Lemongrass and Cinnamon Bark: Plant Essential Oil Blend as a Spatial Repellent for Mosquitoes in a Field Setting

Abstract

Plant essential oils (EOs) have been considered as spatial repellents to help disrupt the pathogen transmission cycle of mosquitoes. Our objective was to assess spatial repellency effects of EOs on the tropical yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) and on local mosquito populations in coastal British Columbia (Canada). In laboratory experiments using protocols of the World Health Organization, three of the solitary EOs tested proved repellent to Ae. aegypti: cinnamon bark, lemongrass, and rosemary. Binary combinations of select EOs enhanced the repellent effect of single EOs through synergistic interactions. The EO blend of geranium and peppermint lowered the RD50 (the dose required to obtain 50% repellency) of each solitary EO by >1,000-fold. Compared with binary EO blends, ternary EO blends were typically less repellent to mosquitoes, possibly due to a dilution effect of the most effective EO constituent(s) in the blend. In field experiments, the EO blend of lemongrass and cinnamon bark expressed spatial repellency towards the cool weather mosquito, Culiseta incidens (Thomson) (Diptera: Culicidae), even when this blend was disseminated from devices as much as 1 m away from a sentinel trap releasing attractive vertebrate host odorants and CO2. Deployment of EOs as spatial repellents in small outdoor gatherings could help protect humans from mosquito-borne diseases, particularly when this tactic is coupled with other tools of mosquito management.

Essential Oil Headspace Volatiles Prevent Invasive Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) Oviposition—Insights from Electrophysiology and Behaviour

“…In the present study, BTM females laid the fewest eggs on the box tree treated with cinnamon oil, i.e., the cinnamon oil has the highest deterrent effect. In the case of cinnamon oil, the repellent effect has been shown for mites [42], mosquitoes [43] and codling moth larvae [44]. Fouad et al [45] compared five EOs, and the cinnamon oil was the most repellent oil against cowpea beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus F.).…”

Behavioral and physiological responses of Drosophila melanogaster and D. suzukii to volatiles from plant essential oils

“…Artemisia sieberi EO, which is rich in α‐thujone, β‐thujone and camphor, exhibits significant repellent activity against the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae 5 . Citronella EO, which contains citronellal, citronellol, geraniol, citral, nerol and limonene, is one of the most widely used natural repellents against several species of mosquitoes 2,6,7 . Citronellal and linalool, have been reported to elicit spatial repellency 8,9 .…”

Efficiency of CO 2 ‐baited CDC miniature light traps under semi‐field conditions and characterizing response behaviors of female Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…Currently, the Biogents ® Sentinel (BG‐Sentinel) (Biogents AG, Regensberg, Germany) is perhaps the most widely used trap for Ae. aegypti (e.g., O'Neill et al 2018, Peach et al 2019, Staunton et al 2019). This trap, designed to sit on the ground, is a collapsible fabric container with a white porous lid 36 cm in diameter and 40 cm high.…”