I remember in 2011 reading with great interest some research into nootkatone[1] as a mosquito repellent[2] (which has already been shown to be effective against ticks). It is a non-toxic oil found in grapefruit and is already approved by the FDA as a food additive.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything (read: consumer-available products) come of it. Upon a bit of searching, I found a patent[3] for a nootkatone-based insect repellent... filed in 1998!
Comments
I remember in 2011 reading with great interest some research into nootkatone[1] as a mosquito repellent[2] (which has already been shown to be effective against ticks). It is a non-toxic oil found in grapefruit and is already approved by the FDA as a food additive.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything (read: consumer-available products) come of it. Upon a bit of searching, I found a patent[3] for a nootkatone-based insect repellent... filed in 1998!
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootkatone
[2]: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/135468567/repelling-bugs-with-...
[3]: http://www.google.com/patents/EP1033076A1?cl=en