Insect Repellent Essential Oils

Controlling the bugs is an important part of maintaining a home or workplace. Many people prefer to use some type of repellent as opposed to using harsh chemicals—particularly in a home. While there are many different types of insect repellent, it may be worth considering an essential oil based option such as Insect Repellent Essential Oil. Insect Repellent Essential Oil is a blend of 3 highly concentrated insect repelling essential oils (lemon eucalyptus, rosemary ct. 1,2,4-trihydroxybenzene) to repel mosquitoes and other insects with powerful natural protection against flies, gnats and other biting insects that can interfere with outdoor activities such as gardening and fishing.

Insect Repellent Essential Oils

A repellent is generally defined as a substance that discourages arthropods from landing or biting human skin. The attractants for female mosquitoes include carbon dioxide and lactic acid present in sweat, and the resulting odor is recognized by chemoreceptors present in their antennae. Insects detect specific scents via odorant receptors (ORx), which form complexes with coreceptors (Orco) that act as ion channels. When an odorant binds to an ORx, the Orco ion channel is opened, ultimately activating a sensory neuron that detects the odor. Therefore, allosteric agonists and antagonists that target ORx and Orco could act as potential repellents by disrupting the odor-sensing activity in insects. Repellents, such as DEET, IR3535, and picaridin, have been proposed to act as olfactory agonists or antagonists, via modulating ORx activity, in the absence and presence of indole and octanol, which are specific to these ORx. There are various suggestions for the mode of action of insect repellency; however, the underlying mechanisms of insect repellency are not clear, and it is still a controversial topic. Understanding the mode of action of insect repellents and how repellents modulate odor-sensing will allow us to design and develop better repellent formulations.

EOs are complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds from plants. The presence of monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenes, and alcohols has been proven to attribute to the repellent properties of EOs. In particular, citronellol, citronellal, α-pinene, and limonene are common constituents of many EOs exhibiting repellent effects. Recent evidence has shown that the odorant receptor neuron in a mosquito’s antennal sensilla is activated by linalool, a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants, and by eucalyptol, a natural organic compound. The repellent screen platform based on odor-sensing might be new strategy for developing novel repellents or compounds with novel mode of action against arthropods.

In general, plant EOs are recognized as safe; however, some of them also cause side effects such as skin irritation, mainly due to the constituents present in the plant EOs, limiting their extensive usage. Natural products are not always safer than synthetic ones, and some might cause adverse reactions. Moreover, sometimes, the available toxicity and safety information is limited and contradictory. The repellent effects of EOs from Rosmarinus officinalis, Dacrydium franklinii, and Melaleuca bracteata were found to be promising, but were unsuitable for human use because they caused skin irritation, contact dermatitis, and asthma. At present, synthetic repellents are more widely used than EOs, although this raises several concerns related to environmental and human health.

In the United States, the FDA tests and approves topical insect repellants such as DEET for use [10]. Further, citronella, lemon, and eucalyptus oils are common insect repellents and are registered by the EPA and have been approved for topical use in humans. PMD (p-menthane-3,8-diol), proven safe to human health, is the only plant-based repellent advocated by the CDC for public use. 2-Undecanone, a natural compound from the wild tomato plant Lycopersicon hirsutum, is a biopesticide product with lesser toxicity than conventional pesticides. BioUD formula is the only EPA-registered insect repellent containing 2-undecanone. Natural EOs such as lemongrass, citronella, cedar, peppermint, lavender, and geranium oils are exempted from the Environmental Protection Agency registration. The duration of effectiveness of these oils is estimated to be between 30 minutes and 2 hours. An overview of comprehensive properties of commercially available repellents is described in Table 1. The general properties, toxicity, and safety of major conventional repellent EOs are described below.

Insect Repellent Essential Oils

Insect repellent essential oil is a natural alternative to traditional insect repellents, which are often filled with harmful chemicals.

While many essential oils have been shown to be effective in repelling insects, the following are some of the most commonly used and effective ones:

Citronella: This is a lemon-scented oil that has been shown to be very effective at repelling mosquitoes.

Lavender: Lavender has been shown to repel moths, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and flies. It also has a calming effect on humans, which makes it good for use around children.

Tea Tree: This oil has been used for centuries as an insect repellent because of its antimicrobial properties. It is also great for treating skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis because it helps soothe inflammation while still being gentle enough even for sensitive skin types.”

List Of Insect Repellent Essential Oils