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Abstract
This study assessed the acaricidal activities of the essential oils of Litsea cubeba fruits and Mentha arvensis leaves against house dust mites, Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus, and stored food mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae. The essential oil of L. cubeba fruits consisted mainly of citral (64.43%) and limonene (10.54%). In the essential oil of M. arvensis leaves, the main compounds were menthol (59.75%) and (-)-menthone (20.04%). The acaricidal activities of L. cubeba and M. arvensis oils against three types of mites were determined by a fumigant bioassay. The LD50 values of L. cubeba oil were respectively 1.54, 1.83 and 3.90 μg/cm2 and were circa 6.39, 5.01 and 3.08-fold more effective than benzyl benzoate (9.84, 9.16 and 12.01 μg/cm2) against D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus and T. putrescentiae. The LD50 values of M. arvensis oil were respectively 1.46, 1.83 and 3.41 μg/cm2 and were about 6.74, 5.01 and 3.52-fold more active than benzyl benzoate against D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus and T. putrescentiae, respectively. These results suggest that L. cubeba and M. arvensis oils may be valuable as eco-friendly acaricides for mites.