Mosquitoes essential oils repelling

Barnard, D.R. (1999) Repellency of essential oils to mosquitoes (Diptera Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 36(5), 625-629. 

Trongtokit, Y., Rongsriyum, Y., Komalamisra, N. and Apiwathnasorn, C. (2005) Comparative repellency of 38 essential oils against mosquito bites. Phytotherapy Research 1 9, 303-309. 

C. J. Peterson, W. A. Rowley, and J. R. Coats, Examination of two essential oils as mosquito repellents, 222nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, Agrochemicals Division Poster No. 73, Chicago, IL, August 26-30, 2001. 

J. Zhu, X. Zeng, Y. Ma, T. Liu, K. Qian, Y. Han, S. Xue et al.. Adult repellency and larvicidal activity of five plant essential oils against mosquitoes. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 22(3) 515-522, 2006. 

Zhu J, Zeng XY, Liu T, Qian K, Han Y, Xue S, Tucker B, Schultz G, Coats J, Rotvley W, Zhang A, Adult repellency and larvicidal activity of five plant essential oils against moscgmocs, J Amer Mosquito Control Assoc 22-3 b— b22, 2006. 

Choose an all-natural anti-mosquito product, such as the Herbal Insect Repellent from Real Purity (http //realpu rity.com) or a different product that can be easily tolerated, but avoid all chemical creams and spray cans. It is very risky to keep using such products with regard to the possible deterioration of your situation. If you re able to tolerate essential oils, tea tree oil is also a good substance to ward off mosquitoes and other biting insects. It also helps treat the itch and the swelling when you ve already been bitten. Use organic tea tree oil (see entry 297) Avoid cheaper (often synthetic) essential oils, which can cause reactions in those with sensitivities. Do not use a mosquito net that has been treated with an insecticide. 

Essential oil from anise shows potent fumigant activity against the larvae of Lycoriella ingenue (Dufour). /rans-Anelhole, the chief constituent of the anise oil, was toxic with an LC50 value of 0.20jxl/1 (Park etal., 2006). Essential oils extracted from the seeds of anise exhibit significant repel-lency against the adult females of the mosquito, C. pipiens (Erler et al., 2006). 

Repellence tests with essential oils at 90% concentration indicated that five essential oils were effective repelling mosquitoes for 90 min (Table III). The essential oil of Acantholippia seriphioides was repellent even at the lowest concentration tested (12.5%). Repellence by this essential oil was expected because its main components are p-cymene (53%) and thymol (47%), both components showed repellent activity for approximately Ih against mosquitoes species (46). At concentrations of 12.5%, Aloysia citriodora, Baccharis spartioides and Rosmarinus officinalis showed the longest repellency times. Comparisons of the principal components of each essential oil suggest that limonene and camphor were the main components responsible for the repellent effects (46). 

Table III. Essential oils that repell mosquitoes listed in order of repellency...

While, nepetalactone, the essential oil of catrup Nepeta cataria) that gives the plant its characteristic aroma, has been reported to be about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEBT 49). 

Eucalyptus citriodora Hook f (Lemon gum) The oil of the fresh leaves of E. citriodora (2.2-8.3%), a tree introduced into Kenya from Australia (68), has been well researched in Kenya. Results indicate that there are two chemical varieties that were introduced. The chief essential oil constituents of one variety are citronellal (65-88%), citronellol (2-25%) and isopulegol (2-19%). In constrast, the second variety has as its major essential oil consitutents citronellol (32-52%), citronellal (38-59%) and 1,8-cineole (2-19%) (68,69). The essential oil is regarded as a perfumery oil. This plant is the second most commercially important Eucalyptus species in the essential oil trade and is only second to E. smithii Baker (69). The aromatic oil is used in soaps, creams and lotions due to its desirable odor properties, and as with many other essential oils is also used extensively in many technical preparations to mask other industrial malodors. A highly active mosquito repellent compound, p-menthane 3,8-diol has been isolated from the waste water of distillation of E. citriodora. There are now many commercial mosquito repellents based on this waste water (70-73). 

The essential oils of some plants from Kenya were evaluated for mosquito repellence against Anopheles gambiae on the forearms of human volunteers. The oils of Croton pseudopulchellus, Mkilua fragrans, Endostemon teresticaulis, Ocimum forskolei, Ocimum fischeri, Plectranthus longipes, Conyza newii and Plectranthus marrubioides were all found to be more potent than DEBT, the synthetic repellant. The activity of each of the oils of Lippia javanica, Lippia ukambensis and Tetradenia riparia was similar to that of DEBT, but the oil of Tarchonanthus camphoratus was less potent (87,88). 

Prajapati, V., Tripathi, A.K., Aggarwal, K.K., and Khanuja, S.P.S. 2005. Insecticidal, repellent and oviposition-deterrent activity of selected essential oils against the filarial mosquito Culexquinque fas-ciatus (Say) (Diptera Cullicidae). Prop. Biomed. 23 208-212. 

Constit. of essential oil of Achasma walang. Mosquito (Aedes aegypti) repellent. Mp 12°. Bpis 165°, Bp4 5 148-149°. 

Oil of citronella (the essential oil of Andropogon nardus, Poaceae) has long been used as a mosquito repellent. This oil is mostly composed of geraniol with lesser amounts of citronellol (7), citronellal (62), and bomeol (32). Other essential oils also have been used to repel insects (Levin, 1973 Seigler, 1983). 

Constit. of essential oil of Achasma walang. Also occurs in pear, capsicum, mutton pork and black tea. Mosquito Aedes aegypti) repellant. Comly. available flavour ingredient. Liq. or solid with fatty odour. Mp 12°. Bp j 165°, Bp4 5 148-149°. Information on occurrence and props, of E) and (Z)-isomers is limited. 

Pushpanathan, T., Jebanesan, A., Govindarajan, M. 2008. The essential oil of Zingiber officinalis Linn (Zingiberaceae) as a mosquito larvicidal and repellent agent against the larial vector Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera Culicidae). Parasitol. Res. 102(6) 1289-1291. 

Essential oils of Zingiber officinale and R. officinalis were found to be ovicidal and repellent, respectively, toward three mosquito species (Prajapati et al, 2005). Root oil of Angelica sinensis and ligustilide was found to be mosquito repellent (Wedge et al., 2009). 

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