Insect repellent finish of cotton fabric using natural eucalyptus, clove and Myrtle

Insects are one of the greatest public health concerns due to their irritating bites and transmission of pathogens . As awareness grows about the adverse effects of insecticides on health and the environment, the use of insect repellent textiles can play an important role in ensuring human health. Since textiles are in contact with the skin, it is necessary to use harmless repellents. Therefore, in this research the possibility of replacing chemical compounds with natural substances was investigated. The results of the cone test indicated that the samples treated with the chemical ATT and the samples treated with Eucalyptus extract for 5% of mosquitoes, and the samples treated with Eucalyptus essential oil and Myrtus, for more than 50% of the mosquitoes have knockdown properties. The results of evaluating the repellency of the samples with the arm in the cage test showed that the protection time of the samples treated with essential oils is about 120 minutes and the sample treated with ATT is about 90 minutes, in other words, the performance of the samples treated with essential oils is better than the sample treated with eucalyptus extract and ATT. The FTIR results confirmed the presence of chemical and natural repellants on cotton fabric. Also, the effect of this finishing on other physical and mechanical properties of the fabric was investigated by comparing the treated samples and the raw sample, and it was found that the samples treated with essential oils compared to the raw sample has no significant difference.