Friday, December 7, 2018

Coconut Oil as Insect Repellent

I just read this article from the Environmental Health Bulletin, December 2018:

Coconut Oil Better Than DEET to Fight Insects

A team of researchers led by entomologist Jerry Zhu with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service Agroecosystem Management Research Unit analyzed data using coconut oil compounds against biting insects and bedbugs. Their data revealed the compounds had a strong repellency against mosquitoes and ticks. By comparison, DEET was only fifty percent effective against biting flies, while the coconut oil compound was more than ninety-five percent effective. The researchers compared the coconut oil compound against DEET on bedbugs and ticks and found DEET lost effectiveness after three days while the coconut oil compound was effective in repelling bedbugs and ticks for nearly two weeks.

The link to the research article is HERE

Natural remedies are very cool.

No comments:

Post a Comment