A New Insect Repellent

FAIRFAX, Va. (September 15, 2013) – Scientists have isolated and extracted a compound from grapefruits called nootkatone that may be a safer alternative to current repellent ingredients. Use of this compound was considered too expensive until a method of synthetic production was just recently discovered.

Nootkatone is effective against a broad spectrum of pests including mosquitoes, bed bugs, lice and ticks. It not only repels these insects, it also kills them. This discovery may lead to insect repellents containing nootkatone in the near future.