Scammers, bug spray companies capitalizing on Zika fears

The summer Olympics are about to start in Brazil, where the recent Zika epidemic started, and 14 mosquito-borne cases of Zika were identified recently in the Miami area, the first in the U.S. So companies and entrepreneurs are capitalizing on Zika fears wherever mosquitoes buzz, hawking questionable products like anti-Zika wristbands and promoting all manner of mosquito repellents for people and pets.

In a first for a bugspray, Off! became the official insect repellent supplier for an Olympic Games, and agreed to send 115,000 sprays, spritzers and towelettes to the Rio Olympics.

The tropical mosquito responsible for the Zika epidemic, called Aedes aegypti, is not found in New York, though state health officials still recommend that people use bug spray.

Health officials say people in Zika-affected areas should take steps to avoid getting or spreading the disease by wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and using insect repellent.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says his office has sent letters to seven companies, telling them to stop marketing products as "Zika-preventive" or "Zika-protective."

Officials are warning consumers away from ultrasound bug zappers, $20 insecticide-containing wrist and ankle bands such as "Mosquitno," and "Spotz," Citronella-infused stickers that adhere to clothing and supposedly repel mosquitoes for three days.

Research by Day, the University of Florida entomologist, found that while repellents approved by federal agencies that contain citronella, lemon eucalyptus oil and other herbal extracts provide some protection, it can last from just a few minutes to an hour or so.

The maker of Mosquito Bits and Mosquito Dunks, tablets containing bacteria that the company says kill mosquito larvae in water, said it's having one of its best sales years ever.