March 31, 2004

Effect of Neem Oil on Mosquitoes

The Effect of Neem Oil on the Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus
Peter Borden, 13, Fort Myers, Fla.
Finalist, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2003

Project background: In Florida, mosquitoes are not only an annoyance but also a public health threat. The insecticide Temephos is commonly used to control these insects. Realizing the toxicity of this chemical, Peter began seeking safer alternatives. He focused on the neem tree and conducted experiments to see if the biodegradable, natural oil from the tree would be an effective larvicide against the mosquito Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus.

V. Miller

Tactics and results: Working in a county mosquito lab, Peter put 10 mosquito larvae into each of 30 water-filled beakers. He then created three samples of each of 10 different concentrations of neem oil and acetone. Three additional beakers of water served as controls. After a period of 24 hours, Peter recorded the results.

Peter found that with the proper concentration of neem oil, he was able to kill all the mosquito larvae. He concluded that neem oil can serve as a safe, effective, and nontoxic mosquito control agent.

Read the latest science fair news

Get a science fair tip

Browse a list of science fair topics

Talk Back: Do you have any comments about this ScienceFairZone? Send them to us using the form below.

I have my parent's permission to submit this.
First name:		Age:
City:		State:	AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY
E-mail:
Comment: