Pitara Kids Home > Discover > Eureka: Science for Kids

Peppermint to Chase Mosquitoes Away

By Chitra Padmanabhan

Padma Vasudevan, a scientist from India's capital, Delhi, has made an important discovery. Her team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, has found that peppermint oil chases away mosquitoes. It can also kill the mosquito larvae (Larvae are the wingless forms that hatch out of insect eggs). The best news of all is that it is very effective against the Anopheles mosquito, which spreads malaria.

The scientists did an interesting experiment. They first took out oil from the peppermint plant called Mentha piperita. Then they poured some of that oil on top of water that contained mosquito larvae. The next day they found that the larvae had been killed.

Several people decided to test the ability of the oil to chase away mosquitoes. They rubbed the oil on their bodies and slept out in the open. Eight out of 10 people said they did not have mosquitoes biting them.