Pandan Plant and Repelling Cockroaches from Food - Essay Example

? n000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000An experiment paper on the effectiveness of the Pandan plant in repelling cockroaches from food Abstract Herbal methods have always been thought to be effective, environment-friendly and inexpensive alternatives to more chemical or electronic methods of repelling or exterminating insects. This paper's purpose is to test the effectiveness of one of these herbal methods of repelling insect, the pandan plant, and try to test if this method is an effective way of keeping cockroaches away from your food, clothes, or your rooms and home. This paper will use scientific type of experimentation in order to determine the effectiveness of the pandan plant and will record its findings and present the data in an ordered and graphical manner. Finally, it will present a conclusion based on the data gathered and present recommendations for people who will try this test in the future. More often than not, people avoid cockroaches or try to kill or repel them, mainly because they carry disease and germs, and the fact that many people either find cockroaches disgusting, or are afraid of them. This is why these people spend money on insecticides, repellants, exterminators and other chemicals and gadgets for the purpose of getting rid of cockroaches. As commonly known, cockroaches are attracted to food, and are often found in dark confined places of the home. These cockroaches that we see are actually only a small percentage of the actual number of cockroaches in your home. According to an article by extension.umn.edu, “Cockroaches are nocturnal, hiding during the day and becoming active at night. The number of cockroaches people see is usually a small percentage of a much larger population.” And this means that there are definitely more cockroaches in your home than you expect. The problem with trying to maintain a cockroach-free home is that it costs quite a bit of money, and most extermination or repellant methods are difficult to apply, or have off-putting odors. This paper's aim is to test a natural, non-toxic, easy-to-use, and environment-friendly way of repelling cockroaches from your food, or your home and rooms. It aims to test the effectiveness of the pandan plant in repelling cockroaches. It will break down the pre-experiment and post-experiment information as such: Project design plan Problem Statement Relevance of the study Review of related literature Experimental design Dependent, independent and controlled variables Threat reduction to internal validity Hypothesis Post-experiment data analysis Data collection method Graphs and charts of the data collected Interpretation of results from the data collection Conclusions and recommendations Project design plan Problem Statement The problem that this paper aims to test is if the pandan plant is effective in repelling cockroaches from food. This paper aims to test the effectiveness of an all-natural, inexpensive, low-maintenance and non-toxic alternative for repelling insects. This paper will use a scientific style of experimentation in order to determine if the pandan plant is effective at repelling cockroaches. Relevance of the study This study aims to test the effectiveness of the pandan plant in order to determine if it can be used as a good alternative for electronic or chemical insecticides or repellents. This study is significant to several people and groups such as: Homes and families If proven, this natural alternative can help homes and families reduce the number of cockroaches in their home without having to spend so much money and avoid the danger of chemical repellants. This also gives families the ability to secure their food and rooms from cockroaches and the germs they bring using a low-maintenance method. Schools This gives schools the opportunity to keep their students secure and safe from the disease brought by roaches and keep their facilities from being infested by the roaches using a natural and low-maintenance alternative that would still fit their budget Businesses Businesses can keep their operations running without the hassle of pests such as the cockroach and keep their employees from getting sick from the germs that the roaches carry. This also gives businesses the advantage of deterring cockroaches while saving since they no longer have to pay exterminator nor have to assign people to constantly watch for pests like the cockroach or to constantly apply insecticide. This Topic was chosen by the researcher because one of the researcher’s close relatives has had bad experiences with cockroaches in their home and this resulted in uncomfortable living situations for them as well as frequent illnesses and poor health. This family had tried many ways of getting rid of these unwanted creatures, but to no avail. This research aims to provide a solution for families and groups with similar situations such as this and provide them a way to control these pests or repel them from their homes. Review of related literature. This section of the paper attempts to look at articles related to our subject of study. It will discuss and summarize certain articles that help this paper to better understand the idea of using plants as alternative insect repellants. It will provide information from these articles and provide feedback on the information provided. An article by jaycjayc.com provides us some background information on the pandan plant. It describes the plant, its origins, and some uses for the leaves of the plant. The article also mentions that the plant leaves are used as a natural cockroach repellent in some countries. This gives us an idea that historically; this plant has already been known to be effective in repelling cockroaches. There are other uses for the plant as well such as for food coloring and flavor. A similar article by mayfloweryeg.blogspot.com looks at several plants such as lemon grass, turmeric and of course pandan. It discusses some studies made on these plants regarding their effectiveness as medicines and as insect repellent. It provides us with some information on the pandan plant and mentions the use of this plant by taxi drivers in Singapore and Malaysia to keep cockroaches at bay. This also provides us some information regarding the pandan plant’s popularity as a cockroach deterrent. The last article that this paper will discus is one from gomestic.com. This particular article also discusses the effectiveness of the pandan plant in driving away cockroaches. The unique thing about this article is that it provides some insight as to why cockroaches are driven away by the pandan plant. It tells us that the pandan plant’s smell is what drives cockroaches away. This article further supports this paper’s hypothesis that the plant is effective in repelling cockroaches. Experimental design In order to make the experiment as effective and as accurate as possible, the procedure was planned out to include all possibilities and exclude any unnecessary variables. The procedure was designed in such a way that there is very little chance of bias affecting the procedure. The ingredients for the experiment are 6 shoe boxes, scissors or a cutter, 3 bundles of pandan leaves, 12 cockroach sticky traps purchased from a local store, and 2 sets of 3 different kinds of food. The experiment will be set up as: the shoe boxes will have 1 hole cut on 1 side. The location of the hole will be the same for all the boxes. The foods to be used are; fried fish, beef stew, and chicken curry. The food will be divided into 2 parts and will be placed inside the boxes so that there are 2 boxes that have the same type and amount of food. It will be such that 2 boxes have equal parts of chicken curry, 2 boxes will have equal parts of beef stew and 2 boxes will have equal parts of fried fish. They will all be placed in containers of the exact same size and will be glued to the exact same spot on all the boxes. All the boxes will also contain 2 sticky roach traps. These stick traps will be placed at opposite corners of each box and will be glued to the bottom of the boxes. The pandan leave bundles will be placed in 3 boxes and no 2 boxes must have the same kind of food. They will then be placed in 2 cupboards of identical space, lighting, temperature and humidity. These cupboards were observed and have been known to contain a significant amount of cockroaches. All the boxes with the pandan leaves will be placed in one cupboard while the boxes without the pandan leaves will be placed in another cupboard. As the theory is, that the pandan’s smell is what repels roaches, the 2 cupboards that were chosen were the ones that were furthest from each other in the home. These boxes will be placed in the cupboard for a total of 48 hours and will be checked every 4 hours for a total of 10 check ups. At every check, a count of cockroaches in the box and in the sticky trap will be taken. After the 48-hour period, the cockroach count will be tallied, graphed and analyzed. This experimental design was chosen by the researcher in order to maximize the testable effectiveness of the plant as well as in order to minimize any unwanted bias or interruptions in the test data. This experiment was chosen and designed for the purpose of avoiding and unwanted stimulus as well as any other unwanted variables that may change or affect the results or the validity of the test. This type of test takes advantage of the resources readily available to the researcher and avoids any unnecessary costs associated with some other types of testing. The items needed for the test are very simple, cost-effective and easy to find, which not only makes the test effective, but convenient as well. The tools used for gathering information are only a pen, paper, as well as a flash light and plastic cup. The cup is used to restrain any roaches that may try to escape, the flashlight is used when counting has to be done at night, and the pen and paper are used to record findings and the timestamps of the tests. Dependent, independent and controlled variables For this experiment, the dependent variable is the number of cockroaches. This will be closely monitored and measured. The controlled variables are the number of sticky traps, the number of boxes and the amount of food. The independent variable is the pandan bundle. This is the only difference between he 2 sets of boxes. The only reason why there are 3 kinds of food is in order to rule out the cockroach’s preference to certain food. The number of boxes is set to 3 for with and 3 for without pandan leaves in order to rule out the possibility of chance. Threat reduction to internal validity There are certain measures that have been made in order to reduce the threats to internal validity such as making the number of boxes with and without a variable equal, as well as placing the food, the traps and the pandan leave bundles in the same exact places of all the appropriate boxes. Other steps include making sure that the amount of food in all the boxes are the same and that the holes that were cut into the boxes are all of the same size. The boxes will be closed by their lids and the only openings available are the holes that were cut out. The bundles also have the same number of leaves and are relatively the same size. They were also taken from the same area of the plant, the top portion. The only threats that cannot be controlled are the temperature of the area, the humidity, the age of the leaves, the unknown number of cockroaches in each cupboard, and the length of time that the experiment will be carried out. The result of the experiment may be better understood or observed if it is carried out through a longer time. The results may also be different if the experiment is conducted at a different time of the year, such as at the time of the cockroaches mating season. Hypothesis The hypothesis of this paper is that the boxes that contain the pandan leaves will have fewer cockroaches found in the box and in the roach traps throughout the 48 hour period, in contrast to the boxes that do not contain the pandan leaves. In order for the hypothesis to be proven true, there must be a significantly lower number of cockroaches observed and found in the boxes with pandan leaves, than without. The number of cockroaches must be noticeably more in the boxes without pandan leaves. Post-experiment data analysis Data collection method The data was collected for a total of 10 times in 4 hour intervals through a 48 hour period. The 4 hour interval was in order for the cockroaches in the area to resettle in the boxes, so that the next count will have a valid number of cockroaches. The boxes were be taken out of the cupboard 1 at a time and the holes of the boxes that were not being counted at the time were closed up or blocked in order to prevent cockroaches from escaping while the other boxes are being checked. Once all the boxes have been checked, for that time interval, and the number of cockroaches has been listed, the boxes were returned to their same positions in the cupboards that they were removed from in the reverse of the order they were taken out. The boxes were moved carefully in order to avoid shaking or disturbing the environment. This procedure was followed at every collection interval. In order to avoid bias, the researched assigned 4 different people to collect data at shifting intervals. The design of the study is, in it’s self, a key attribute to the success of the project. As the design was easy to implement, had very little room for bias, made use of items and tools already available, and very little manpower, it’s implementation was effective, and because of the minimal amount of interaction, the results show what would naturally happen, not what the researcher wishes would happen. The method of collection was appropriate to the experiment as there was no need for other technology and the only thing that needed to be taken note of was the number of roaches, which can be done in the simplest of ways with a pen and paper. Graphs and charts of the data collected   Box with fish Box with chicken curry Box with beef stew check 1 3 2 1 check 2 5 1 3 check 3 6 4 3 check 4 8 6 4 check 5 7 9 3 check 6 9 8 6 check 7 11 10 8 check 8 10 8 7 check 9 11 11 9 check 10 14 12 9   Box with fish Box with chicken curry Box with beef stew check 1 0 0 0 check 2 0 0 0 check 3 0 0 0 check 4 0 0 0 check 5 0 0 0 check 6 0 0 0 check 7 0 0 0 check 8 0 0 0 check 9 0 0 1 check 10 0 1 0 Interpretation of results from the data collection The data from the experiment shows that the hypothesis of this research has been confirmed and proven true. The pandan plant has proven effective in repelling cockroaches from the food and that the only time that a cockroach was observed in any of the boxes with the pandan plant was when the food was already rotting and the smell of the food masked the smell of the plant. The cockroaches that were found in the boxes with the pandan leaves were also fond near or on the hole of the boxes. This experiment definitely proves that in normal circumstances, the pandan plant is great for repelling cockroaches from any location. An additional fact that is worth mentioning is that, in the cupboard with the boxes that contain the pandan plants, there were no cockroaches observed or seen when the checks were done, until the food stated to turn bad. Although even until then, there was still a very small amount of cockroaches in the area and none in the boxes until the food turned very bad. Conclusions and recommendations Based from the results of the experiment that was conducted, this paper concludes that the pandan plant is a very effective method of repelling cockroaches. It is a very practical and effective alternative to chemical insecticides because the experiment that was conducted has proven that the plant is effective, and it does not have any bad smell or negative effects. It is also very cost-effective and is also decorative if placed inside the home. In normal circumstances, it proves to be able to deter cockroaches despite the availability of bait food, so much so that it even repelled cockroaches from the surrounding area for a good amount of time. This paper has some recommendations for future researchers who wish to attempt a similar experiment. One recommendation is to do the experiment over a longer period of time to ensure validity. Another recommendation is to conduct the experiment without food as bait in order to see if the cockroaches would still go to the box without the pandan plants. Yet another recommendation is for the kind of food to be kept the same in order to maintain a more constant variable. Something else to try would be for the experiment to be tried at a different time of the year to confirm the results, or for the number of boxes to be increased. For those who wish to replicate the experiment the same way that it was done in this paper, there will be no problems or difficulties as the experiment it’s self is simple, and the items needed are easy to find and cost effective. Before attempting to replicate this experiment, please keep in mind that you will be in very close proximity to the cockroaches so please wear gloves or use tongs if you are sensitive about cockroaches. All you will need, once again, are boxes, the sticky traps, bait, which in this case was left over food, and lots of patience. Please take time to observe the cupboards that you will be doing your experiment in. Please take about 3-5 days of random checking and observation for the cupboards to check if they do contain cockroaches or not. Once you are ready to start the experiment, create a time chart of the times that you will need to check on the boxes in order for your check times to be organized. Please also have some alarms set to avoid forgetting about checking on the experiment. Once the experiment is done, please dispose of all the left over food in a proper manner, as they are already unsafe to consume and may permanently attract roaches. As with any research, it is best to replicate the experiment in order to validate the results or findings for yourself. This particular paper’s experiment has had some great results and the results match the hypothesis provided, however, the scenario may be different for certain cases. The results may differ depending on the situation, so it is best for future researchers to replicate and validate the experiment for them in order to test the statements made in this research. There are also recommendations for the people who wish to use this pandan plant as a cockroach deterrent in their home. It is best to water and maintain the plant in order to make sure it is effective, and at the same time, to maintain the look of the plant. It is also necessary to trim the top part of the plant as it may become top heavy. All in all, this plant is definitely a great alternative method of repelling cockroaches and this research would definitely recommend it for use in any home, school or business establishment as a great substitute for chemicals. Resources Hahn, J.D. Ascerno, M.E. (2005) Cockroaches. Retrieved November 24 2011, http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1003.html Nature Insect Repellent (2008) Retrieved November 24 2011 http://mayfloweryeg.blogspot.com/2007/10/nature-insect-repellent.html The splendid aroma of Pandanus amaryllifolius (Pandan Leaf) (2006) Retrieved November 24 2011. http://www.jaycjayc.com/pandanus-amaryllifolius-odorus/ Very Affordable But Very Effective Way to Eradicate Cockroaches (2011) Retrieved November 24 2011 http://gomestic.com/cooking/very-affordable-but-very-effective-way-to-eradicate-cockroaches/ Read More