Cinnamon Oil as Insect Repellent
Hard
Can cinnamon oil keep insects away from food? You coat one half of a banana with cinnamon oil and leave the other half untreated. Both halves go into a sealed fish tank with 20 insects.
You test four insect types separately: ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and flies. After one hour, you count how many insects sit on each banana half.
Most insects avoid the cinnamon-coated half. The few that approach it leave quickly. The untreated half attracts the majority.
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
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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