Hedge Apples or DEET?

Osage Orange fruits also known as hedge apples have shown repellent properties against mosquitoes and roaches in one study.  It's the elemol, a sesquiterpene that's extracted from the osage orange that has everyone so excited.  If you really want to read the abstract it is copied below.  It's hard to find otherwise on the web.

We carry fresh hedge balls when they are in season - usually from July to September or so. You can find them here: HedgeBalls

Natural insect repellents : Activity against mosquitoes and cockroaches Auteur(s) / Author(s) SCHULTZ Gretchen ; PETERSON Chris ; COATS Joel ; Résumé / Abstract Recent research has focused on the repellent properties of extracts from the catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) and the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) fruit. This chapter includes results on German cockroach (Blattella germanica), and house fly (Musca domestica) contact irritancy to catnip essential oil, and its major components, Z,E-nepetalactone and E,Z-nepetalactone, compared with the commercial standard, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET). Both species showed high percentage repellency values when exposed to filter paper treated with catnip essential oil or the individual nepetalactone isomers. Of the two nepetalactone isomers evaluated, German cockroaches were most responsive to the E,Z isomer. House flies showed similar trends in contact irritancy, responding to surfaces treated with the predominant catnip isomer, Z,E-nepetalactone, more intensely than to the catnip essential oil. Catnip and Osage orange essential oils, and a sesquiterpene found in Osage orange, elemol, were evaluated for repellency to the northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens) and are presented here. Two mosquito bioassays were used to measure percentage and contact repellecy. Mosquitoes responded initially with high percentage repellency to surfaces treated with catnip essential oil. From the residual repellency study, this trend in repellency by the catnip oil significantly decreased over the 180-minute test period. Elemol, and DEET initially had lower percentage repellency values than catnip essential oil, but did not show the negative relationship between percentage repellency and time, retaining excellent repellency throughout the 3-hour bioassay. Solutions with elemol and DEET exhibited greater significance in contact repellency compared to catnip essential oil. These results show that catnip essential oil is a potent mosquito repellent, but does not provide the same residual effects as the commercial standard, DEET. Elemol, a sesquiterpene extracted from the fruit of the Osage orange, shows excellent promise as a mosquito repellent with comparable activity to DEET in contact and residual repellency. Revue / Journal Title A.C.S. symposium series ISSN 0097-6156 CODEN ACSMC8 Source / Source 2006, vol. 927, pp. 168-181 [14 page(s) (article)] Langue / Language Anglais Editeur / Publisher American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, ETATS-UNIS (1974) (Revue) Localisation / Location INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 17351, 35400015690515.0130 Title: Natural insect repellents: activitity against mosquitoes and cockroaches Author: Schultz, Gretchen; Peterson, Chris; Coats, Joel Date: 2006 Source: In. A.M. Rimmando and S.O. Duke eds. Natural Products for Pest Management. ACS Symposium Series #927. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 169-181 Description: Recent research has focused on the repellent properties of extracts from the catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) and the Osage orange (Maclura pornifera) fruit. This chapter includes results on German cockroach (Blattella germanica), and house fly (Musca domestics) contact irritancy to catnip essential oil, and its major components, Z,E-nepetalactone and 62- nepetalactone, compared with the commercial standard, N,Ndiethyl- m-toluarnide (DEET). Both species showed high percentage repellency valuec when exposed to filter paper treated with camip essential oil or the individual nepetalactone isomers. Of the two nepetalactone isomers evaluated, German cockroaches were most responsive to the E,Z isomer. House flies showed similar trends in contact irritancy, responding to surfaces treated with the predominant catnip isomer, Z,E-nepetalactone, more intensely than to the catnip essential oil. Catnip and Osage orange essential oils, and a sesquiterpene found in Osage orange, elemol, were evaluated for repellency to the northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens) and are presented here. Two mosquito bioassays were used to measure percentage and contact repellecy. Mosquitoes responded initially with high percentage repellency to surfaces treated with catnip essential oil. From the residual repellency study, this trend in repellency by the catnip oil significantly decreased over the 180-minute test period. Elemol, DEET initially had lower percentage repellency values than catnip essential oil, but did not show the negative relationship between percentage repellency and time, retaining excellent repellency throughout the 3-hour bioassay. Solutions with elemol and DEET exhibited greater significance in contact repellency compared to catnip essential oil. these results show that catnip essential oil is a potent mosquito repellent, but does not provide the same residual effects as the commercial standard, DEET. Elemol, a sesquiterpene extracted from the fruit of the Osage orange, shows excellent promise as a mosquito repellent with comparable activity to DEET in contact and residual repellency.

Fables of La Fontaine, Dancing Goats and Fighting Roosters

Philomel And Progne 

From home and city spires, one day,

The swallow Progne flew away,

And sought the bosky dell

Where sang poor Philomel.

"My sister," Progne said, "how do you do?

It's now a thousand years since you

Have been concealed from human view;

I'm sure I have not seen your face

Once since the times of Thrace.

Pray, will you never quit this dull retreat?"

"Where could I find," said Philomel, "so sweet?"

"What! sweet?" cried Progne sweet to waste

Such tones on beasts devoid of taste,

Or on some rustic, at the most!

Should you by deserts be engrossed?

Come, be the city's pride and boast.

Besides, the woods remind of harms

That Tereus in them did your charms."

"Alas!" replied the bird of song,

"The thought of that so cruel wrong

Makes me, from age to age,

Prefer this hermitage;

For nothing like the sight of men

Can call up what I suffered then."

Jean de La Fontaine

Book 3, Fable 15 

THE TWO BULLS AND THE FROG

Two bulls engaged in shocking battle,

Both for a certain heifer's sake,

And lordship over certain cattle,

A frog began to groan and quake.

'But what is this to you?'

Inquired another of the croaking crew.

'Why, sister, don't you see,

The end of this will be,

That one of these big brutes will yield,

And then be exiled from the field?

No more permitted on the grass to feed,

He'll forage through our marsh, on rush and reed;

And while he eats or chews the cud,

Will trample on us in the mud.

Alas! to think how frogs must suffer

By means of this proud lady heifer!'

This fear was not without good sense.

One bull was beat, and much to their expense;

For, quick retreating to their reedy bower,

He trod on twenty of them in an hour.

Of little folks it oft has been the fate

To suffer for the follies of the great.

The Two Goats

Since goats have browsed, by freedom fired,

To follow fortune they've aspired.

To pasturage they're wont to roam

Where men are least disposed to come.

If any pathless place there be,

Or cliff, or pendent precipice,

It's there they cut their capers free:

There's nothing can stop these dames, I wis.

Two goats, thus self emancipated,

The white that on their feet they wore

Looked back to noble blood of yore,

Once quit the lowly meadows, sated,

And sought the hills, as it would seem:

In search of luck, by luck they me

Each other at a mountain stream.

As bridge a narrow plank was set,

On which, if truth must be confessed,

Two weasels scarce could go abreast.

And then the torrent, foaming white,

As down it tumbled from the height,

Might well those Amazons affright.

But maugre such a fearful rapid,

Both took the bridge, the goats intrepid!

I seem to see our Louis Grand

And Philip 4. advance

To the Isle of Conference,

That lies "between Spain and France,

Each sturdy for his glorious land.

Thus each of our adventurers goes,

Till foot to foot, and nose to nose,

Somewhere about the midst they meet,

And neither will an inch retreat.

For why? they both enjoyed the glory

Of ancestors in ancient story.

The one, a goat of peerless rank,

Which, browsing on Sicilian bank,

The Cyclop gave to Galataea;

The other famous Amalthaea,

The goat that suckled Jupiter,

As some historians aver.

For want of giving back, in troth,

A common fall involved them both.

A common accident, no doubt,

On Fortune's changeful route.

Jean de La Fontaine

Book 12, Fable 4 

The two roosters

Two roosters in peace were living, when

A war was kindled by a hen.

O love, you bane of Troy! It was thine

The blood of men and gods to shed

Enough to turn the Xanthus red

As old Port wine!

And long the battle doubtful stood:

(I mean the battle of the roosters;)

They gave each other fearful shocks:

The fame spread over the neighborhood,

And gathered all the crested brood.

And Helens more than one, of plumage bright,

Led off the victor of that bloody fight.

The vanquished, drooping, fled,

Concealed his battered head,

And in a dark retreat

Bewailed his sad defeat.

His loss of glory and the prize

His rival now enjoyed before his eyes.

While this he every day beheld,

His hatred kindled, courage swelled:

He whet his beak, and flapped his wings,

And meditated dreadful things.

Waste rage! His rival flew on a roof

And crowed to give his victory proof.

A hawk this boasting heard:

Now perished all his pride,

As suddenly he died

Beneath that savage bird.

In consequence of this reverse,

The vanquished sallied from his hole,

And took the harem, master sole,

For moderate penance not the worse.

Imagine the congratulation,

The proud and stately leading,

Gallanting, coaxing, feeding,

Of wives almost a nation!

It's thus that Fortune loves to flee

The insolent by victory.

We should mistrust her when we beat,

Lest triumph lead us to defeat.

Jean de La Fontaine

Book 7, Fable 14

The Wolf and the Shepherds

A Wolf, replete

With humanity sweet,

(A trait not much suspected,)

On his cruel deeds,

The fruit of his needs,

Profoundly thus reflected.

"I'm hated," said he,

"As joint enemy,

By hunters, dogs, and clowns.

They swear I shall die,

And their hue and cry

The very thunder drowns.

"My brethren have fled,

With price on the head,

From England's merry land.

King Edgar came out,

And put them to rout,

With many a deadly band.

"And there's not a squire

But blows up the fire

By hostile proclamation;

Nor a human brat,

Dares cry, but that

Its mother mocks my nation.

"And all for what?

For a sheep with the rot,

Or scabby, mangy ass,

Or some snarling cur,

With less meat than fur,

On which I have broken fast!

"Well, henceforth I'll strive

That nothing alive

Shall die to quench my thirst;

No lambkin shall fall,

Nor puppy, at all,

To glut my maw accurst.

With grass I'll appease,

Or browse on the trees,

Or die of famine first.

"What of carcass warm?

Is it worth the storm

Of universal hate?"

As he spoke these words,

The lords of the herds,

All seated at their bait,

He saw; and observed

The meat which was served

Was nothing but roasted lamb!

"O! O!" said the beast,

"Repent of my feast

All butcher as I am

On these vermin mean,

Whose guardians even

Eat at a rate quadruple!

Themselves and their dogs,

As greedy as hogs,

And I, a wolf, to scruple!"

"Look out for your wool

I'll not be a fool,

The very pet I'll eat;

The lamb the best looking,

Without any cooking,

I'll strangle from the teat;

And swallow the dam,

As well as the lamb,

And stop her foolish bleat.

Old Hornie, too, rot him,

The sire that begot him

Shall be among my meat!"

Well reasoning beast!

Were we sent to feast

On creatures wild and tame?

And shall we reduce

The beasts to the use

Of vegetable game?

Shall animals not

Have flesh-hook or pot,

As in the age of gold?

And we claim the right,

In the pride of our might,

Themselves to have and hold?

O shepherds, that keep

Your folds full of sheep,

The wolf was only wrong,

Because, so to speak,

His jaws were too weak

To break your palings strong.

Jean de La Fontaine

Book 10, Fable 5 

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