#catnip

Anna Anthro @AnnaAnthro@mastodon.social · Jul 09, 2026

“We found that a 6% catnip oil was just as effective as #Deet, and the 2% #catnip oil was only marginally less effective than that.” “Deet is out of the price bracket for most of #Uganda’s rural subsistence farmers, so buying commercially available #mosquito repellents is just not practicable. “We wanted to make a repellent, which is highly efficacious, but also allows local people to be involved in the production cycle so that it costs a minimal amount of money.” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/07/catnip-lotion-as-effective-as-deet-at-repelling-mosquitoes-study-finds

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JallBarret @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph · Jul 09, 2026

Logistics of using catnip as a mosquito repellent Hover or focus to reveal Sensitive

There's news out that catnip can be as effective or more effective than DEET based mosquito repellent. I spent a month in a country (just before I turned 16) where you have to take anti-malarials if you're visiting from the west. They still recommend you use repellent. One of my teammates got malaria from her time there so me soaking myself in DEET spray seems pretty rational in hindsight. However, that stuff is nasty and I have permanent scarring on my body from DEET bubbling out of my skin. So I never want to use DEET again. I'm still well-beloved by mosquitoes nearly 30 years later and, thanks to climate change and a government perpetually disinterested in doing its job, I have more reason than ever to want to avoid mosquitoes. So, the catnip news is potentially great news. Trying to find a reasonable and affordable way to use that information is pretty terrible right now, though. #catnip #DEET #mosquito #malaria

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