You might also be interested in this post: Mosquito Repellents That Work Against Zika Virus What About Citronella Candles – Do They Keep Mosquitoes Away? Both have similar toxicities and both are very safe. It turns out citronella oil has a value ( 4700 mg/Kg) and DEET is ( 4280 mg/Kg). How toxic is citronella oil? One way to measure toxicity is to measure the LD 50, in this case, the LD 50 on rabbit skin. Both products are relatively safe, but it is important to understand that this organic solution does have a risk. Keep in mind that it is also 2 times more deadly than Roundup. If it does work, it does need to be applied frequently – at least every hour.Ĭitronella oil is a natural product – a good ‘organic product’. Studies in the EU failed to validate its effectiveness and they have banned the product as an insecticide.We must conclude from this that “we don’t know if it works”, but if Europe can’t find any evidence that citronella oil works, I tend to be skeptical. Research in North America has confirmed that citronella oil is effective and the oil is registered as an insect repellant in the US. This is a perennial clumping grass that grows to a height of 6 feet.
Will the Real Citronella Plant Stand Up!Ĭitronella oil is extracted from various species of lemongrass (genus Cymbopogon – say that name 3 times fast!). For more details see Mosquito Plant, Pelargonium Citrosum – The Citrosa Plant. In fact, mosquitoes seem to enjoy sitting on the plant. It even has some of the same aromatic chemicals found in citronella, but it is a different plant.īut does it work? Testing shows that it does not repel mosquitoes. It is a geranium (ie Pelargonium) and it sort of smells like citronella. Not only that but the scientific name of the plant is not even recognized as a valid name. This geranium is unrelated to the true citronella. The picture above shows the citronella plant also called Pelargonium citrosum. Pelargonium Citrosum – marketed as “mosquito plant”Īs I started researching for this post I was very surprised to learn that the so-called “citronella plant” is not the plant that produces citronella oil – the active ingredient in citronella candles.
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