PLAGUED by insects? Then slap on some tomato extract: it’s just as effective as many of the bug repellents used today, and much less of an irritant.
As every hiker knows, modern insect repellents aren’t exactly user friendly. Chemicals such as DEET work well enough, but in high concentrations the noxious fluid can irritate the skin or even dissolve plastic in clothing, tents and sleeping bags.
This is where Michael Roe, an entomologist from North Carolina State University, reckons tomato plants can help. Roe was studying a protein that kills mosquito larvae when he realised that key features of the…
