REARVIEW

CATNIP EXTRACT COULD ALSO BE USED TO CONTROL MOSQUITOES
Entomologists at Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, Iowa, have found that catnip, a plant that causes euphoria in cats when they sniff or eat it, could also be used to repel mosquitoes.

According to an article from the Minnesota Star Tribune, after hearing tales of catnip’s ability to repel mosquitoes and rats, ISU entomologists Chris Peterson and Joel Coats decided to test the herb in their laboratory. They found that an oily substance in catnip (called nepetalactone) is up to 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than small concentrations of DEET, which is used in many commercial insect repellents.

The ISU Research Foundation has applied for a patent for the use of catnip compounds as an insect repellent.

While Peterson and Coats know that nepetalactone is the ingredient in catnip that induces euphoria in cats, they don’t know why mosquitoes dislike it.
“It could be the smell, it could be irritating to the mosquito, but what’s going on inside the mosquito’s brain and body, nobody really knows,” Peterson told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

In the lab, he and Coats covered one side of a glass flask with nepetalactone and one side of another flask with DEET. Then they let mosquitoes loose inside each flask to determine their response.

After 10 minutes, only about 20 percent of mosquitoes were on the side of the flask treated with 1 percent nepetalactone. In the flask with 1 percent DEET, about 40 percent were on the DEET-treated side.

Using a scientific formula for bug repellency, Coats and Peterson determined that catnip oil is five to 10 times more effective at keeping mosquitoes at bay than DEET.

Commercial repellents typically contain 10 to 30 percent DEET, Peterson noted, so the testing does not prove catnip oil is more effective than commercial DEET products. It does suggest that higher doses of DEET are needed to have the same repellent effect as catnip oil, he said.

ATTACKS AFFECT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Payroll employment fell by 199,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported in October. Sharp job losses continued in manufacturing, and employment also fell in services, wholesale trade, and retail trade.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 occurred during the reference periods for the Bureau’s monthly establishment and household surveys. In addition to the loss of life, the attacks caused many businesses to shut down for one or more days.

In the establishment survey, however, persons paid for any part of the reference period are considered employed. Similarly, in the household survey, persons working during any part of the reference week, as well as those temporarily absent from their jobs, are considered employed. Thus, it is likely that the events of Sept. 11 had little effect on the September employment and unemployment counts.

IT’S A NEW RECORD FOR COCKROACH EATING!
According to a recent Reuters news report, Briton Ken Edwards, a former pest control operator and part-time entertainer, made it into the Guinness World Records book after eating 36 medium-sized cockroaches in one minute in March. As part of his stage act he also stuffs 47 rats down a pair of pantyhose — while wearing them.

Now in its 48th edition, Guinness World Records 2002 includes chapters on extreme sports, computer games, medical marvels and robots, as well as the classic fastest, slowest, tallest and smallest categories.