39. Catnip – safer pesticide potential

If a plebiscite were held among the perhaps 100 million species on Earth to identify the most serious pest on the planet, humans would be chosen. We are responsible for a biodiversity holocaust that is now rivalling the great mass extinctions of geological history. Ironically, as the world’s worst pest, one of the most serious ways we reduce the planet’s biodiversity is the use of pesticides – substances that in principle are intended to kill or deter target organisms, but almost always harm numerous other species. Today, the use of safer pesticides is an important way to reduce mankind’s destruction of innocent species. In this contribution, the possible pesticide value of an unlikely source is explored: common Catnip, a plant best known as an attractant to cats rather than as a repellent to pests.