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Insecticidal and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils Against Camponotus Compressus and Dolichoderus Affinis

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Abstract

Ants are one of the serious household pests continuing their destruction in household products ranging from food stores to furniture. For controlling such household pest, attention needs to be given on edible, medicinal, plant-based essential oils (EOs) for fixing safety issues of constant contact and indirect consumption by human after indoor application. In the present investigation, we evaluate the insecticidal and repellent activities of edible, medicinal, plant-based EOs of Allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Ocimum sanctum and Syzygium aromaticum against two household ant species, namely Camponotus compressus and Dolichoderus affinis. Among the four essential oils, Allium sativum oil showed the most potential insecticidal effect with LC50 value of 1.71 µl/250 mL air against Camponotus compressus and 2.32 µl/250 mL air against Dolichoderus affinis, while Syzygium aromaticum oil showed the highest repellency against both the targeted ant species. From the findings, we could infer that the selected plant EOs are potential candidates for household ant control as they are effective, extracted from edible products and hence safe for consumption.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to the Head of the Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, for providing the necessary facilities and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati, 781014, Assam, India

    Hridisha Nandana Hazarika & Bulbuli Khanikor

Authors
  1. Hridisha Nandana Hazarika
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  2. Bulbuli Khanikor
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Correspondence to Bulbuli Khanikor.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Significance Statement

For the control of household pest edible, medicinal, plant-based essential oils should be used as they have effective fumigant toxicity and repellency against household ants.

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Hazarika, H.N., Khanikor, B. Insecticidal and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils Against Camponotus Compressus and Dolichoderus Affinis. Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. 45, 297–300 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-022-01127-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-022-01127-5

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