ABSTRACT 1

In combating household pests particularly flies, several traditional ways have been documented and applied. Preliminary studies conducted at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) revealed several indigenous plants with great potential as biopesticides. Pelargonium radula, or also known as ‘pokok halau nyamuk’ has great potential to be used as household biopesticide in combating pest problems. The plant is claimed to control mosquitoes, cockroaches and flies. The proposed study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of jeremin oil extract as bioinsecticide against household flies. Steam distillation is used to extract the oil from fresh jeremin plant. The extract is prepared in Tween-20 and distilled water to get an emulsion or formulation to be tested against flies. Five clear well-ventilated glass containers (small aquarium with netted lid or cover) are used to test four different concentrations of jeremin oil (100%, 50%, 25% and 5%) and 1 control (Tween-20 and water) against flies. At one edge of each container, 2 ml of oil extract at different concentration/control is put in a beaker. Ten household flies are put in the container.  The behaviours of the flies are recorded – mortality, response to the repellant, etc. Analysis of chemical compounds is carried out using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). The concentration that showed the highest repellant activity is chosen for product formulation/product development. The extract is then transformed into bar using gelling agent or plant lipid materials such as lye from palm oil and is used in house kitchen to keep away the flies.