Bioprospecting Plant Products: TRI Talk #2 Highlights How Natural Ingredients Can Be Used as Effective Insect Repellents

The TRI talks are 60-minute on-line seminars on a wide range of topics designed to both inform and inspire new ways of thinking.  The second talk in the series is by Dr. Martin Zorde, a postdoctoral researcher at TRI, and will consider the use of plant extracts in the development of insect repellent products.  His talk will be titled, ‘Bioprospecting of Catmints and Sages: The Cat’s Meow of Natural Insect Repellents’.   To register for this and other TRI talks go to our website.

Identification of new sources for natural materials, as well as methods for material extraction, will be discussed. In particular, Martin will highlight plant members of the mint family (Lamiaceae), such as catmints (Nepeta) and sages (Salvia), which have shown great promise as control agents for pests including mosquitoes, ticks and bed bugs. 

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L) can create raised, itchy inflamed spots on the skin, and some bleeding.  They are especially problematic due to their recent population resurgence and increasing resistance to conventional pesticides.  Are natural insect repellents now part of the solution?  Come and find out.

Register for all five talks now!

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