118
Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds
(www.theguardian.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2026
118 points (100.0% liked)
Science
21608 readers
18 users here now
Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage
founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
The trial compared the catnip lotion against 15% DEET, so it's unknown how it compares against stronger formulas. However this is quite promising and I hope further studies are conducted globally! Catnip, as a member of the mint family, is quite a fast-growing, hardy plant, and could easily replace DEET for both home and commercial products if it continues to prove effective.
Most of the "effective as DEET" oils only last a very short amount of time because they evaporate too quickly. Which is why the CDC doesn't recommend them when traveling to locations with high mosquito disease transmission.
Curious if Catnip oil has the same issue, the article doesn't say.
edit: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52715-y
Effective for 1-4 hours. Definitely better than most essential oil treatments, but not as good as DEET or picaridin.
So ... we just need to mix catnip/peppermint oil into a less volatile carrier to slow the evaporation, yes?
Then they're less effective.