DRESSING UP FOR THE MOSQUITOES.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

Bzzz' Slap! Bzzz' Slap!

That can be the sound of the outdoors.

Mosquitoes, long merely an annoyance in California, have become life- threatening with the spread of the West Nile virus. California now leads the nation with the highest number of deaths and the most human cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

Fortunately, there's a new defense against biting insects that's as easy to use as getting dressed.

Buzz-Off Insect Shield, LLC, a company in North Carolina, has developed a treatment for clothing that bonds an insect repellent to fabric. Clothing manufacturers such as Ex Officio are producing hats, shirts, pants, shorts and even socks with the Buzz-Off repellent treatment, said to last for at least 25 washings. Ex Officio is also making clothing for hunters treated with Buzz-Off.

The treated clothing will repel ticks, ants, flies, chiggers and midges (no-see-ums), in addition to mosquitoes.

Richard Lane, the scientist who came up with the odorless treatment, said it took eight years for the process to be passed by the EPA. The federal agency had to be convinced that the treatment was safe and effective.

Lane's patent-pending process tightly bonds permethrin, a man-made version of a repellent that occurs naturally in chrysanthemums, to clothing. While the U.S. military has supplied permethrin to troops to treat their own uniforms in the past and the chemical has been available to the public, this do-it-yourself application is not the best way to go, Lane said.

``That's like giving a three-year-old a chemistry set and saying, `Don't hurt yourself,' '' he said.

Depending on the level of insect activity, simply wearing Buzz-Off socks, shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and a hat could keep you bite-free, Lane said. If there are more mosquitoes, you might want to wear a long- sleeved shirt and long pants. The ultimate defense in heavily infested areas is to add deet insect repellent to exposed skin in addition to wearing Buzz-Off clothing.

Lane also advises wearing light-colored clothing in mosquito country, as it will make it harder for the bugs to see you. He should know, he's personally field-tested his products in the Everglades, where 1,500 mosquitoes can land on unprotected skin in an hour.

The EPA, which regulates the use of permethrin and its labeling, gave Buzz-Off-treated clothing the lowest risk category of registration. The only warnings on the label are to wash the clothes separate of other clothing, don't dry clean, and to store and discard safely.

Buzz-Off clothing can be worn by children of any age, an advantage for parents who have struggled to keep their kids coated with repellent, or who might not want to apply repellent directly to the skin.

``This is one of the easiest repellents to use,'' Lane said. ``You don't have to think about it, you don't have to bring it with you, you don't have to reapply it.''

The Ex Officio clothing also provides SPF-30 sun protection, although it doesn't stop bullets.

The Buzz-Off products are selling well at outdoor gear retailer REI and online.

``We'll be increasing our inventory next year to meet customer demand,'' REI's Randy Hurlow said.

Anti-pesticide groups have expressed concern to REI about the clothing and the lack of a warning on labels and its use by children. But the terms of the EPA registration dictate the exact label wording down to the last period, and don't permit extra, unneeded warnings.

``REI's stance is that the EPA has approved the use of permethrin and that federal standards remain the most consistent factor in determining which products are appropriate to carry,'' said Hurlow, who noted that other alternatives were available.

Although Buzz-Off products were originally conceived as appealing to outdoor activity enthusiasts, they might be appropriate for others at risk from West Nile virus.

Human cases of West Nile have resulted in 370 diagnosed cases and 10 deaths in California. At 134 cases each, San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County have the highest number of reported illnesses in the state, officials said. Most at risk of serious consequences from the flu-like infection are the elderly.