Citromint, Natural Bug Repellant for the Home

Aromacology, the scientific study of the effects and uses of scents on the human psyche and the environment, found that citronella essential oil has a bug repellant effect.  

I have a puppy and an 8 year old at home and I’ve read about how chemical disinfectants can have a downside effect on children and pets so for two years now I’ve been using Citromint Oil to mop floors (1 tablespoon mixed with a gallon of water) and a stronger mix for wooden floors (3 tablespoons to half a gallon) for a waxed effect.

A day after mopping/waxing, we would sweep dead roaches from the floor and the ant population from the big trees outside would stay away from our kitchen.

The resulting dirty water from the mopping/waxing doesn’t go to waste either as it can be poured down all the drains for maximum effect.  

When you live in a 49 year old house, this oil becomes an absolute must-have in the daily war against pests.  

It keeps the peace as when we had another house puppy who insisted on escaping to the garden and eventually caught a bad flea infection.  The Citromint exterminated the flea population that hatched eggs everywhere.  Now this wasn’t an easy thing to do in my house which has very porous adobe deco walls in my office where my son watches TV while I work. The oil eventually stopped the dirty looks I was getting from my Mom and our weekend family guests.  

Of course, I mixed it with my dog’s shampoo and finished off the flea population there too.

Citronella found in lemon grass is popular with cancer patients and recommended as a daily tea regimen. Kibbutz in Israel are now growing lemon grass for commercial sale to cancer patients.  Constant inhalation of the aroma is also said to have beneficial effects. (See Related Post in this Site: “The Value of the Most Common of Grasses and Weeds”.)

I take a few drops and mix it with virgin coconut oil in a spray bottle and it works as a bug repellent applied to my son’s exposed arms at the onset of the rainy season which brings out the dengue bearing mosquitoes.  The VCO is very gentle on the skin of children and for adults its a good moisturizer as well.

One or two drops of the oil can also be mixed with the wax of candles as they start to melt to keep mosquitoes away at garden parties.  When mayflies come out, you can brush the oil on light-bulbs and when the bulb heats up the aroma released will drive the mayflies away from the dinner table.

It sells at retail for PhP 281.55 for a 120 ml bottle. I buy mine at the Shangrila (level 6).  Its very economical as this bottle lasts me 2 months in our 5 bedroom house which has a wooden second floor.  I mop with the oil only twice a week for the tile floor and twice a month for the wooden floorboards and it stays bug free for all that time.

The Philippine Manufacturer is “The Citromint Company, Inc.” and it may be emailed at citromint@i-manila.com.ph for further inquiries.  It is being endorsed here simply because the product is healthy, it works for me and I promote Philippine environment-friendly products.  Not to mention I love the brown bottle and recycled paper packaging.