Animal Coat Deodorizer and Insect Repellent

This invention relates generally to a formulation for an insect repellent and animal coat deodorizer. More particularly, the invention is directed to a formulation for a sprayable liquid containing d-limonene which can be applied to the coats of animals to repel barn flies and which additionally deodorizes the animals' coats and the barn atmosphere.

Various commercial products are available for deodorizing the coats of animals and the barns and stables in which they are kept. Some of these products additionally function as an insect repellent for flies and other similar pests. Such products generally irritate the skin of the livestock on which they are applied. Moreover, such products can be toxic to smaller livestock or domesticated pets.

It would be desirable to formulate a sprayable liquid which could be applied to the coats of animals or atomized into the air within a livestock enclosure to function as an insect repellent and deodorizer, and which would be non-toxic and biodegradable.

Accordant with the present invention a non-toxic, biodegradable sprayable liquid which functions as an insect repellent and deodorizer has surprisingly been discovered. The sprayable liquid consists of d-limonene, a surfactant, hexylene glycol, triethanolamine, and water. This formulation may be applied directly to the coats of livestock, to condition and deodorize same, or may be diluted and atomized into the air within a livestock enclosure to deodorize the atmosphere. Moreover, the neat and diluted sprayable liquids repel insects from the livestock coats and barn atmosphere.

The formulating of the present invention of a precise combination of d-limonene, a surfactant, hexylene glycol, triethanolamine, and water.

D-limonene is a terpene which occurs naturally in all living plants. It is a nonocyclic unsaturated terpene which is generally a by-product of the citrus industry, derived from the distilled rind oils of oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and the like. A discussion of d-limonene and its derivation from numerous sources is set forth in Kesterson, J. W., "Florida Citrus Oil," Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, December 1971. D-Limonene is commercially available from Florida Chemical Company and from SMC Glidco Organics. D-limonene is present in the inventive formulation at a concentration from about 0.5 to about 40 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration is from about 5 to about 15 weight percent. Most preferably, the concentration is about 10 weight percent.

The formulation of the present invention includes a surfactant at a concentration from about 3.5 to about 41 weight percent. This component allows the d-limonene to be emulsified in the aqueous sprayable liquid by reducing the surface tension between the d-limonene and the water, thereby producing a stable mixture of immiscible liquids. Examples of surfactants include, without limitation, carboxylates, polyalrylene oxides, carboxylic acid eaters, quaternary ammonium salts, and the like. Such surfactants as well as many others are well-known in the industry to those ordinarily skilled in the art. Surfactants are described more fully in Kirk-Othmer, "Carcise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology," John Wiley and Sons, 1985 at pages 1142-1146. A preferred surfactant is the proprietary blend of surfactants contained in RHODATERGE MULTIGREEN, a product of Rhone-Poulenc of Cranbury, N.J. The surfactant is preferably present in the inventive sprayable liquid at a concentration from about 13.5 to about 27.5 weight percent.

Hexylene glycol is present in the formulation of the present invention at a concentration from about 1.5 to about 19 weight percent. Preferably, the concentration ranges from about 0.2 to about 0.8 weight percent. The triethanolamine acts as a humectant and softening agent, which is important in conditioning the coats of the animals to which the inventive formulation is applied. Moreover, it assists in emulsifying the liquid mixture.

Water constitutes the balance of the sprayable liquid formulation of the present invention.

The ingredients are combined and mixed together in conventional mixing apparatus, to prepare a sprayable liquid insect repellent and deodorizer which may then be applied to the coats of animals. The formulation may be sprayed directly onto individual animals or changed to a livestock wall-through spray application system. The inventive formulation additionally conditions the coats of the animals to which it is applied.

Moreover, the formulation of the present invention may be diluted with water (one part by weight of the formulation with up to about fifteen parts by weight water) to produce a barn environment insect repellent. The diluted formulation may be sprayed into the barn environment by conventional fogging equipment, to effective repel insects and to neutralize the malodorousness of the barn atmosphere.

The neat and diluted formations of the present invention have been found to be particularly useful for conditioning and deodorizing the coats of horses, and deodorizing horse stall environs, while at the same time repelling flies and other insects.

The following ingredients are mixed together in the approximately weigh percentages indicated, to form a sprayable liquid insect repellent and deodorizer, according to the present invention. Additionally, these formulations are mixed with approximately fourteen parts by weight water, to prepare an effective spray for deodorizing a livestock barn.

These Examples may be repeated with similar success by substituting the generically or specifically described ingredients and/or concentrations recited herein for those used in the preceding Examples.

From the foregoing description, one ordinarily skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the invention and, without departing from its spirit or scope, can make various changes and modifications in the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.