Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds
A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.
Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.
New tools are vital in the fight against malaria, the disease spread by mosquitoes that infects about 282 million people a year and killed 610,000 in 2024 – the majority of them young children in African countries. There are concerns about rising resistance to insecticides, as well as the frontline drugs used to treat the disease.
In a study presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Florence on Tuesday, a team working between Uganda and Wales found mosquitoes seeking a blood meal were less likely to land on people wearing lotions made from catnip.
Dr Simon Scofield, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, said: “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 rural Ugandan 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,” he said.
Whether or not local cats were more likely to follow lotion wearers was not part of the research, Scofield admitted. “We did not conduct any experiments to see if it is attractive to cats, but given that the active ingredient [nepetalactone] has well-known cat-attractive properties, I would expect they would quite like it,” he said.
In the first part of the evaluation, laboratory tests confirmed that catnip oil could be an effective insect repellent. Researchers then successfully tested the catnip repellent in the field in eastern Uganda by checking how many mosquitoes landed on volunteers’ legs over an evening.
Some volunteers used Deet (the world’s most widely used and effective insect repellent), some used a lotion with 2% concentration of catnip, others a 6% catnip lotion, while others used placebo creams.
The research also established that the lotion could be made locally by a community enterprise. So far it has been distributed for free, using grant funding, but the next phase of the project will see production increased and the lotion sold to create a sustainable income for workers.
“Once we know that we can sell and distribute the repellent at a low cost, that should generate a self-sustaining system where the money is flowing back to everybody at each stage in the development,” said Scofield.
The Deet (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) lotion used for comparison in the trial contains 15% Deet and is the most widely available in Uganda. Travellers from the UK visiting malaria-endemic regions are advised to use stronger repellents of at least 50% Deet.
Swai Kyeba, a research entomologist from the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania who was not involved in the study, said: “New vector-control tools are necessary in the fight against malaria, especially those that are cheap and locally produced, to help improve accessibility.
“However, a challenge with topical repellents is low compliance because they require regular application. This is why they remain a complementary tool in the fight against malaria.”
He urged further research on Ugandan households using currently available repellents before the catnip lotion production was scaled up.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Researchers from Cardiff University and Uganda tested catnip oil as a mosquito repellent against Deet, the globally standard insect repellent. In controlled trials conducted in eastern Uganda, a lotion containing 6% catnip oil proved equally effective at preventing mosquitoes from landing on skin as Deet formulations, while a 2% concentration was slightly less effective. The active compound, nepetalactone, is the same plant chemical that attracts cats. Because Deet remains expensive for rural subsistence farmers in malaria-endemic regions, the team designed catnip lotion as a locally producible alternative. Early versions have been distributed free through grants; the next phase will scale production and sell the lotion, creating sustainable income for workers involved in manufacturing. Malaria, spread by mosquitoes, infects approximately 282 million people annually and caused 610,000 deaths in 2024, with growing resistance to standard insecticides and antimalarial drugs. A researcher not involved in the study noted that topical repellents remain supplementary tools because they require frequent reapplication, which limits real-world compliance.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.
Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.
New tools are vital in the fight against malaria, the disease spread by mosquitoes that infects about 282 million people a year and killed 610,000 in 2024 – the majority of them young children in African countries. There are concerns about rising resistance to insecticides, as well as the frontline drugs used to treat the disease.
In a study presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Florence on Tuesday, a team working between Uganda and Wales found mosquitoes seeking a blood meal were less likely to land on people wearing lotions made from catnip.
Dr Simon Scofield, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, said: “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 rural Ugandan 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,” he said.
Whether or not local cats were more likely to follow lotion wearers was not part of the research, Scofield admitted. “We did not conduct any experiments to see if it is attractive to cats, but given that the active ingredient [nepetalactone] has well-known cat-attractive properties, I would expect they would quite like it,” he said.
In the first part of the evaluation, laboratory tests confirmed that catnip oil could be an effective insect repellent. Researchers then successfully tested the catnip repellent in the field in eastern Uganda by checking how many mosquitoes landed on volunteers’ legs over an evening.
Some volunteers used Deet (the world’s most widely used and effective insect repellent), some used a lotion with 2% concentration of catnip, others a 6% catnip lotion, while others used placebo creams.
The research also established that the lotion could be made locally by a community enterprise. So far it has been distributed for free, using grant funding, but the next phase of the project will see production increased and the lotion sold to create a sustainable income for workers.
“Once we know that we can sell and distribute the repellent at a low cost, that should generate a self-sustaining system where the money is flowing back to everybody at each stage in the development,” said Scofield.
The Deet (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) lotion used for comparison in the trial contains 15% Deet and is the most widely available in Uganda. Travellers from the UK visiting malaria-endemic regions are advised to use stronger repellents of at least 50% Deet.
Swai Kyeba, a research entomologist from the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania who was not involved in the study, said: “New vector-control tools are necessary in the fight against malaria, especially those that are cheap and locally produced, to help improve accessibility.
“However, a challenge with topical repellents is low compliance because they require regular application. This is why they remain a complementary tool in the fight against malaria.”
He urged further research on Ugandan households using currently available repellents before the catnip lotion production was scaled up.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A catnip lotion with 6% nepetalactone concentration proved as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes in Uganda field trials A 2% catnip oil concentration was marginally less effective than 6% Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a herb from the mint family Nepetalactone is the chemical in catnip that causes feline euphoria and has insect-repelling properties Malaria infects approximately 282 million people yearly and killed 610,000 in 2024, predominantly affecting young children in African countries Rising resistance to insecticides and antimalarial drugs is a concern in malaria control Deet is the world's most widely used and effective insect repellent The Deet formulation tested contained 15% concentration UK travellers to malaria-endemic regions are advised to use repellents of at least 50% Deet Researchers tested the catnip lotion in laboratory conditions and then in field trials on volunteer legs in eastern Uganda The catnip lotion can be produced locally by community enterprises at minimal cost Deet is out of the price bracket for most rural Ugandan subsistence farmers New vector-control tools are vital in the fight against malaria Topical repellents remain a complementary tool in malaria control due to low compliance from frequent reapplication requirements Further research on Ugandan household use of currently available repellents should precede scaling up catnip lotion production
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
- A catnip lotion with 6% nepetalactone concentration matched Deet's mosquito-repelling efficacy in Uganda field trials, with 2% concentration marginally less effective
- Catnip (Nepeta cataria) offers a locally producible, low-cost alternative to Deet for malaria-endemic regions where commercial repellents are unaffordable for subsistence farmers
- The lotion was tested in laboratory conditions and then on volunteer legs in eastern Uganda; next phase involves scaling production for sustainable income generation
- Malaria infects ~282 million people annually and killed 610,000 in 2024, with rising insecticide resistance driving need for new vector-control tools
- A Tanzania-based entomologist noted topical repellents require frequent reapplication, limiting compliance, and urged further research before scaling production