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Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal

College

Charles E Schmidt College of Science

Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Insecticide use has increased as population and agricultural demand for crops grows. Commercial insecticides contain active ingredients that are often harmful to humans and the environment. A viable alternative to this concern is developing and using insecticides with low toxicity and minimum risk to the environment. In this study, we sought to empirically assess the effectiveness of an insecticide based entirely on plant essential oil active ingredients, which contain complex secondary metabolites. Our results show that a concoction of several plant essential oils was effective in killing a wide range of household garden insect species and bedbugs, encompassing five orders of Insecta (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and Neuroptera) and at least 22 families. This insecticide is also fatal to four tick species (class Arachnida, order Ixodida, family Ixodidae). Due to the likely major economic and environmental benefits of using significantly less toxic, plant-based pesticides on a large scale for agriculture and residential housing, our study highlights the potential of plant essential oil-based insecticides as an effective and environmentally safe means of pest control.

Advisors

Xing-Hai Zhang, Florida Atlantic University; John M Harlin, Penta 5

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