Basic Research Leads to Market’s First All-Natural, EPA-Registered Insect Repellent

Read the Full Article By Matt Simpson

For the first summer ever, consumers have a plant-based, DEET-free bug spray available to purchase that’s certified by the EPA to protect against mosquitoes for up to eight hours — all thanks in no small part to an NC State entomology professor’s early-stage research.

When Michael Roe arrived at NC State University almost four decades ago, he didn’t have grand plans to invent products or launch startups.

• “I was hired to do basic science,” Roe says. “So it just shows you the importance of academic research.”