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Food Science Science Fair Project

Investigating Cinnamon Oil as an Insect Repellent

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Investigating Cinnamon Oil as an Insect Repellent | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Are you curious to know if cinnamon oil can be used to repel insects? Join us in this science project to find out! We'll be testing the effectiveness of cinnamon oil against ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes and flies.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that cinnamon oil is an effective natural insect repellant against insects such as ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes and flies.

Method & Materials

You will need to set up four fish tanks with covers, and place a treated and untreated banana in each tank. Then, release 20 insects of each type into each tank and observe their behavior for one hour.
You will need four empty fish tanks with covers, one bottle of cinnamon oil, three empty plastic bottles, one larger container, four over-ripe bananas, one knife, 20 ants, 20 cockroaches, 20 mosquitoes, and 20 flies.

Results

The experiment showed that most of the insects avoided the cinnamon coated banana, while the few that went towards it only spent a short time on its surface. Instead, majority of the insects were attracted to the untreated banana, and either stayed on the surface of the untreated banana or remained in its vicinity.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores the use of natural substances as an alternative to chemical pesticides. It also provides an opportunity to observe the behavior of different types of insects.

Also Consider

Variations of this science project include testing different types of natural insecticides such as clover or lime juice, and varying the quantity of the natural insecticide used.

Full project details

You can find additional information and details for this science fair project here. Have fun exploring!

Related videos

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