OT - Eco-friendly wasp repellant? -essential oils

[Guest guest]

hi sherri,

i would be interested in those links for essential oil

suppliers.

thanks!

susie

 

--- Sherri <sherria wrote:

> " Jigilou Snicklefitz " <jigilou> wrote:

> > Is there an eco-friendly way to repel wasps? I

> would hate to have my

> > landlord use some harsh pesticide or something,

> but I also hate the

> > idea of my babies getting stung.

>

> I don't know for sure that it would work, but my

> first reaction would be

> to try some catnip EO, either alone or blended

> (perhaps with some lemon

> tea tree). The only studies I have on hand were

> done to guage efficacy

> against mosquitos, but according to several people

> on a variety of

> aromatherapy lists I participate in its also

> effective against a variety

> of bugs, including ticks, chiggers, black flies,

> etc. Its worth a try

> at least!

>

> I'm not sure where you live, but if you don't have

> access to a good

> essential oil supplier, I can give you some links to

> a couple of my

> favourites - good prices, amazing quality oils.

>

> I'm going to copy the article, in case anyone is

> interested in the study

> done with mosquitos. (I think I've even managed to

> get the BF to let me

> use my lemon tea tree hydrosol and/or some

> catnip/lemon tea tree eo

> blends on the rugrats this summer when camping! Woo

> hoo! No more

> DEET!)

>

> --

> Sherri

>

> Emancipate yourself from mental slavery; none but

> ourselves can free our

> minds. - - Bob Marley

>

>

>

-

>

> NEWS RELEASE FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY:

>

> " Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET

>

> CHICAGO, August 27, 2001 - 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.

>

=== message truncated ===

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

" artichoke72x " <artichoke72x> wrote:

> i would be interested in those links for essential oil

> suppliers.

 

My absolute favourite is Anatolian Treasures - Appalachian Valley

Natural Products. Their website is at http://www.av-at.com/ Last I

looked the catnip oil wasn't listed in their online catalogue yet, but

they do indeed have it in stock. They had both American (40-50%

Nepetalactone) and Canadian (80-90% Nepetalactone). They were running

VERY low on Lemon Tea Tree Hydrosol (when I got mine there were

something like 3 gallons left in stock), but may still have a little and

will certainly have the eo. You can contact them at Tel: (888) 907-6457

/ (301) 746-4630 or Fax: (301) 746-4633 to see what they have on hand.

Butch's eo's are all tested for quality and purity, and his prices are

the best I've found. Service out of his Maryland shop is excellent and

friendly.

 

Another excellent supplier is Nature's Gift http://www.naturesgift.com/

They often have a wider selection of products, also excellent quality,

and good (though higher than AVNP) prices. Marge's website is

incredibly informative, and she and her staff are very helpful. Service

is fast and friendly.

 

I've also bought a variety of products from A Little Ol' Factory, though

I tend to get things like mineral salts, soap bases, etc there. My

understanding, though, is that Chris's oils are also very good quality.

Her website is at http://alittleolfactory.com/

 

Hope that helps

 

--

Sherri

 

" No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical. " - Pauli