NEW ORLEANS The active ingredient in catnip also can repelcockroaches, researchers have found.
One form of the chemical in catnip repels cockroaches 100 timesbetter than DEET, the basis for commercial bug repellents, Iowa StateUniversity scientists said at a meeting of the American ChemicalSociety.
Chris Peterson and Joel Coats said they began studying catnip afew years ago when a summer intern told them it was resistant toinsects. The two boiled catnip leaves and distilled the activeingredient, a chemical called nepetalactone.
Peterson also has found roach-repellant compounds in an inediblesoftball-size fruit called the osage orange, or hedgeapple, …
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