 Aedes Aegypti, commonly known as Aedes mosquitoes, are a dangerous species of mosquitoes, which play the role of the carriers of potentially deadly diseases such as Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever.  This species of mosquito causes more than 30,000 Yellow Fever deaths each year.  There have been many epidemics in Singapore caused by Aedes Mosquitoes mainly due to dengue fever. In 2005, there were almost 14,000 cases of dengue fever (exceeding the annual average by 10000) and 19 deaths. This year’s count is already breaking the previous records.  Earlier this year, there has been an outbreak of a new strain of Dengue, commonly known as Chikugunya Fever. There are 10 cases discovered so far. Patients face similar symptoms to that of Dengue Fever, and in serious cases, death.

I’m going to suck some blood… I’m really sweaty! AHHH! It stinks! Now I have a headache! (fly away) What a “LIFESAVER”! What powerful weapon does this can use to repel mosquitoes?  We also hope to raise awareness on mosquito-repelling efforts and Dengue prevention measures.  Through this, we hope that our project can benefit the community.

For the experiment, we needed a sample of mosquitoes. However, we could not buy them, so the only choice was to breed them. Here’s how we breed them Check the traps on Mondays and Thursdays. Pour the water into trays. Place the traps in our school’s eco-garden. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in these traps. Scour for the mosquito larvae Transfer the larvae into containers. Give them food (crushed dog food)

 Aim:  To find the relative effectiveness of the rumoured traditional mosquito repellents in comparison to DEET.  Hypothesis:  DEET works better than any of the organic repellents. Lemon Eucalyptus would work comparatively well against the other repellents.  Materials 6 containers Oil of Rose Spearmint Oil Calendula Oil Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Lavender Oil DEET 6 droppers Mosquitoes  Independent Variable:  Type of repellent used.  Dependent Variable:  Agitation of the mosquitoes in each set-up.  Distance of mosquitoes from the repellent.  Controlled Variables:  Number of mosquitoes, amount of repellent used and size of the container.  Control Set-up:  A container, 3 mosquitoes and the chemical repellent DEET.

 Use the dropper to put two drops of Rose Oil into 1 container.  Do the same for the other 5 containers  Observe the mosquitoes’ reaction to the substance used  Record down the relative effectiveness of the repellents in a table  Repeat the experiment twice to ensure reliable results

RepellentAgitation of mosquitoes Distance of mosquitoes from smell Total DEET 000 Rose 011 Spearmint 336 Calendula 134 Lemon Eucalyptus 448 Lavender (the least effective) (the most effective) DEETRoseCalendulaSpearmint Lemon Eucalyptus Lavender

 Aim:  To find out if combining the rumoured natural repellents and/or DEET together make it stronger in repelling mosquitoes.  Hypothesis:  Combining the rumoured natural repellents and DEET together will make it more effective in repelling mosquitoes.  Materials: 15 containers Oil of Rose Spearmint Oil Calendula Oil Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Lavender Oil DEET 6 droppers Mosquitoes  Independent Variable:  Type of repellent used. (combinations)  Dependent Variable:  Agitation of the mosquitoes in each set- up.  Distance of mosquitoes from repellent.  Controlled Variables:  Number of mosquitoes, amount of repellent used and size of the container.  Control Set-up:  Container, five mosquitoes and chemical repellent DEET.

 Use the dropper to put one drop of Rose Oil and one drop of Spearmint oil into 1 container.  Do the same for the other 14 containers. The combination of the oils are: RepellentsRoseSpearmintCalendulaLemon Eucalyptus LavenderDEET Rose Spearmint Calendula Lemon Eucalyptus Lavender DEET000000

 All the rumored smells besides rose are effective in repelling mosquitoes to a certain extent.  Some smells are more effective than others.  DEET, neither repels nor kills the mosquitoes.  Combining 2 smells together will not enhance the effect of the smells  Combining the repulsive smells with DEET will cancel out the effect of the smells and the DEET as well.  It’s just like approaching a rubbish dump with a blocked nose DEET is the best repellent DEET does not repel mosquitoes; it only blocks their sense of smell, deeming them unable to find their victims Combining repellents make them stronger in repelling mosquitoes Combining them do not make them stronger; it merely averages out their effectiveness. Combining anything with DEET will neutralize effects of both repellents

 thedoninme.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html      Our Mentor,  Mr. Pang Sze Kiang  Our advisors,  Ms. Serene Choo  Mr. Jeremy Kong  The lab technicians for helping us manage the lab.  Our friends and family members who have supported us in this project  Everyone who has helped us in one way or another

Any Questions?