Cedarwood oil discovered to repel ticks

American canine tick (Photograph courtesy of, and copyrighted by, Gene White, pmimages@earthlink.web)

Cedar-lined chests and closets have lengthy been used to maintain garments moths away, however researchers are discovering that cedarwood oil may also repel one other pest: ticks.

Cedarwood oil, which might be discovered in lots of shopper merchandise, together with perfumes, soaps and deodorants, is thought for its pleasing scent — in addition to for its insect-repelling and anti-fungal properties.

In accordance with the examine by Agricultural Analysis Service (ARS) scientists on the Nationwide Middle for Agricultural Utilization Analysis in Peoria, Unwell., it in contrast the outcomes of the nymph levels of 5, hard-bodied tick species to numerous doses of cedarwood oil to diethyltoluamide (DEET), an energetic ingredient discovered in lots of repellent merchandise.

Discovered within the heartwood of Japanese crimson cedar and different juniper tree species, cedarwood oil is amongst quite a lot of pure merchandise that the researchers are testing as doubtlessly sustainable pest management strategies.

Ticks not solely starvation for blood however also can transmit disease-causing pathogens as they feed. One notable offender is the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), whose chunk infects almost half one million individuals yearly with the bacterium that causes Lyme illness. To make issues worse, some ticks, such because the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) can induce alpha-gal syndrome, a situation through which the individual bitten by the tick develops a extreme allergy to meat from livestock and different mammals.

The researchers discovered that completely different species of ticks exhibit completely different levels of susceptibility to cedarwood oil. As an example, the black-legged tick was probably the most prone of the 4 tick species uncovered to cedarwood oil within the experiments. The others, so as of lowering susceptibility have been: brown canine tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), American canine tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and lone star tick (A. americanum).

To check for repellency or toxicity to the ticks’ nymph levels, scientists handled small items of filter paper with microgram quantities of cedarwood oil and positioned the papers on quick vertical rods. They then launched the nymphs and recorded what occurred to them upon crawling up the rods and contacting the handled paper. Contact with the oil-treated papers repelled 80 to 94 % of black-legged tick nymphs, that means they retreated, moved extra slowly or dropped off the rods.

Nevertheless, the oil’s repellency pale with time. Extra of the nymphs repelled 80 % to 94 %. Outcomes similar to these are essential issues in formulating the oil as a repellent product that may be utilized to reveal pores and skin or clothes, for instance.

Within the experiments, DEET was extra repellent than the cedarwood oil for all tick species besides the black-legged tick nymphs. Towards them, the oil labored simply as properly.

Full particulars of the work have been revealed within the journal Experimental and Utilized Acarology by Dr. Lina Flor-Weiler, Dr. Robert Behle, Dr. Fred Eller, Dr. Ephantus Muturi and Dr. Alejandro Rooney — all of ARS. Extra assessments are vital to find out the optimum doses to make use of and supply technique, they famous.

Their assessments additionally re-affirmed the advantages of utilizing a process known as supercritical fluid extraction, which depends on carbon dioxide to penetrate deeply into cedarwood shavings or sawdust the place reserves of the oil might be eliminated with out degrading its high quality. Sometimes, a way known as steam distillation is used. Nevertheless, an ARS information launch stories, it’s inefficient and degrades the oil throughout the course of.

Beginning within the early 2000s, Dr. Eller, along with Dr. Jerry King (previously ARS) confirmed that carbon dioxide supercritical fluid extraction may yield 30 % extra cedarwood oil than steam distillation. Extra not too long ago, utilizing carbon dioxide additionally resulted in a three-fold enhance within the oil’s focus of cedrol, a biologically energetic ingredient that performs a significant function in not solely repelling ticks, but additionally fireplace ants and different bugs.