@article {121,
	title = {Repellency of essential oils and their components to the human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus},
	journal = {Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata},
	volume = {78},
	year = {1996},
	month = {1996},
	pages = {309 - 314},
	abstract = {Five essential oils and nine of their components were compared to diethyl toluamide (DEET) for their repellent activity against the human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus. The absolute or intrinsic repellency of the compounds was tested by applying the repellent to corduroy patches and comparing them with untreated patches. It was found that the most effective repellents were DEET and citronella, whose activity lasted at least 29 days. The activity of rosemary lasted at least 18 days and that of eucalyptus more than 8 days. The repellent activity of the oil components such as citronellal and geraniol lasted more than 15 and 8 days, respectively. DEET remained effective at a dilution of 1:32, geraniol at 1:8, citronella at 1:4 and rosemary and citronellal at 1:1. The comparative or standard repellency of the candidate repellents was examined with the aid of a new screening technique using hairs treated with ammonium bicarbonate which is attractive to lice. Using this technique it could be shown that the repellent activity of citronella and geraniol lasted 2 days and that of rosemary and citronellal for only one day. DEET was active for less than one day. Serial dilutions of these substances also revealed that citronella was the most potent repellent for lice, followed by citronellal, rosemary, geraniol and DEET. The differences however, were not significant.},
	keywords = {Anoplura, body louse, human, oils, pdf, Pediculidae, pediculosis, Pediculus humanus, repellent},
	url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/Publications/38614.pdf},
	author = {Mumcuoglu,Kosta Y. and Galun,Rachel and Bach,Uri and Miller,Jacqueline and Magdassi,Shlomo}
}
@article {20,
	title = {A comparison of botanical and synthetic substances commonly used to prevent head lice (Pediculus humanus var. capitis) infestation},
	journal = {International Journal of Dermatology},
	volume = {46},
	year = {2007},
	month = {2007},
	pages = {422 - 426},
	abstract = {Background Pediculosis, caused by head lice (Pediculidae: Pediculus humanus var. capitis), is experiencing a global resurgence, with the prevalence in primary schools averaging as high as 40\% in some areas regardless of socioeconomic factors. Control efforts using chemical treatments are becoming increasingly ineffective, with insecticide resistance recorded in several countries. Prevention using repellents and oils would be useful if they limited transmission. Many commercially available substances reputedly have effective repellent qualities, but remain untested.Methods This study tested the preventative efficacy of N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) against several commercially available botanicals to clarify their value as transmission inhibitors, irritants, repellents, and antifeedants.
Results The transfer of head lice to treated hairs was limited by the slippery nature of the oils rather than their repellent qualities. Irritancy was not important because lice proceeded despite being highly irritated, except in the case of coconut. Tea tree and peppermint caused the most repellence, and tea tree and lavender prevented some blood feeding on treated skin. Comparatively, tea tree oil was most efficacious, with DEET ranking equal second overall with coconut, peppermint, and a botanical mixture.
Conclusions Neither DEET nor any of the botanicals tested showed sufficient preventative efficacy to be endorsed.},
	keywords = {DEET, repellent},
	author = {Canyon,Deon V. and Speare,Richard}
}
