CHNAES-00595; No of Pages 7

Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

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Acta Ecologica Sinica

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chnaes

Competitive, Sustainable Natural Pesticides

Manar Fawzi Bani Mfarrej ⁎, Fatimetou Mohamed Rara 1
Department of Applied Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, AD Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To control the negative effects of synthetic pesticides, natural organic pesticides should take place to be an alter-
Received 11 July 2018 native to synthetic pesticides which have a lot of harms on the environment and public health. These alternatives
Received in revised form 26 August 2018 are natural materials work as killers or repellents to reduce, destroy and kill pests which affect human health and
Accepted 27 August 2018
environment. In this research, the effectiveness of natural organic pesticides has been tested by doing preliminary
Available online xxxx
experiments as a first methodology composed of 11 ingredients of natural materials with different concentra-
Keywords:
tions to choose the most effective components and mix them in one treatment (pesticide). The results were
Natural Pesticides very positive for some of them and showed how these organic pesticides are effective in term of killing and
Environment repelling pests. Neem oil, Lavender oil, and Cottonseed oil were the most effective with high degradation time.
Public health On the other hand, Chrysanthemum liquid was the least effective as it is a liquid, not oil (oil is more concen-
Experiments trated). Moreover, Garlic oil and Mint oil were effective as repellants with high degradation time. For the second
Pests methodology where the most five effective materials based on the preliminary experiments have been mixed
Sustainable agriculture together to form one pesticide. The final pesticide showed effective results on stick insect and ants. Lack of studies
about natural organic pesticides was an obstacle in this research, where some ingredients have not been scientif-
ically tested in previous studies. This research could help to change from chemical activities used in agriculture
field to more friendly methods in term of sustainable agriculture.
© 2018 Ecological Society of China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction people are involved in agriculture and most of them use pesticides
mainly to protect their crops and agricultural products. United States
Nowadays, fruits and vegetables are no longer in the same natural consumes more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides annually, and 5.6 bil-
taste, size, smell and even color, some of them such as tomato can be lion pounds consumed worldwide yearly. Consequently, up to 25 mil-
found in a big abnormal size. Not only that, but some agricultural prod- lion people work in agriculture field suffer from accidental poisoning
ucts appear in the markets in the off-season, all that because of the ex- each year globally. To avoid these consequences and horrible statistics,
cessive consumption and misuse of the synthetic pesticides in the farms. natural organic pesticides should take place to be an alternative to syn-
According to the World Health Organization [21,19], the consumption thetic pesticides. Natural pesticides as a definition are natural materials
of the pesticides is increasing around the world especially in the devel- work as killers or repellents to reduce, destroy and kill pests such as in-
oped countries, where the first use of pesticides was in 1940. A synthetic sects, fungi, weeds and other unwanted organisms that affect human
pesticide is defined as a chemicals work as a killer or a repellent to health, agricultural crops and affect the environment as well [14,17].
reduce, destroy and kill pests such as insects, fungi, weeds and other The main objectives of this research are to test the effectiveness of nat-
unwanted organisms which affect human health, agricultural crops, ural organic pesticides on insects by doing different experiments, also to
and the environment. Pests are living organisms that infect humans or promote the sustainability approach to protect the environment and
their property and cause damage. These pesticides could be in form of public health, furthermore; raising awareness among people about the
liquid, gel, gas, powder, granules…etc. Its formulation composed of harms of synthetic pesticides on the environment and public health.
active ingredients (what kill pests) and inert ingredients (make the ac- This topic is important due to the random and increase usage of pesti-
tive ingredients work productively), in addition, statistics showed that cides with the absence of realizing the negative effects of these
pesticides contain a high concentration of active ingredient (2% to 80%). chemicals. On the other hand, this research would help to achieve the
From a statistical point, many authors [1,11,2] showed how the con- environmental sustainability in the UAE and saves the public health
sumption of synthetic pesticides increases over years. About 1.8 billion and ecosystems. According to Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council from
Estidama program, the environment is one of the most important prior-
⁎ Corresponding author.
ities, if we protect and develop it, the environment will support us in all
E-mail address: manar.mfarrej@adu.ac.ae (M.F.B. Mfarrej). aspects of our lives, such as agriculture, livestock and us as human be-
1
Assistant Professor of Environmental Health and Safety, and Public Health Student. ings. Based on that, natural organic pesticides should take place in

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.08.005
1872-2032/© 2018 Ecological Society of China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara, Competitive, Sustainable Natural Pesticides, Acta Ecologica Sinica (2018), https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.08.005
2 M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara / Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Estidama program because of it is environmental and public health relationship between using pesticides and birth defects such as prema-
benefits. The hypothesis is “natural organic pesticides are effective as turity, low birth weight, and congenital abnormality at birth, when the
synthetic pesticides [16,5]. mothers are exposed to pesticides [22].

Other diseases
2. Literature of review

Many studies showed that there is an association between exposure

2.1. Environmental effects of pesticides
to pesticides and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Pesticides can
also cause other diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Asthma, reproduc-
Many studies and researches have pointed to the danger of poison-
tive health effects and developmental and learning disorders (Salerno,
ing caused by pesticides and their impact on the pollution of the envi-
the harmful effects of pesticides on human health).
ronment where pesticides affects the environment through the
different pathways. These pesticides can affect the environment in dif-
2.3. Natural organic pesticides
ferent ways:

Air and water Instead of spending a lot of money on synthetic pesticides and get-
ting health problems and/or damaging our environment, there are nat-
Different types of pesticides are sprayed on a large area of land espe- ural alternatives to these chemicals. Natural organic pesticides are
cially on the farmland. Spraying operations by using various equipment derived from natural materials. It is very simple to save humans and
to spread the pesticides in places too far away from the target places, ecosystems from dangerous chemicals by using natural material.
form droplets that could reach the surface of water. Aquatic environ- These materials are available almost in every home such as vinegar,
ments affected by pesticides through fall and deposition of pesticides mint or red chili pepper. Unlike synthetic pesticides, organic pesticides
by rain, irrigation water and wastewater. Pesticides reach the rivers or often decompose quickly, while synthetic pesticides persist in the air,
oceans and affect the living organisms, such as crustaceans and small soil, water and on plants for a long time.
fishes.
2.4. The advantages of home-made pesticides
Plants and animals
The idea behind using home-made pesticides is because home-made
As all living organisms in the ecosystem, of course, plants and ani- pesticides have a lot of advantages [11], such as:
mals are affected by pesticides. For the plants, the rate of the develop-
• Safe for the environment and human health, unlike synthetic pesti-
ment of the plants decreased by the usage of pesticides that found in
cides.
the soil which results in a huge decrease in the harvests. On the other
• Targeting wanted pests effectively.
hand, for the animals; they also poisoning results from eating foods con-
• A small amount of home-made pesticides enough to destroy pests,
taminated with pesticide residues after spraying, and this can affect the
thus; resulting from lower exposure.
source of food and lead to animals movement, changing their food and
• They quickly decompose without leaving any harmful remnants.
even hunger. Poisoning by pesticides has an impact on the food chain;
• Inexpensive
for example, when a bird eats insects or worms that have consumed
pesticide, the pesticide will bio-accumulate in its tissues [15,6].

2.2. The effects of pesticides on human 2.5. The most active natural materials

Typically, when the environment is polluted by pesticides or any Many natural materials contain active components that have effec-
other source of pollution, certainly human will be affected because we tiveness on the insects and can be used as a pesticide, therefore; not
are living in this environment and using all our needs from it. Thus, each natural material can be used as a pesticide and not all-natural ma-
there is a direct relationship between the environment and the human terials are safe to use. Here are some of the natural materials that can be
health. Those chemicals will directly affect human health through dif- used as insecticides:
ferent routes of exposure inhalation, ingestion and dermal. There are Neem oil: “Azadirachtin” and “clarified hydrophobic” is the most ac-
many health problems that could occur because of the exposure to pes-
tive component in the Neem oil, it acts as a repellent, destroys and
ticides includes:
reduces pests and insects by impeding the hormone system of
Cancer insects and prevent insects from growing and laying eggs. Neem
oil targets many types of pests and insects, such as locusts and nem-
Many studies have been conducted by The Agricultural Health Study atodes. Besides, neem oil is non-toxic to birds, mammals, bees and
(AHS) to prove the relationship between the exposure to pesticides and plants (Environmental Protection Agency).
developing cancer by studying the potential effects of pesticides on Rice bran and cottonseed oil: contain many active components
farmers. According to AHS, different published studies indicated that used to control, kill or repel many types of insects, such as cowoea
there is a relationship between exposure to pesticide and developing
beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus), Silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia
all type of cancers. Researchers found many cases of cancer, such as
argentifolli), bugs and mite pests [3,18].
lung cancer and prostate cancer among farmers and their families [2].
Chrysanthemum: contain active ingredients that work effectively as
Birth and fetal defects insecticide “Pyrethrins and pyrethroids”. Used to control bugs, in-
door insects, and other insects. These components affect the nervous
According to a study published in 2009 entitled “Agrichemicals in system of the insect by changing the nerve function leading to paral-
surface water and birth defects in the United States” the highest rate ysis and death, and it is not toxic to human, birds and mammals
of birth defects in the united states increase when the pregnancy hap- (Environmental Protection Agency).
pen during spring and summer season, where the use of pesticides
Tomato leaves: nightshade family member, contain in their leaves
arise. Moreover; they found a high concentration of pesticides on the
toxic elements called “alkaloids”, they release this component
surface of water. Consequently, researchers have reported a positive

Please cite this article as: M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara, Competitive, Sustainable Natural Pesticides, Acta Ecologica Sinica (2018), https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.08.005
 M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara / Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 3

when the leaves are chopped, where it is effective on aphids and Table 2 t2:1
The LD50 for some natural elements used as insecticides. t2:2
other pests [20].
Lemon (Limonene): it is effective on fleas, aphids and mites. They Common name LD50 mg/kg t2:3

can kill fire ants, several types of flies, paper wasps and house Garlic 850 t2:4
Neem 31.95 t2:5
crickets [8].
Citric acid 3000 t2:6
Lavender, clove and garlic: these materials work as effective insect Lavender oil 5000 t2:7
repellents and parasiticides for lice, fleas, scabies, ticks, mosquitos, Clove oil 2650 t2:8
Chrysanthemum 5620 t2:9
ants, moths, etc. [9].

2.6. Lethal Dose of pesticides (LD50) 2.8. Pesticides Half-life

LD50 is the acronym of (Lethal Dose) which is a way of testing Pesticide Half-life is the amount of time that takes a pesticide to be
the toxicity of chemicals by determines the dose that can kill 50% reduced to half. The reason for this to happen is that the pesticides
of the population under specific conditions. LD50 is commonly repre- breaks down in the environment. “In general, a pesticide will break
sented in milligram of chemical to kilograms of the body weight, down to 50% of the original amount after a single half-life. After two
consequently; these results depend on the exposure to chemicals, half-lives, 25% will remain. About 12% will remain after three half-
if the exposure by ingestion, the resulting number called (oral lives. This continues until the amount remaining is nearly zero”. For
LD50), while; if the exposure is by skin, the resulting number called each pesticide, there can be more than one half-life, and that depends
(dermal LD50) on the environment. A good example for that is permethrin, what will
Based on Tables 1 and 2, it can easily be noticed the differences in the determine the speed of its breakdown, depends on if it's in the soil,
toxicity degree between chemicals and natural materials and how nat- water, plants, and in homes.
ural materials are safe to use (World Health Organization) (Material
Safety Data Sheet) [7]. • In soil, permethrin takes about 40 days to break down, ranging from
11 to 113 days.
2.7. Synthetic pesticides incidence • In water, permethrin takes the shorter time to break down, which is
19–27 h, but if it sticks with a sediment, permethrin can last for over
According to Canadian Pesticide Incident Reporting Database, there a year.
are thousands of pesticides incident reports, showing how synthetic • If permethrin is applied on plants, the half-life would range from 1 to
pesticides have severe effects on human health, environment and 3 weeks, which also depends on the plant species.
domestic animals. Here are some of these reports: • In homes, the half-life of permethrin can be tremendously changeable,
it is predicted to be over, or highly over 20 days [13].
• Incident report number (2016–5423): In Canada, a lady exposed to an • The soil adsorption coefficient can be viewed as a list for pesticide por-
active ingredient in pesticide “D-CIS, TRANS ALLETHRIN” in a product tability; be that as it may, one should likewise consider the pesticide's
called (OFF! Mosquito Coils) the lady was indoor where the pesticide half-life. For example, the main three pesticides have generally low
applied, and she experienced chest pain, irritated throat, coughing soil adsorption coefficients, which conclude that they can possibly
and respiratory congestion. The time between exposure and onset of drain. Be that as it may, they additionally have short half-lives so for
symptoms was about 30 min. the most part they don't keep going sufficiently long in the soil to
• Incident report number (2016–5127): a lady has chicken coop near to achieve groundwater. These numbers are valuable for contrasting rel-
a field, where a pesticide called (Bayer Corvus Herbicide) was applied ative contrasts between pesticides and should not be understood as
in the field. This pesticide contains active ingredients with 19% con- total values [4].
centration of “ISOXAFLUTOLE” and “THIENCARABAZONE-METHYL”.
The lady observed that the chickens started showing signs of breath-
2.9. Role on living organisms
ing heavily on the day after application, then she found 10 chickens
died on the morning after application, and 2 chickens died that eve-
Up until now, the dissertation has concentrated on air, soil, and
ning, eventually she lost 23 chickens. Besides, her dogs were playing
water. In any case, living life forms may likewise assume a critical part
next to the field during the application; the dogs experienced some
in pesticide circulation. This is especially essential for pesticides which
symptoms, such as vomiting and laziness in the evening after
can aggregate in living animals. A case of aggregation is the take-up of
application.
an exceptionally water-insoluble pesticide, for example, chlordane, by
an animal living in water. Since this pesticide is put- away in the living
These few incident reports show how the exposure to pesticides is organisms, the pesticide gathers and levels increment after some time.
severe and dangerous and in some cases can lead to death. Environ- On the off chance that this living being is eaten by a higher living organ-
ment, human, and animals can be badly affected. ism which likewise can store this pesticide, levels can achieve higher
values in the higher living being that is available in the water in which
it lives. Levels in viewpoint, for instance, can be tens to an enormous
t1:1 Table 1
number of times more remarkable than around water levels of a similar
t1:2 LD50 for some elements used in synthetic pesticides. pesticide. This kind of aggregation is called bioaccumulation.
In such manner, it must to be recalled that people are at the highest
t1:3 Common name LD50 mg/kg
point of the natural way of life this might be presented to these abnor-
t1:4 Aldicarb 0.93 mal states when they eat. This means pesticides and other chemicals
t1:5 Brodifacoum 0.3
will bioaccumulate in their bodies [12].
t1:6 Parathion 13
t1:7 Methyl-parathion 14
t1:8 Mercuric chloride 1 3. Methodology
t1:9 Phorate 2
t1:10 DDT 113 The main purpose of this research is to discuss and test the benefits
t1:11 Diazinon 300
and the effectiveness of the natural organic pesticides to be alternatives

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10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.08.005
4 M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara / Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. Categories of toxicity of LD50.

to the synthetic pesticides. The entire work was based on the experi- at all with this concentration. Therefore; the concentrations were
mental design and gathering information from previous studies changed to find the best concentration with (25 ml) of each ingredient
[11,18]. Neem leaves, Neem kernel, Vasaka leaves, cow dung, cow and (75 ml) of vinegar and (75 ml) of water. Moreover, 11 plants have
urine and the use of death craves & goat were widely used for the prep- been labeled with the name of the ingredient that will be used on
aration of homemade bio-pesticides in the previous studies [11]. This each one of them (Fig. 6). On the other hand, the degradation for each
research used different combinations of natural materials and active in- ingredient was noted, after spraying the pesticide on the plant, we
gredients (cottonseed oil, lavender oil, neem oil and chrysanthemum counted how much time it will take to break down in the environment
liquid, Garlic oil, Mint oil, Orange oil, Onion oil, Clove oil). Based on and the insects will come back on the plant (Fig. 5).
the preliminary experiments, all ingredients have been tested sepa-
Last concentrations of preliminary experiments:
rately with 5 ml of each one alone, where the essential solvents were
vinegar (50 ml) [10] and water (50 ml). The experiments were 1st experiment: 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
dnoducted in Abu Dhabi University laboratory and applied in Abu 2nd experiment: 25 ml Neem oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
Dhabi University Park and Alain city. All data were collected and ana- 3rd experiment: 25 ml Lavender oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
lyzed and presented in tabular form. 4th experiment: 25 ml Cottonseed oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
5th experiment: 25 ml chrysanthemum liquid & 75 ml vinegar & 75
First concentrations of preliminary experiments:
ml water
1st experiment: 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water 6th experiment: 25 ml Mint oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
2nd experiment: 5 ml Neem oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water 7th experiment: 25 ml Garlic oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
3rd experiment: 5 ml Lavender oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
4th experiment: 5 ml Cottonseed oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
5th experiment: 50 ml chrysanthemum liquid without added ingre-
dients, because it is liquid not oil, therefore; no need to dilute it more
6th experiment: 5 ml Mint oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
7th experiment: 5 ml Garlic oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
8th experiment: 5 ml Onion oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
9th experiment: 5 ml clove oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water
10th experiment: 5 ml Orange oil & 50 ml vinegar & 50 ml water

For each ingredient, the component has been mixed in a concentra-

tion of (5 ml) with vinegar (50 ml) and water (50 ml) (Figs. 1, 2), then
the mixture has been boiled by using “Stirring Hot Plate” machine on
150 °C to make it homogenous (Fig. 3), after that the mixture has
been cooled and poured into the sprayer bottles (Fig. 4). These pesti-
cides were used on different types of insects, however; it did not work
Fig. 3. Stirring hot plate.

Fig. 2. some of the material used in the experiments. Fig. 4. Samples of the preliminary experiments.

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Fig. 5. All the preliminary experiments sprayer bottles.

8th experiment: 25 ml Onion oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water

9th experiment: 25 ml clove oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water
10th experiment: 25 ml Orange oil & 75 ml vinegar & 75 ml water

4. Results

The pesticides showed the below results after application.

As shown in Table 3 above, water does not have any effect on kill or
repel the pests as we assumed, however, the vinegar was effective in re- Fig. 7. The natural materials used in the final treatment.
pelling pest with very low degradation, when water and vinegar were
mixed, the resulted combination showed effectiveness as a repellant.
On the other hand, neem oil, lavender oil, and cottonseed oil were effec-
highest degradation time have been mixed together in order to
tive in killing and repelling insects with high degradation time. Besides,
have one treatment. The final treatment is composed of very effective
clove oil, mint oil, and onion oil were very effective as repellents with
natural ingredients which are: Neem oil, Cottonseed oil, Lavender oil,
moderate degradation time. Chrysanthemum liquid and orange oil
Mint oil and Garlic oil mixed with vinegar in specific concentrations,
showed very low effectiveness with low degradation time. Pesticides in-
and water was excluded from the ingredient in order to keep the
fluence the ability of the bees to fly but it does not kill them indicating
mixture strong, as water diluted the mixture before and made it
safety on pollinators. We refer the inability to fly to the oil which
less effective.
makes the wings heavy and sticky. However; bees get back to fly after
minutes of spraying the pesticides. Final treatment concentrations
20 ml Neem oil
20 ml Cottonseed oil
5. Second methodology (final treatment)
20 ml Lavender oil
Based on the results of the preliminary experiments, the compo- 20 ml Mint oil
nents of the final treatment (pesticide) have been chosen. The most 20 ml garlic oil
effective components in term of killing and repelling pests with 100 ml vinegar

Fig. 6. Some of the labeled plants.

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7. Limitations

In this research, many obstacles were faced because of the time-

limited, we found difficulties in finding various insects especially in
parks and some farm there were only ants, therefore; we could not
test the pesticides on various specious of insects that target plants. On
the other hand, we found some difficulties in finding some ingredients.
Also, the rainy and windy weather during the application of pesticides
made the work very hard.

8. Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion, all studies that were written about pesticides proved

that synthetic pesticides have many negative effects on human health
and environment. The main purpose of this report was to find out the
effects of natural pesticides on the environment in several aspects. Our
study has shown that natural organic pesticides are effective on insects
and safe on environment. Natural pesticides will help to change our ag-
riculture environment from highly toxic to safe sustainable environ-
ment free of chemicals.
The final treatment was based on the effectiveness of preliminary
experiments. The final pesticide was composed of neem oil, lavender
oil, cottonseed oil, mint oil and garlic oil with vinegar as a solvent. Nat-
ural pesticides are only a part of the solutions; sustainable agriculture is
a wide field, however; they will help farmers and people to change from
Fig. 8. The final treatment (pesticide). their chemical activities on pests management to more friendly and
healthy ways.

All these components with these specific concentrations have been

mixed together (Figs. 7 and 8) and heated by using “stirring hot plate”
machine to mix the oils with vinegar and make it homogenous, and fi-
383 nally, fill it up in the sprayer bottle. The final treatment was effective
384 on stick insect (Fig. 9) and ants.

385 6. Discussion

386 Based on the results of the preliminary experiments, some of the

natural pesticides work effectively on killing insects, and others
were effective as repellants, where the insect were exposed to the
pesticide through one of the routes of exposure either inhalation or
absorption or even both. The most effective ones were Neem oil, Lav-
ender oil and Cottonseed in term of killing the pests. On the other
hand, Chrysanthemum liquid was the least effective one because it
is a liquid, not oil where oil is more concentrated. Garlic oil and
Mint oil were effective as repellants with high degradation time,
which end up with mixing all of them together to get the benefits
from each component.
Some of these results agreed with a study done by Mourshed [11].
That study showed same results especially using Neem, union, and gar-
lic, they used it as crops and leaves on 3 types of insects which are
aphids, beetles and stem borer.
On the other hand, the results agreed with what mentioned by Walia
et al. [18] about cottonseed which has the capability to kill white flies
and ants. During the application of pesticides, accidentally the pesticide
has been sprayed on the face and eyes, also dripped on the hand and it
does not show any symptoms or allergy even in the eyes and skin at all,
which shows that how organic pesticides are totally safe for human. Be-
cause of the lack of studies about natural pesticides, we could not com-
pare other results with previous studies. Our results showed how these
natural pesticides can work as good and effective as synthetic pesticides
and the hypothesis of the research accepted, however; with more ben-
efits to human and environment, although the experiments showed
successful results.
Fig. 9. Died stick insect after exposed to the natural pesticide.

Please cite this article as: M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara, Competitive, Sustainable Natural Pesticides, Acta Ecologica Sinica (2018), https://doi.org/
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 M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara / Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 7

t3:1 Table 3
t3:2 Insects died after the exposure to organic pesticides.

t3:3 Used ingredients Killer Repellent Degradation time

t3:4 Water No effect No effect ‫ــــ‬

t3:5 Vinegar No effect effective 10 min
t3:6 Water & vinegar No effect effective 10–20 min
t3:7 Neem oil 3 ants, 1 spider Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants, butterflies 2h
t3:8 Lavender oil 2 ants Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants 1 h 45 min
t3:9 Cottonseed oil Ants Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, white flies, spiders, ants 2h
t3:10 Chrysanthemum liquid No effect No effect 20 min
t3:11 Mint oil No effect Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants 1 h 30 min
t3:12 Garlic oil No effect Moderate effect. Repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants 50 min
t3:13 Clove oil No effect Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants 1 h 20 min
t3:14 Orange oil No effect Slight effect 20 min
t3:15 Onion oil No effect Effective, repel grasshoppers, bees, flies, spiders, ants 1 h 30 min

Final recommendations are: [8] V. Kandpal, Biopesticides, Research India Publications, 2014.
[9] J. Lawless, The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, Conari Press, San Francisco, 2013.
■ Paying attention to pesticides handling and storage and taking safety [10] Material Safety Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from science lab: https://www.
sciencelab.com/msdsList.php
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■ Using the natural organic pesticides as an alternative to the synthetic (2013) 18–25.
pesticides. [12] Movement of Pesticides in the Environment, Retrieved from http://pmep.cce.cor-
nell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/TIB/movement.html 1993.
■ Using natural organic pesticides to ensure healthy environment. [13] Pesticides Half-life, Retrieved from National Pesticide Information Center, http://
■ The industries of pesticides must manufacture highly efficient or- npic.orst.edu/factsheets/half-life.html 2015.
ganic pesticides. [14] Pesticides Incident Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved from Health Canada: http://pr-rp.hc-sc.
gc.ca/pi-ip/ir-di-eng.php
[15] Pesticides. (2008 July). Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.
who.int/ceh/capacity/Pesticides.pdf
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Please cite this article as: M.F.B. Mfarrej, F.M. Rara, Competitive, Sustainable Natural Pesticides, Acta Ecologica Sinica (2018), https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.08.005