Does Lemongrass Repel Mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes are the absolute worst, and if you’re prone to get bitten by them, a hot summer evening can turn into a horrible nightmare, not to mention that it’s hard to fall asleep knowing that they’re waiting.

Hidden until they get to drink your blood. (We kinda hate mosquitoes, and most people do, which is more than understandable) 

And sure, there are all sorts of products that supposedly help you repel mosquitoes so that you can make it through the night without a single bite. But, most of these products use chemicals, and not everyone is okay with using them because of this. 

But what if we told you there was a natural remedy? You might have heard of lemongrass, and how it can repel mosquitoes. However, you might have dismissed it as wishful thinking.

But, it’s true. Lemongrass can well and truly help repel mosquitoes and, in large concentrations, it can even kill some adult mosquitoes off!

But…what exactly is lemongrass and how come it repels mosquitoes? How exactly does it work? And how should it be used effectively for repelling mosquitoes all through the night? 

Don’t worry, we will answer these questions and more. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about the amazing mosquito-repelling powers of lemongrass. 

Ready? Then let’s get right into it! 

What Is Lemongrass?

Lemongrass, officially known as Cymbopogon, is a type of grass (much like the name suggests) that is best known for its lemon-like scent. It is native to Asia, Africa, and Australia.

But can pretty much be found all over the world nowadays. There are various subtypes of lemongrass, but most are used in the same way. 

As a general rule, the main purpose of lemongrass is as a culinary and medicinal herb. It can be used to add a lemony scent to foods and for medicinal purposes. Most commonly, lemongrass is used for its essential oil for further use in aromatherapy!

Lemongrass looks like normal grass, only it’s longer and spikier. Sometimes, it is also referred to as citronella grass, as lemongrass is one of the main sources of citronella oil.

And citronella is precisely why lemongrass can be used to repel mosquitoes and other insects. More of that in the next section! 

How Does Lemongrass Repel Mosquitoes?

As we have already teased, the reason why lemongrass is able to repel mosquitoes is thanks to the fact that it contains large amounts of citronella. 

Citronella is an oil largely used for culinary purposes, as it has a strong lemon scent. It is also used in all sorts of soaps, perfumes, and scented items. And, to us humans, it truly does smell amazing! 

However, mosquitoes cannot stand the smell of citronella. In fact, most insects can’t, which is why citronella naturally repels most unwanted insects!

And as lemongrass has large quantities of citronella oil, and essentially just smells of citronella, then the grass as a whole repels mosquitoes and other insects! 

So lemongrass isn’t really doing anything special in order to repel the mosquitoes and any other insects. It just gives off that lemon scent, and the mosquitoes go “nope” and turn around. Pretty cool, right? 

If the concentration of lemongrass is high, it can even kill the mosquitoes, as the lemon odor becomes too overpowering for them! So overall, lemongrass is a pretty reliable way of keeping the little blood-suckers away. 

How To Use Lemongrass For Repelling Mosquitoes

Okay, so you might be wondering how exactly you can use lemongrass to repel mosquitoes. Like sure, you know mosquitoes don’t like its scent, so the plant repels them. But how exactly do you use it so that it is completely reliable and effective? 

In all honesty, planting some lemongrass around the house won’t be enough. Maybe if you planted a very large amount of lemongrass, and it was literally all over the house, covering it in its scent in its entirety…but that isn’t exactly very feasible, is it? 

Burning lemongrass also isn’t the answer. A lot of people think that if they burn lemongrass in the house, this will be the most effective way to repel mosquitoes.

It’s as if they are blessing the home with the lemongrass smoke resulting in fewer mosquitoes. But, that isn’t going to work as well as you think as the smoke and overwhelming smell can actually cause you harm by irritating your nose and throat. 

So…how do you use it? You can’t just have it there (although planting lemongrass around the house will definitely help and repel mosquitoes to a certain degree), and you shouldn’t burn it, so how do you use it to repel mosquitoes? 

The answer is to create a lemongrass spray. And there are two ways in which you can do this!

Method 1: Using Fresh Lemongrass

This method makes use of some fresh lemongrass, so it requires you to have access to some lemongrass (perfect if you already have some planted around the house!) 

To create the spray, you simply add some lemongrass to a pot, some water, and boil it. After a while, the water will turn yellow.

This means that it has extracted the citronella oil from the lemongrass. You can then let it sit overnight and place the mixture you have created into a spray bottle!

Method 2: Using Lemongrass Essential oil

This method makes use of lemongrass essential oil which can easily be bought at a local store. It is ideal for when you don’t have access to any actual lemongrass and it will work just as well, or even better! 

To create the spray, simply add a few drops of the lemongrass essential oil into a spray bottle full of distilled water. That’s literally it! 

Once you have the spray bottle full of lemongrass solution, you can use it to spray the citronella around the house. It will be more highly concentrated and pretty effective at repelling mosquitoes.

Basically, you can use it as you would any normal anti-mosquito spray, only it is completely free of any chemicals and it smells good to you! 

Final Thoughts

So…to sum it all up, does lemongrass repel mosquitoes? The answer is yes! In fact, lemongrass is very effective at repelling mosquitoes as well as other types of insects. Moreover, it will not only keep them away but in some cases, it might even kill them! 

The reason for this is that lemongrass contains citronella oil, which smells like lemon, and mosquitoes absolutely hate this odor, even though most humans love it. 

You can easily create a solution of lemongrass spray to apply around the house and this should help you keep the mosquitoes away for good!