[gardeners] Catnip repels Mosquitoes More Effectively than DEET

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Subject: [gdh] Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET
-
 >(However Cats are Attracted Big Time)
 >Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 15:07:23 -0700
 >
 >Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET
 >CHICAGO, August 27 - Researchers report that nepetalactone, the
essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic
odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than
DEET - the compound used in most commercial insect repellents.
 >The finding was reported today at the 222nd national meeting of
the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific
society, by the same Iowa State University research group that two
years ago discovered that catnip also repels cockroaches.
 >Entomologist Chris Peterson, Ph.D., with Joel Coats, Ph.D., chair
of the university's entomology department, led the effort to test
catnip's ability to repel mosquitoes. Peterson, a former
post-doctoral research associate at the school, is now with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Wood Products Insects
Research Unit, in Starkville, Miss.
 >While they used so-called yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)
- one of several species of mosquitoes found in the United States -
Peterson says catnip should work against all types of mosquitoes.
 >Aedes aegypti, which can carry the yellow fever virus from one
host to another, is found in most parts of the United States. Yellow
fever itself, however, only occurs in Africa and South America,
according to the Centers for Disease Control. Vaccines and mosquito
control programs have essentially wiped out the disease in the
United States, although there have been isolated reports of
unvaccinated travelers returning with the disease. The last reported
outbreak in this country was in 1905.
 >Peterson put groups of 20 mosquitoes in a two-foot glass tube,
half of which was treated with nepetalactone. After 10 minutes,
only an average of 20 percent - about four mosquitoes - remained on
the side of the tube treated with a high dose (1.0 percent) of the
oil. In the low-dose test (0.1 percent) with nepetalactone, an
average of 25 percent - five mosquitoes - stayed on the treated
side. The same tests with DEET (diethyl-m-toluamide) resulted in
approximately 40 percent to 45 percent - eight-nine mosquitoes -
remaining on the treated side.
 >In the laboratory, repellency is measured on a scale ranging from
+100 percent, considered highly repellent, to -100 percent,
considered a strong attractant. A compound with a +100 percent
repellency rating would repel all mosquitoes, while -100 percent
would attract them all. A rating of zero means half of the insects
would stay on the treated side and half on the untreated side. In
Peterson's tests, catnip ranged from +49 percent to +59
 >percent at high doses, and +39 percent to +53 percent at low
doses. By comparison, at the same doses, DEET's repellency was only
about +10 percent in this bioassay, he notes.
 >Peterson says nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than
DEET because it takes about one-tenth as much nepetalactone as DEET
to have the same effect. Most commercial insect repellents contain
about 5 percent to 25 percent DEET. Presumably, much less catnip
oil would be needed in a formulation to have the same level of
repellency as a DEET-based repellent.
Why catnip repels mosquitoes is still a mystery, says Peterson. "It
might simply be acting as an irritant or they don't like the smell.
But nobody really knows why insect repellents work."
 >No animal or human tests are yet scheduled for nepetalactone,
although Peterson is hopeful that will take place in the future.
 >If subsequent testing shows nepetalactone is safe for people,
Peterson thinks it would not be too difficult to commercialize it as
an insect repellent. Extracting nepetalactone oil from catnip is
fairly easily, he says. "Any high school science lab would have the
equipment to distill this, and on the industrial scale it's quite
easy."
 >Catnip is a perennial herb belonging to the mint family and grows
wild in most parts of the United States, although it also is
cultivated for commercial use. Catnip is native to Europe and was
introduced to this country in the late 18th century. It is primarily
known for the stimulating effect it has on cats, although some
people use the leaves in tea, as a meat tenderizer and even as a
folk treatment for fevers, colds, cramps and migraines.
 >A patent application for the use of catnip compounds as insect
repellents was submitted last year by the Iowa State University
Research Foundation. Funding for the research was from the Iowa
Agriculture Experiment Station.
 >Chris Peterson, Ph.D., is a former post-doctoral research
associate at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and is now a
Research Entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest
Service, Wood Products Insect Research Service, in Starkville,
Miss.
 >Joel R. Coats, Ph.D., is professor of entomology and toxicology
and Chair of the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa.
 >
 >

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