Fabric softener sheets repel gnats

LAWRENCE, Kan., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers confirm Bounce fabric softener sheets effectively repel fungus gnats.

Raymond Cloyd of the University of Kansas in Manhattan and colleagues conducted experiments to determine if the gardeners' claim insects were repelled by the fabric softener sheets tucked into their pockets was fact or folklore.

The study, published in HortScience, concluded the Procter and Gamble product in the Outdoor Fresh Scent repelled fungus gnat adults under laboratory conditions.

"In all five experiments, the mean proportion of fungus gnat adults collected in the sample compartments containing the dryer sheets were significantly fewer, ranging from 12 percent to 18 percent, whereas the compartments without dryer sheets contained 33 percent to 48 percent of the fungus gnats released in the arena," Cloyd says in statement.

Gas chromatography -- mass spectrometry detected linalool in the sheets. This colorless monterpene alcohol is toxic to a number of insects and naturally present in plants such as lavender. Also found were high levels of beta-citronellol -- a compound naturally found in plants such as lemon balm that repels mosquitoes.

The researchers noted important issues needed to be resolved before Bounce sheets can be widely recommended, but in the future the dryer sheets may become an alternative strategy to deal with fungus gnat populations in greenhouses.