Repellent

Description

A substance that repels or averts another. Hydrophobic materials, such as oils, fats, Rubber, Wax, Silicone, and Teflon®, are water-repellent. Some chemicals, because of their smell or taste, repel animals and insects. For example, mosquitos and ticks are repelled by citronella, dimethyl phthalate, DEET and 2-ethyl hexanediol-1,3. Rodents are repelled by actidione, thiuram disulfide and Hexachlorophene. Traditional mothballs containing Naphthalene have been replaced by other volatile repellents such as 1,4-dichlorobenzene. Moth larvae development can be inhibited by natural products such as Permethrin or Neem oil.

Synonyms

bug spray

Risks

• Permethrin is toxic to cats

Resources and Citations

• Wikipedia: Pest (organism)
• Wikipedia: Insect repellent
• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993