Students name: Shilpashree.S , Barathi Kumari.

College name: CMR National PU College, ITPL

Sample name: Ant & cockroach repellent, Mortein & Good night repellents

Sample collected at: home

Sample viewed at: CMR National PU College , ITPL on 9/3/19

Description:
Me and my friend Bharthi were highly motivated to work on different types of insect repellents soon after Manu Sir commented on a post by Bharthi and we are thankful to him for giving us such an amazing idea of conducting a research on different types of insect repellents. Our teachers helped in conducting a workshop & we observed many brands of mosquito repellents under the foldscope. We had a lot of fun during this session and it was a great learning experience.

Mosquito repellents are substances that are designed to make surfaces unpleasant or unattractive to mosquitoes. They typically contain an active ingredient & cosmetics appeal . They are available, in many forms, from creams to lotions to oils, but are most often sold as aerosol products.

As observed under foldscope, the repellents comprised of very minute and fine particles. Continued use of such repellents can be disadvantageous.

Disadvantages: Mosquito repellents have active ingredient called DEET or N- N-diethyl-meta toluamide or diethyl toluamide. DEET serves as a true repellent in that mosquitoes instantly dislike the smell of the chemical repellent. It posses health problems to humans. It acts as an “irritant” & may cause skin allergies. It can cause breathing difficulty, burning eyes and headaches. Long term exposure can lead to hormonal imbalance such as TSH( Thyroid stimulating hormone), which can cause hypo/hypertyriodism.

Is the smoke harmful for lungs? There’s growing concern about adverse health impact associated with the burning of mosquito coils and sticks indoors. Studies show that the particulate matter produced from burning one mosquito coil is equivalent to burning 75-135 cigarettes. This amount of exposure poses a health risk, but there is a lack of clear evidences that long-term exposure to mosquito coil smoke increases the risk of more serious health impacts such as “lung cancer”.

Alternative methods & Precautions:

Instead of chemical repellents, the best way to stay away from mosquitoes is to use “coconut husk’s smoke’. The smoke produced from this is harmless since it is natural, and is effective in repelling mosquitoes.

We can grow lemon grasses plants in your balcony. Avoid any dark color paints for our doors/windows etc.

Natural repellents: 1.Lemon ecalyptus oil, 2. Lavaunder ,3.Cinnamon oil, 4.Thyme oil, 5. Soyabean oil