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SC Johnson Reaches Major Milestone with Breakthrough Mosquito Repellent Tool

New field testing shows SC Johnson spatial repellent could repel mosquitoes for multiple rainy seasons.
RACINE, Wis., September 20, 2023 – New field testing shows SC Johnson Guardian™, a spatial repellent made by SC Johnson, is demonstrating a game-changing efficacy of one year. Spatial repellents are easy-to-use products that can be hung in semi-enclosed spaces (including homes, schools, and humanitarian settings) to repel mosquitoes. 

“Guardian’s efficacy rate of one year is a game-changer because it covers multiple rainy seasons, when people are at higher risk for mosquito-borne disease,” said SC Johnson Chairman and CEO, Fisk Johnson. “We think we can make a big difference in eradicating malaria on this planet and we are making progress. We are hopeful that having a long-lasting tool you can hang in your home, and combine with other measures, will help significantly in this fight.”
 
As SC Johnson works to obtain a World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation, which would make spatial repellents one of the first new recommended malaria prevention tools in 25 years, SC Johnson is giving Guardian to at-risk populations through global public health partners. The company is set to start large-scale spatial repellent manufacturing in Kenya in 2024.
Example of a Guardian spatial repellent in a home in Africa.

“There are over a billion people that would benefit from mosquito protection in an easy-to-use form,” said Richard Allen, Director of The MENTOR Initiative, a partner of SC Johnson that works in high-risk and humanitarian settings to prevent malaria. “People want a tool they can take off the shelf, unpack it, hang it up themselves and know that it will work. Frankly, SC Johnson’s is the first tool I've seen in 36 years that has the promise of doing that."

For more than 60 years, SC Johnson, the maker of household consumer brands such as Raid®, OFF!® and Baygon®, has studied insects and the diseases they may carry at the company’s Center for Insect Science and Family Health (in Racine, Wisconsin), one of the world’s largest privately-funded urban entomology centers.

SC Johnson Guardian™ spatial repellent

“We know we can’t rest,” said Johnson. “We have a whole team dedicated to malaria. The development of this spatial repellent tool has never had a profit motive. This is about bringing our resources, capability, and expertise to fight against an insidious disease.”

Learn more about what SC Johnson is doing in the fight against malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases here

*SC Johnson conducted field testing at Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania from 2022 to 2023 with a wild population of highly pyrethroid-resistantAnopheles arabiensismosquitoes. *


About SC Johnson

Founded in 1886 and headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin USA, SC Johnson believes that a more sustainable, healthier and transparent world that inspires people and creates opportunities isn't just possible – it's our responsibility.

A heritage of innovation and bold, transparent decisions is why our high-quality products and iconic brands – including OFF!® Raid®, Glade®, Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Ziploc®, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day®, method®, Autan®, Baygon®, Mr Muscle®, Duck®, Lysoform® and more – are in homes, schools and businesses in virtually every country worldwide.

As a global, purpose-led company, we are committed to making the world a better place today and for future generations. That means relentlessly bringing our expertise in science, innovation and partnerships to bear on some of the world's most pressing environmental and health issues like reducing plastic waste and eradicating malaria. Around the world, we use our resources to unlock greater economic and educational opportunities for people and communities where access may be limited, but curiosity and potential are limitless. 

See how SC Johnson is a Family Company At Work For a Better World by visiting scjohnson.com or joining us on FacebookTwitterLinkedInInstagramYouTube and TikTok.