Iowa State University Study CATNIP DRIVES MOSQUITOES AWAY In research conducted at Iowa State University, catnip was 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the compound used in most commercial bug repellents. 2 entomologists studied the effect of nepetalactone on mosquitoes. Nepetalactone is an essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its odor. The researchers placed groups of 20 mosquitoes in a glass tube treated on one side with a high dose of nepetalactone. After 10 minutes, an average of 80 percent of the mosquitoes had moved to the untreated side of the tube. In a low-dose test, an average of 75 percent moved to the untreated side. The researchers conducted similar tests with DEET (diethyl-meta-toluamide), the compound used in many commercial repellents. In those tests, 55 to 60 percent of the insects moved away from the treated side. The researchers said it took about a tenth as much nepetalactone to have the same repellency as DEET. "In other words, nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than DEET," he said. "Most commercial insect repellents contain about 5 to 25 percent DEET. Much less catnip oil would be needed to achieve the same repellency as a DEET-based repellent." In past studies, the researchers had found that catnip oils could repel cockroaches. They said it took about a tenth as much nepetalactone to have the same repellency as DEET.

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