There are many home remedy tips circulating against intrusive wasps that are annoying at the breakfast table or while eating ice cream in late summer. A well-known defense method is said to consist of citronella products. In order to enjoy a real effect, attention must be paid to authenticity.
How does citronella work against wasps?
Real citronella oil can be used effectively against wasps because they avoid citrus and ethereal smells. The oil can be evaporated in a scented light or spread on wooden garden furniture to keep wasps away.
What actually is citronella?
Citronella is a versatile term. It refers to both the plant species lemongrass and the essential oils obtained from it and related sweet grasses. Most people probably know it as the trade name of lemongrass oil and scented candles containing it.
Lemongrass, also known as lemongrass, originally comes from Southeast Asia and has been used in a variety of ways in a long-standing tradition. In East Asian cuisine, for example, refreshing teas are made from it. But the lemony-rosy smelling sweet grass has also found its way into European eating and drinking culture, especially in dried form in sweet and savory dishes, pastries and drinks. Lemongrass essential oil, which contains around 80% citral and 20% mycrene, is also an established ingredient in perfumes and cosmetics as well as for room fresheners or bathroom cleaning products.
The versatility of citronella at a glance:
- As a (dried) herb for teas and as a spice
- Oil for perfumes, cosmetics and household products
Citronella against stinging insects
People have also learned to use citronella oil in another way: as a repellent, i.e. as a means of repelling stinging insects. Such pests, especially mosquitoes, but also wasps, do not like citrus and ethereal smells. Ideally, citronella oil combines both scents and smells even more repulsive to the insects.
Citronella oil is offered as pure oil in bottles, but also in processed form such as scented candles.
Only use real citronella oil
When purchasing the oil, you must make sure that it is labeled as pure, essential citronella oil. There are numerous cheat or stretch products that only contain synthetic citral or a portion of cheaper spruce tip oil. These have a much lower wasp repelling effect.
To effectively keep wasps away, you should only get real citronella oil and let it evaporate in a scented light, for example, or rub wooden garden furniture with it. But the scent barrier still can't do much when eating: the wasps don't stop in front of a table full of sweet icing particles or juicy, raw grilled steaks in their most work-intensive and hungriest phase.
