Buzz Off: Detroit Firm Develops Insect-Repelling Paint

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Nano Labs, a Detroit-based research and development company, has created a new paint that can be used on almost any surface — including vehicles — and has the ability to repel and/or kill insects upon contact.

The new coating offers an alternative to the use of chemical pesticides and insecticides to control and eliminate insects, says Victor Castano, chief innovations officer at Nano Labs. He says that the coating will not affect the health of people, pets, or livestock, nor will it harm the environment.

“Our new anti-insect paint can be applied on almost every interior and exterior surface — from houses to farms, offices and government buildings … to vehicles,” Castano says. “It kills pests that can carry disease or parasites upon contact.”

The paint coating uses natural minerals to hinder, repel, and kill insects by acting as an abrasive and drying agent. These minerals remove the protective layer that covers ants, aphids, cockroaches, mosquitos, spiders, termites, and ticks — leaving the insects to dry up and die.

The firm, founded last year, is currently testing the coating in disease control programs, and experimental developments are going well, says Castano.

“We have conducted very successful tests in Mexico with Atencio & Atencio and DIASA, a real estate development firm constructing homes in the northern state of Tamaulipas, next to the Gulf of Mexico, a tropical-like environment, where biting insects transmit poison, disease, and parasites that may result in death,” Castano says.

“This product can create healthier homes and living spaces and present a very cost-effective solution for parts on the world that suffer from these basic threats,” says Bernardo Camacho, president of Nano Labs. “Our core mission is to create revolutionary products that help all countries of the world progress.”