Scientists Say Catnip Repels Mosquitoes as Effectively as DEET, so I Made My Own Plant-Based Spray

A cheap, homegrown catnip lotion could replace DEET for millions of Ugandans

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A lotion made from catnip oil matched DEET in field trials in Uganda, according to research presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Florence last week. Catnip (Nepeta cataria), a common herb in the mint family, contains nepetalactone, the compound that makes cats go sideways. It also repels insects, which has been known for years. Nobody had turned it into a product. That’s what this r…

Catnip lotion as effective as Deet

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven ‘just as effective as diethyltoluamide (Deet)’ as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda. Catnip is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised. New tools are vital in the fight against malaria, which infects about 282 million people a year and kill…

Scientists Say Catnip Repels Mosquitoes as Effectively as DEET, so I Made My Own Plant-Based Spray

I grow heaps of catnip in my garden, so when I read new research that suggests the plant's oil is as effective at repelling mosquitoes as DEET, I didn’t hesitate to make my own skidaddle-you-skeeters spray. It was quick, easy and once I’d tried it out, I had to agree with those scientists. Catnip does seem to keep mozzies away.In the 2025 study, its findings published this year in Scientific Reports journal, scientists tested how mosquitoes resp…