N-aryl and n-cycloalkyl neoalkanamide insect repellents

Abstract

N-monosubstituted neoalkanamides of 11 to 14 carbon atoms wherein the substituent on the amide nitrogen is cyclic (aromatic or cycloaliphatic, such as aryl or cycloalkyl) and of at least five carbon atoms, have been discovered to be insect repellent, providing that any aromatic substituent is unsubstituted at the ortho position and that when the neoalkanoyl moiety is pivaloyl the total number of carbon atoms in the N-cyclic neoalkanamide is at least 12. Such neoalkanamides are useful as repellents against cockroaches, including American, German and Oriental cockroaches, and are also effective against mosquitoes (both Anopheles and Aedes), black flies and carpenter ants, and to some extent against deer ticks. They may be applied to areas, locations and items which are desirably to be kept free of such insects, with applications being direct or of solutions or emulsions thereof, preferably by spraying, or in detergent compositions or other products to be applied to such areas, etc. Because the described neoalkanamides are desirably substantive to surfaces and are usually in liquid state, they give long lasting repellency to such areas, etc., and tests have shown them to be sufficiently long lasting.