Study summary
Efficacy of the botanical repellents geraniol, linalool, and citronella against mosquitoes
Muller GC, Junnila A, Kravchenko VD, Revay EE, Butler J, Schlein Y
Read the original paper- Study type
- Field Trial
- Year
- 2009
- Published in
- Journal of Vector Ecology 34(1):2-8
- Evidence strength
- Well-supported evidence
How it was tested
Field tests of candles and diffusers releasing geraniol, linalool, and citronella — area repellency, not skin application.
Summary
Field trial of geraniol, linalool, and citronella as diffusers and candles against wild mosquitoes.
Key findings
As continuous-release diffusers, geraniol repelled 97% indoor and 75% outdoor at 6 m versus citronella 68% indoor and 22% outdoor; as candles, repellency dropped to about 50% for geraniol and 14% for citronella, showing delivery format matters more than the oil alone.
Limitations
Trap-catch proxy rather than human-bite counts, in a single geographic setting.