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Published on: March 16, 2019
Indoor protection against mosquito and sand fly bites: a comparison between citronella, linalool, and geraniol
Günter C Müller1, Amy Junnila, Vasiliy D Kravchenko
1Department of Parasitology, Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract:
The repellent effect of 3 essential-oil-based candles was evaluated in a high biting pressure environment in Israel. In human landing assays, the repellency rate of 5% citronella candles against mosquitoes was 29.0%, of 5% linalool candles was 71.1%, and of 5% geraniol candles was 85.4%. The candles with geraniol were about twice as effective as those with linalool and were about 5 times as effective as citronella candles in protecting a person from being bitten indoors by mosquitoes. The repellency rate of 5% citronella candles towards sand flies was 24.7%, of 5% linalool candles was 55.2%, and of 5% geraniol candles was 79.7%. A geraniol candle was almost 5 times as effective as a citronella candle and about twice as effective as a linalool candle in protecting a person from being bitten indoors by sand flies.
