Latest news with #MaritimeNoon
CBC
09-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Does lemongrass really repel ticks? This expert decided to find out
Social Sharing As Nova Scotians long for warmer weather this spring, the province's large tick population is doing the same. Blacklegged ticks, or deer ticks, are often found around Nova Scotia, hiding in long grass and attaching to a host without notice. Bites from these insects can result in Lyme and other diseases in humans and animals. But researchers at Acadia University's chemistry department are working to determine if lemongrass essential oil works as a natural tick repellent. CBC Radio's Maritime Noon spoke with Dr. Nicolette Faraone with Acadia's chemistry department about their latest research and what Nova Scotians should know ahead of tick season. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What did you observe when ticks came in contact with lemongrass essential oil? Ticks get repelled. They don't like the smell of lemongrass. They wave their front legs, try to smell the repellent and they back off. So, it's a good sign. How did you test this? We did a type of test in our lab and we assessed their repellent effect. We had sticks that we put in a plate and they were surrounded by the lemongrass and we checked if they were crossing the area treated with the lemongrass. If they cross, it means that they were not repelled, but most of the time they stay in the confined area, indicating that they were repelled. How does the lemongrass affect the ticks? They kind of stop moving and considering the ticks are almost totally blind, the moment that you block the ability of them to smell, which is the way they orient themselves in their environment, they don't know where to go. That's why they are inhibited and they get stuck. Why does lemongrass seem to work? What is it in lemongrass that the ticks don't like? Lemongrass essential oil, and all the essential oils, are made by a mix of different components and each one may have different properties and different effects. So what we did in our study was also analyze the different components of lemongrass, which are very smelly compounds. And we found that citral geraniol, geranyl are the main chemicals that are responsible for the repellent activity that we've seen in ticks. And this compound is also commonly found in other types of essential oils like lemon essential oil, citrus essential oils and so on. Some people in the past have not been comfortable spraying on the kinds of insect repellents that contain chemicals such as DEET. So lemongrass, the essential oil, is a natural product. Is it safer to use? I would say since I'm a chemist, I know that everything is basically a chemical and if it's not used properly at the right concentration, it can be dangerous. Now essential oils, which are natural products, are safer than synthetic-made components and compounds because they are biodegradable. They degrade faster in the environment and they have less of an impact on humans and the environment. So, I would say they are safer, but they need to be used wisely. What would you say is the significance of your findings when you put it in the context of what currently is on the market and what we see as a seemingly growing tick population in the region? What we found in our study is that essential oils and specifically in this case, lemongrass, induce a certain inhibitory activity. So they mask the other smells around, making the tick unable to detect a potential host. Now, there's so much more to do in terms of research and understanding the mechanism of other detection. But this is quite promising because it gives us a better understanding of how ticks can find us. Since the tick population is growing in Canada, especially in the northern territories, because of climate change and because of changes in the climate in general, we need to be more aware and be more conscious that ticks are out there. What direction do you plan to go with your future research? The idea is to try to better understand the mechanism of the repellent and the attraction on ticks because this information can give us the right tool to properly design a good repellent product. In fact, I've been working for many years with a Nova Scotia company, AtlanTick, and we have been working on developing new products that are essential oil-based that can be applied on the skin or on fabric. So the idea is not just knowing the chemical ecology of ticks, but by using this information to properly develop products that can give us protection and can avoid the spread of Lyme disease.
CBC
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Interfaith meeting in Wolfville postponed over U.S. border concerns
A multi-denominational faith meeting that was set to take place in Wolfville, N.S., this summer has been postponed over U.S. border concerns. The North American Interfaith Network was to hold its first in-person conference since COVID-19, but a recent poll of its attendees showed most of them aren't comfortable making the trip across the American border. "In early February, we sent out a communique to our member organizations asking them if the new political climate would have any bearing whatsoever on their attendance. And three-quarters of those who responded said we are unable to commit at this time because of the uncertainty of the circumstances of our day," Rob Hankinson, a retired United Church minister and co-ordinator of the conference, told CBC's Maritime Noon on Monday. Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, there have been several high-profile incidents of tourists and visa holders being stopped at U.S. border crossings, or being held for weeks at American immigration detention facilities. Organizers of the Moving Trans History Forward conference in B.C. told The Canadian Press last week its U.S. participants also expressed concerns about crossing into Canada because of what could happen when they try to cross back into the U.S. Hankinson said over the last 30 years, the interfaith conference has usually drawn about 120 attendees from the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Drea Parker of Charlotte, N.C., would have been among the participants this year. She said that as a U.S. citizen she wasn't concerned about travelling herself, but she could sympathize with others planning to attend the conference. "I myself am not a person that ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would be looking for … I'm born and raised in America, but I have a lot of friends and colleagues that are working through their visas, trying to get those completed, getting their green cards confirmed and they're concerned. And so I just, I feel for them," Parker told Maritime Noon. Parker said she is saddened by the decision to defer the conference but she understands. "I feel like with everything that's happening currently in the political environment, there's no telling what's going to be happening in August. So I think it's better safe than sorry," she said. Hankinson said organizers didn't want to put people in any form of jeopardy. "When people responded saying that they were unable to commit because of their own sense of anxiety or uncertainty, because of these new circumstances, we wanted to respect that," he said. The North American Interfaith Network meeting, first held in Wichita, Kan., in 1988, brings together people from different faith backgrounds. Hankinson said this year's conference was going to focus on best practices to address social justice issues. He said it would have been the first time for the event in Nova Scotia. While the in-person conference has been postponed, Hankinson said the network's board of directors is meeting later this week to discuss possibly moving the event online.
