Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally
  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    12 小時前

    Funny enough, that’s a leading theory of why attraction to and the desire to roll around in catnip by felines was selected for.

  • fireweed@lemmy.world
    12·
    22 小時前

    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.

    • LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      15·
      22 小時前

      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.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
    7·
    22 小時前

    We found that lotions containing both concentrations of catnip essential oil were highly effective at preventing mosquito landing, with 6% catnip oil performing as well as 15% DEET.