JP7789363B2 - Animal repellent - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act (1) Takahiro Furuya published an animal repellent on his website. Website publication date: April 21, 2022, Website address: https://fkchimeji.cart.fc2.com/ca2/12447/p-r2-s/ (2) Takahiro Furuya published an animal repellent on his website. Website publication date: July 25, 2022, Website address: https://fkchimeji.cart.fc2.com/ca2/12728/p-r2-s/ (3) Takahiro Furuya sold the animal repellent to a wholesaler/retailer (Goldfish Z-FACTORY Sugihara). Date of sale: April 17, 2022 (4) Takahiro Furuya sold animal repellents to a wholesaler/retailer (Goldfish Z-FACTORY Sugihara). Date of sale: July 20, 2022 (5) Takahiro Furuya sold animal repellents to a wholesaler/retailer (Fish Farm Tsubota Ltd.). Date of sale: June 14, 2022 (6) Takahiro Furuya sold animal repellents to a wholesaler/retailer (Wesui Equipment Co., Ltd.). Date of sale: June 26, 2022

The present invention relates to an animal repellent.

Traditionally, for example, fish farms, farms, and orchards have suffered damage from cats, raccoons, palm civets, bats, deer, wild boars, and other animals.

It is known that the excrement (feces, urine) of carnivorous animals such as lions has a repellent effect against these nuisance animals; for example, Patent Document 1 proposes scattering lion feces around agricultural crops. However, scattering the excrement of carnivorous animals such as lions poses hygiene problems, such as an extremely foul odor and decay, and there are also problems in that a large amount of carnivorous excrement is required to maintain the repellent effect for a long period of time.

To solve the problem of bad odors, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses an animal repellent whose active ingredient is a diethyl ether extract of lion dung.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-191868 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-254385

However, the animal repellent disclosed in Patent Document 2 had the problem of requiring tedious and time-consuming extraction and separation of the active ingredient.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an animal repellent that uses carnivorous animal excrement as a raw material, does not have the problem of offensive odor, does not require large amounts of carnivorous animal excrement, and can be easily produced.

As a result of extensive research into solving the above problems, the inventors discovered that an animal repellent that does not have the problem of unpleasant odors can be easily produced by fermenting carnivorous animal excrement together with plant materials to obtain a fermented aqueous solution. The present invention was completed based on these findings.

That is, the present invention provides an animal repellent containing an aqueous fermented solution of carnivorous animal excrement.

The above-mentioned animal repellent may further contain a pungent odor component.

The above animal repellent may further contain a thickener and be in gel form.

The above-mentioned animal repellent may be used in a spray container.

The present invention also provides a method for producing an animal repellent, which comprises fermenting a mixture containing water, plant material, and carnivorous animal excrement to obtain a fermented aqueous solution.

The animal repellent of the present invention does not have the problem of unpleasant odors, has a long-lasting repellent effect, and can be easily produced without requiring large amounts of excrement raw material, making it ideal for suppressing damage caused by nuisance animals in fish farms, farms, orchards, etc.

The animal repellent of the present invention is an animal repellent containing an aqueous solution of fermented carnivorous animal excrement. Because the animal repellent of the present invention uses a fermented aqueous solution instead of carnivorous animal excrement itself, it will not decay or emit a foul odor, and does not cause hygiene problems at the site of use. The animal repellent of the present invention has a repellent effect against nuisance animals (e.g., cats, raccoon dogs, palm civets, mice, raccoons, bats, deer, wild boars, etc.).

Examples of carnivorous animal excrement in accordance with the present invention include excrement from large feline carnivores (lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc.), wolves, bears, etc. Among these, excrement from large feline carnivores is preferred due to its excellent nuisance animal repellent effect, and lion excrement is more preferred. These excrements may be used alone or in combination of two or more types. Furthermore, examples of the excrement include feces and urine, with feces being preferred due to its ease of handling.

The fermented aqueous solution of the present invention is preferably obtained by fermenting carnivorous animal excrement with fermentation bacteria derived from plant materials.

The above-mentioned plant material is not particularly limited as long as it serves as a source of fermentation bacteria, but examples include rice straw, wheat straw, rice husks, fallen leaves, grass clippings, rice bran, oil cake, leaf mold, and bokashi fertilizer. Of these, it is preferable to use rice straw and rice bran in combination, as this makes it easier to obtain a fermented aqueous solution that is highly effective in repelling nuisance animals, although the reason for this is unclear. These may be used alone or in combination.

The animal repellent of the present invention may further contain vegetable vinegar (wood vinegar, bamboo vinegar, etc.) and pungent-smelling components derived from plants. Vegetable vinegar is obtained as the supernatant of the distillation liquid produced when plant material is dry distilled. Among these, it is preferable to contain vegetable vinegar and pungent-smelling components derived from plants, as this further enhances the repellent effect against nuisance animals.

The plants that produce the pungent odor components derived from the above plants are not particularly limited as long as they further improve the repellent effect, but examples include herbs (garlic, green onions, onions, chili peppers, pepper, wasabi, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, rosemary, thyme, mint, shiso, perilla, mugwort, Houttuynia cordata, etc.), green tea, Japanese bamboo grass, Japanese pepper, Japanese cypress, Japanese cypress, calamus leaves, loquat leaves, and Alpinia speciosa. Of these, herbs are preferred, with garlic being more preferred, as they are particularly effective in repelling nuisance animals. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more types.

The fermented aqueous solution of the present invention can be obtained by mixing the carnivorous animal excrement, the plant material, water, and, if necessary, the pungent-smelling components (plant vinegar, plant-derived pungent-smelling components), fermenting the mixture while stirring it occasionally, and removing solids derived from the carnivorous animal excrement, the plant material, and the pungent-smelling components from the fermented mixture.

After removing the solids, the content of the solids in the fermented aqueous solution is preferably 5% by mass or less, more preferably 3% by mass or less, and even more preferably 1% by mass or less.

The amount of the plant material to be added is preferably 1 to 20 parts by weight, more preferably 2 to 15 parts by weight, and even more preferably 4 to 10 parts by weight, per 1 part by weight of the carnivorous animal excrement.

The amount of water to be added is preferably 100 to 500 parts by weight, more preferably 150 to 400 parts by weight, and even more preferably 200 to 300 parts by weight per 1 part by weight of the carnivorous animal excrement.

The amount of the plant vinegar solution added is preferably 0.1 to 1 part by mass, and more preferably 0.2 to 0.6 parts by mass, per 1 part by mass of the carnivorous animal excrement.

The amount of the plant-derived pungent odor component blended is preferably 0.1 to 5 parts by mass, and more preferably 0.2 to 3 parts by mass, per 1 part by mass of the carnivorous animal excrement. The plant-derived pungent odor component blended can be obtained by blending the plant associated with the pungent odor component.

The fermentation of the mixture can be carried out by adjusting the temperature of the mixture to preferably 5 to 40°C, more preferably 20 to 30°C.

The fermentation period is preferably 30 to 500 days, more preferably 60 to 450 days, and even more preferably 90 to 400 days.

The fermentation may be carried out on a mixture of water and the plant material, which has been fermented in advance, and then the carnivorous animal excrement is added to the mixture.

In this case, the fermentation of the water and the above-mentioned plant material is carried out at a temperature controlled to preferably 5 to 40°C, more preferably 20 to 30°C. The fermentation period is preferably 30 to 500 days, more preferably 60 to 450 days, and even more preferably 90 to 400 days.

After the carnivore excrement is added and mixed, fermentation is carried out at a temperature preferably between 5 and 40°C, more preferably between 20 and 30°C. The fermentation period is preferably between 10 and 60 days, more preferably between 15 and 50 days, and even more preferably between 20 and 40 days.

The pungent odor component (plant vinegar, plant-derived pungent odor component) may be blended during any of the above mixing steps. If the plant-derived pungent odor component is an extract of the plant, the pungent odor component may be blended after the solid matter has been removed from the fermented mixture. The plant vinegar is preferably blended together with the carnivorous animal excrement and the plant material, as it has the effect of suppressing insects from flying into the mixture.

The animal repellent of the present invention may be the fermented aqueous solution used as is, or it may be diluted with water 2 to 100 times (preferably 10 to 50 times).

The content of solids derived from the carnivorous animal excrement, the plant materials, and the irritating odor components in the animal repellent is preferably 5% by mass or less, more preferably 1% by mass or less, and even more preferably 0.1% by mass or less.

The animal repellent of the present invention may further contain a thickener and be in gel form. A gel-like animal repellent may be formed into beads. A gel-like animal repellent is more likely to provide a long-lasting repellent effect.

Examples of the thickener include water-absorbent resins (crosslinked polyacrylates, crosslinked acrylic acid-acrylamide copolymers, crosslinked isobutylene-maleic anhydride copolymers, etc.), and gelling agents (polyvinyl alcohol, hydroxyalkyl cellulose, gelatin, agar, xanthan gum, gum arabic, guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, etc.).

The content of the thickener in the animal repellent is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 to 10% by mass, more preferably 0.3 to 7% by mass, and even more preferably 0.5 to 5% by mass.

The animal repellent of the present invention may be contained in a spray container so that it can be easily dispersed by discharging it in mist form. There are no particular limitations on the type of spray container, but examples include trigger-type spray containers.

The animal repellent of the present invention can be produced very easily using a manufacturing method that does not require laborious processes such as extracting active ingredients or heat processing. Furthermore, with the animal repellent of the present invention, the fermentation process in the manufacturing method suppresses the foul odor caused by the carnivorous animal's excrement, eliminating the problem of foul odor. Furthermore, since putrefactive bacteria are killed, hygiene issues are eliminated. Furthermore, the manufacturing method produces a fermented aqueous solution that exhibits sufficient repellent effect even when a large amount of water is added, eliminating the problem of requiring a large amount of carnivorous animal excrement to maintain repellent effect.

The following describes specific examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1
A mixture of 45 L of water, 1 kg of rice straw, 200 g of rice bran, 100 g of wood vinegar, and 100 g of garlic was fermented at 20-30°C for 365 days with occasional stirring, and then 200 g of lion dung was added and fermented for an additional 30 days with occasional stirring. The solids were removed to obtain a fermented aqueous solution. This fermented aqueous solution was diluted 30 times with water, and 2 g of a water-absorbent resin was added to 100 g of the solution to form a gel. The gel was then stored in an air-permeable container to obtain a gel-like animal repellent sample.

Example 2
The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out, except that cheetah droppings were used instead of lion droppings.

Example 3
The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out except that tiger dung was used instead of lion dung.

(Comparative Example 1)
The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out, except that lion dung was not used.

(Comparative Example 2)
200 g of lion feces was placed directly into an air-permeable container to prepare a sample.

The resulting samples were evaluated for odor and repellent effect against nuisance animals. The results are shown in Table 1.

<Odor evaluation>
A sensory evaluation was conducted by 10 evaluators, with samples that had no unpleasant odor or that had an odor but were not bothersome being rated as "pass," and samples that had any other odor being "fail." The evaluation criteria were as follows:
◯: 10 evaluators judged it as a pass. △: 6 to 9 evaluators judged it as a pass. ×: 5 or less evaluators judged it as a pass.

<Evaluation of repellent effect>
To assess the repellent effect against nuisance animals, samples were placed at 2m intervals in an outdoor goldfish farming pond (20m x 20m) and the presence or absence of predation of goldfish by wild nuisance animals (cats, raccoons, etc.) was evaluated for 90 days. The evaluation criteria were as follows:
〇: No goldfish were eaten at all △: Some goldfish were eaten ×: Many goldfish were eaten

As shown in Table 1, the animal repellents of Examples 1 to 3 were rated as having excellent odor and repellent effect (Odor: Good, Repellent effect: Good to Fair). In contrast, Comparative Example 1 was confirmed to have poor repellent effect (Repellent effect: Bad). Furthermore, Comparative Example 2 had a strong odor, and the repellent effect did not last for 90 days, resulting in some predation of goldfish (Odor: Bad, Repellent effect: Fair).

Claims (4)

1. A method for producing an animal repellent comprising fermenting an aqueous solution of excrement from a carnivorous animal,
This method for producing an animal repellent comprises mixing and fermenting water, rice straw and rice bran, and then adding feces of a carnivorous animal to the mixture, and fermenting the mixture to obtain the fermented aqueous solution . The method for producing an animal repellent according to claim 1 , wherein the animal repellent further comprises a pungent odor component. The method for producing an animal repellent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the animal repellent further comprises a thickener and is in a gel form. The method for producing an animal repellent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the animal repellent is used by being contained in a spray container.