In a post on bug zappers, Doug writes, “Because of the irresistible lure of their light, bug zappers are incredibly effective at killing bugs. Mosquitoes aren’t necessarily drawn to light sources the way other bugs are, so zappers mostly take down the type of bugs that sustain your local ecosystem. Although bug zappers are effective at killing bugs, they unfortunately target the wrong kind. Though Citronella is the most ubiquitous of these so-called mosquito repellents, it isn’t the only one that doesn’t work. As Doug writes in a post about essential oils as bug repellents, “Repellents such as picaridin and DEET, on the other hand, block a much wider number of receptors on a more consistent basis.” Essential oils block only a limited number of those receptors, and Zwiebel told senior staff writer Doug Mahoney that he wasn’t certain an essential oil that worked for one species would work across a range of others. This is because essential oils don’t offer as substantial an invisible shield as EPA-approved repellents like DEET and picaridin do.Ī mosquito interprets the world through multiple chemical receptors, according to Laurence Zwiebel, the chair of biological science at Vanderbilt University. Citronella oil is used in many different forms-from tabletop candles to oil diffusers to 5-foot tiki torches-to attempt to keep the pests at bay.īut the truth is there’s no indication that citronella candles provide more protection than any other candle-produced smoke. Citronella, an essential oil distilled from a type of lemongrass, has long been regarded as a “natural” mosquito repellent.
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