500 
Combating Lousiness 
4. With Impregnated Clothing. 
Tests conducted under practical and experimental conditions. 
Ref. 
No. 
.103 
104 
105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
Insecticide tested 
Form of Experiment 
Result 
Authority 
01. bet.fculae 30 % 
in alcohol 96 % 
Clothes steeped therein 15', 
wrung and dried ca. 15' at room 
temperature. Tested on lousy 
Austrian soldiers: (a) beneath 
and (b) outside infested under¬ 
clothes 
Under both conditions 
(nr) and ( b) lice disap¬ 
peared from body sur¬ 
face in 24 hrs and none 
found for 3 days. Ef¬ 
fects on man nil. Effect 
said to be lasting 
Lobaczewki, 
1915, p. 373 
Carbolic acid 
(crude) 5 %, and 
soft soap equal 
quant. 
Flannel shirt steeped therein, 
wrung and dried, it absorbed 
500 c.c. of solution. Produced 
no skin irritation by contact. 
Lice put in chiffon pockets in¬ 
side shirt 
Shirt pediculicidal for 
6-7 days, effect waned 
but smell persisted. 
Author thought method 
promising 
Bacot, ix. 
1916, p. 450 
Ditto . 
Light cotton undershirts, im¬ 
pregnated as before and worn 
beneath flannel shirts, were sup¬ 
plied by the British Women’s 
Patriotic League to troops. 
Given a fair trial on over 100 
soldiers under campaigning con¬ 
ditions 
Somewhat mitigated 
louse infestation for ca. 
14 days, produced no 
skin irritation and men 
thought well of them. 
Value doubtful in view 
of results obtained and 
cost 
Bacot, 20. 
xir.l917(per- 
sonal com¬ 
munication) 
Phenol 2J %, or 
carbolic acid 2J% 
Similar shirts to the foregoing 
are being distributed by some 
agencies or sold in shops. Some 
of the shirts are made of such 
loose texture (butter muslin) 
that Bacot finds lice traverse 
them, so they give little me¬ 
chanical protection; lice can bite 
through the more densely woven 
fabrics, but not when they are 
carbolized 
The Queen Mary’s Guild sup¬ 
plies thicker, unbleached, close¬ 
ly woven undergarments which 
without impregnation impede 
the biting of lice mechanically 
Carbolic acid might irri¬ 
tate the skin more in hot 
than in temperate cli¬ 
mates 
[These impregnated 
clothes are still being 
tested but they may be 
regarded merely as pal¬ 
liatives] 
Ditto 
Naphthaline and 
sulphur, 10 % of 
each, dissolved in 
benzol or petrol 
Butter-muslin vests and drawers 
steeped therein, dry quickly in 
air. Worn next the skin they 
cause no irritation. Renewed as 
required. Cost 4 d. a garment in 
1915. [May be regarded as an 
experiment] 
Used extensively since 
June 1915, it is reported 
with benefit as treat¬ 
ment and preventive 
Gunn, 1917, 
p. 579 
Calcium mono- 
chlorcresol 7 % 
Copper mono- 
chlorcresol 4 % 
Khaki impregnated therewith 
Underclothes impregnated there¬ 
with tested in 15 experiments, 
effect found to last 7 days 
Found fairly efficient a- 
gainst attack but of no 
use when men are heavi¬ 
ly infested. Condemned 
as produced skin irrita¬ 
tion and smell disagree¬ 
able 
Peacock, MS. 
Report, W.O. 
i. 1918 
