The potential of botanical essential oils for insect pest control

Today, Insect Pest management (IPM) has to face up to the economic and ecological consequences of the use of pest control measures. Fifty years of sustained struggle against harmful insects using synthetic and oil-derivative molecules has produced perverse secondary effects (mammalian toxicity, insect resistance and ecological hazards). The diversification of the approaches inherent in IPM is necessary for better environmental protection. Among the alternative strategies, the use of plants, insecticidal allelochemicals appears to be promising. Aromatic plants, and their essential oils, are among the most efficient botanicals. Their activities are manifold. They induce fumigant and topical toxicity as well as antifeedant or repellent effects. They are toxic to adults but also inhibit reproduction. Although mechanisms depend on phytochemical patterns and are not yet well known, this widespread range of activities is more and more being considered for both industrial and household uses: essential oils are presently regarded as a new class of ecological products for controlling insect pests.