Technology Description:    ARS researchers in Beltsville, MD have developed a method for preparing a natural product from pine oil that repels mosquitoes and ticks. ARS’s compound deters mosquitoes more effectively than DEET—a widely-used synthetic chemical insect repellent—and also repels ticks as effectively as DEET.  ARS’s method for preparing mosquito and tick repellents is inexpensive and efficient.    Human diseases transmitted by blood feeding mosquitoes and ticks pose a serious threat to public health worldwide.  Over 700 million cases of mosquito- and tick-transmitted diseases are reported each year.  Safety and environmental concerns regarding the use of DEET have stimulated interest in the development of natural compounds.  The newly-discovered compound is an environmentally-friendly and sustainable natural product.   EPA registration is required; however, derivatives of this compound have been used as ingredients in the cosmetics industry.    Companies interested in insect repellents may be interested in this technology.   Reference:  Please refer to S.N. 11/777,795 (Docket # 0010.07), which was filed July 13, 2007.  Foreign rights are available.     Inventors:   Aijun Zhang Jerome A. Klun Plant Sciences Institute (Same as first inventor) Beltsville, MD 20705 Phone: (301) 504-9388 Phone: (301) 504-5223    Fax: (301) 504-6580    Fax: (301) 504-6580 jerome.klun@ars.usda.gov Aijun.zhang@ars.usda.gov       John F. Carroll Shifa Wang Animal and Natural Resources Institute College of Chemical Engineering Beltsville, MD 20705 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China 210037 Phone: (301) 504-9017      Fax: (301) 504-5306