Oil isolated from catnip by steam distillation is a repellent against insects, in particular mosquitoes, cockroaches and termites. Distilled nepetalactone, the active ingredient in catnip, repels mosquitoes ten times more effectively than DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents, but that it is not as effective as a repellent on skin. Catnip mixed together with chamomile tea can be used to lighten the color of hair.
Nepeta cataria made into a tea for intestinal spasms / cramps or as a sedative for stress.
Catnip is a perennial herb of the mint family. Its erect, branching stem is hairy and grows from 3 to 5 feet high. The leaves have scalloped edges and grey or whitish hairs on the lower side. The flowers are white with purple spots.
Nepeta cataria is very easy to grow from seed, very hardy but can become very invasive in the garden so is better grown in a pot. Also can as cats love this herb you might need to protect this herb from them or the entire plant can be completely destroyed by one cat.
The plant should be harvested in early Summer and Autumn
Great for gut spasms
A while ago I made the mistake of eating while watching something very funny on TV. I developed the most crippling gut pains, and couldn't even stand up straight. I remember reading somewhere that Cat mint could help. So I brewed myself a mug of it using fresh leaves, I had to leave it for ten minutes to stew. I then drank it and within drinking half of the tea I found my spasms had completely gone. I have never experienced bought medication to have this much of an effect.