Each lazy summer season night within the backyard requires three issues: a pitcher of one thing icy chilly, a plate crammed with one thing scrumptious, and a stash of citronella candles to repel mosquitoes.
There isn’t any doubt in our minds that citronella candles might be someplace close to the highest of your record of backyard concepts yearly working, whether or not you are the form of one who spends ages tablescaping earlier than a celebration, or who prefers to maintain issues as easy and pared-back as attainable.
Why? Properly, as a result of everybody is aware of that these vibrant, recent, and lemony candles are one of the simplest ways to maintain mozzies at bay… proper?
Proper?
Properly, no. Incorrect, because it seems.
(Picture credit score: Dominic Blackmore/Future Publishing Ltd)
Do citronella candles repel mosquitoes?
Whereas they’re completely the kind of backyard get together concepts to set the temper for an out of doors occasion, it appears we have all been misled on the subject of the superior bug-repelling powers of citronella candles.
In line with the outcomes of a examine in The New England Journal of Medication, important oils are very unstable, which suggests they evaporate too shortly to repel mosquitoes successfully. In reality, they solely ‘offered safety for a imply length of lower than 20 minutes’ – lower than half an hour.
(Picture credit score: Getty)
Nonetheless, there is no have to banish citronella candles out of your record of straightforward backyard concepts utterly.
After talking with Laurence Zwiebel, the chair of organic science at Vanderbilt College, The New York Occasions has discovered that citronella candles present as a lot safety from mosquitoes as every other candle-produced smoke (no extra, no much less).
Basically, which means that the biting beasties aren’t keen on the scent or warmth that comes hand-in-hand with smoke, so will attempt to keep away from it as a lot as attainable – though a campfire or backyard torch is prone to do the job extra successfully than a candle.
So, what ought to we use to repel mosquitoes as an alternative of citronella candles?
If you’re in search of easy methods to repel mosquitoes from your private home, you are in luck: we beforehand spoke to Howard Carter, UK Chunk Safety professional and advisor to the UK and Brazilian governments and founding father of Incognito, to glean his prime suggestions.
His recommendation was easy: we have to CLOAK.
- C – Cowl up legs and arms with appropriate clothes.
- L – Gentle colored clothes is suggested.
- O – Odours, bodily or in any other case, like sure kairomones and perfumes
are sturdy attractants. So wash completely, together with exfoliating with a
loofah, and don’t use perfumes. - A – Apply an efficient insect repellent, comparable to incognito, accessible at Amazon.
- Ok – Hold your backyard tidy, and keep away from stagnant water wherever attainable.
(Picture credit score: Getty)
Considerably surprisingly, it appears desk or pedestal followers are one other good technique to preserve mosquitoes at bay – in case your extension cable permits it, in fact.
How does it work? Properly, mosquitoes are notoriously weak fliers, so all you might want to do is pop a fan on (specialists counsel preserving it at knee stage), sit again, and chill out because the biting bugs are thwarted of their makes an attempt to get at you.
Your fan will even assist disperse the carbon dioxide you exhale, which attracts mozzies, and preserve you cool as you chill out. Win win!
Nonetheless, it simply would not be summer season with out the distinct waft of citronella candles within the air. Possibly we’ll simply stud one or two round our backyard desk, for outdated instances sake…
