The lake tests should be completed in August. The U.S. Coast Guard is among
those interested in the results. Since boats are the most common method of
transferring zebra mussels from one body of water to another, perhaps a
treated hull could cut down on the European invader.
``That would be really great if it works,'' said Lt. Chris Boes at the Coast
Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Mussel repellents currently use chlorine, ultraviolet light, sound vibrations
and electric currents. Or people can simply scrape them off by hand. If the
chili repellent passes EPA and other testing, ``it's going to be a real hot
item,'' Boes said.
Inland Steel Co., an East Chicago, Ind., steelmaker that draws huge amounts of
Lake Michigan water for its operation, sees potential in a chili-based
repellent that could block fish and other aquatic life from entering pipes to
the mill.
Pesticide marketers are keeping an eye on the chili-based product's
development, too.
``It's an interesting concept,'' said Harold Harlan, a pesticide and repellent
expert at the National Pest Control Association in Dunn Loring, Va. ``It's
arguable how successful they are.''
Capsaicin, the substance that gives chili its heat, and its derivatives have
been used on animals with some success. Many hikers, for instance, now carry
pepper spray to protect themselves in bear country.
Even though the product is organic, the developers may have to test for
toxicity, cancer risk and reproductive harm before it is ready for market,
said Harlan, an entomologist. It will also have to be tested for unintended
side effects on other species.
Tests by New Mexico scientists have found the current repellent works on many
animals, birds and insects, and has staying power because it forms a molecular
bond to surfaces to which it is applied, Van De Graaff said.
The foundation applied for a patent on the method in 1997. It will take more
time and research to get the actual product patented, said Robert Becker, an
Albuquerque lawyer.
``There are a number of large companies interested in this product,'' said
Daniel Lopez, vice-president of the New Mexico Tech Foundation. He declined to
identify them, except to say they included large paint and plastics companies.
If it works, it won't be long before consumers hear all about the chili-
inspired pest repellent, said Marty DeFord, owner of A-OK Pest Control in
Albuquerque. If it doesn't work, the same holds true.
``Word of mouth in the pest control industry works wonders,'' he said.