Effectiveness of Chili, Orange Peel,
and Cinnamon Essential Oil Extract as a Pest Repellant
Paul Ivan T.
Introduction
One of our greatest problems
especially the farmers are the pests.
They cause us many troubles. They
eat the plants from which we get our
food and they also make the work of
farmers more difficult.
Rice is a staple food in the Philippines.
It connotes survival, and the absence
of it would mean starvation. If the pests
destroy it continuously, time may come
that we will experience the scarcity of
rice. On the other hand, these pests
also affect the fruits and vegetables
from which we get the nutrients that
are needed by our body and from
which many people get their income.
Objectives of the Study
This study aims to determine the
effectivity of chili (Capsicum annuum),
orange peels (Citrus sinensis), and
cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) as an
organic pest repellant.
Specifically, this study aims to:
Compare the effectivity of chili, orange
peels and cinnamon essential oil
extract in warding off ants.
1
Bautista ,
Gerome M. 1
Fevidal ,
and Daniel V. Tuazon 1
1High School Department, Diliman Preparatory School
Methodology Results and Discussion Conclusion
Preparation of the Spray with Table 1 shows the computation of the Based on the results, cinnamon
Orange Peel effectiveness of each spray. The essential oil spray is most effective ant
265 milliliters orange peels extract and effectiveness percentage of the orange repellant.
474 milliliters of water were added in a peel spray is 23%, whereas the
beaker and mixed. percentage for chili is 40% and for the
cinnamon essential oil is 46.67%. This
Preparation of the Spray with Chili shows that the cinnamon essential oil
135 milliliters of chili pepper,15grams spray is the most effective among the
of black pepper, and 474 milliliters of three sprays. Recommendation
water were added in a beaker and
mixed. Table 1. Computation of Effectiveness of the Spray Based on the results and conclusions
gathered, the researchers recommend
Preparation of the Spray with Spray No. of ants No. Ants left Equation Percent
the following for the future use of this
Cinnamon Essential Oil Control study:
47.3176 milliliters of cinnamon Use of other organic repellants such
essential oil and 474 milliliters of water Chili 30 18
30 18
40%
as coffee grounds (ants are repulsed
100
were added in a beaker and mixed. 30
by the strong smell the brewed
Orange peel 30 23 23.33%
coffee grounds put out), mint (mint
Applying the Spray 30 23
100 deteriorates the smelling abilities of
30
The ants were enticed using a ants and thus, aids in preventing ant
chocolate chip cookie. After the ants attacks), and cucumber and pepper
Cinnamon 30 16 46.67%
were attracted, 30 ants were manually 30 16
100 (the taste of cucumber and smell of
30
collected for each setup. Three (3) pepper is not appealing to ants).
trays were prepared, each having a
dimension of 30x30 centimeters. Cinnamon disrupts ant communication.
Another chocolate chip cookie was Cinnamon leaf oil upsets an ants sense of
placed at the center of each tray so the smell. Ants rely on a chemical scent known
ants will stay in one place. Thirty (30) as pheromones to find food and send
ants were placed in each tray. A small signals back to their home base.
amount of water was placed around
the edge of each tray so that the ants
would not cross it. The chili spray was
applied to the ants in setup A, the
orange peel spray to the ants in setup
B, and the cinnamon essential oil spray
to the ants in setup C. Each setup was
sprayed with 2 milliliters of each
Figure 1. Chili, orange peel, and
extract. cinnamon essential oil extract.