I thought citronella was used only for candles to drive mosquitoes away. There are so many other uses which I discovered.
There was a time I was having problems with ants in my house since we leave a lot of snacks and chocolates on our tables or just in the kitchen or pantry. My cousin, Ana taught me a tip to get rid of those ants! She is such a great resource for household tips.
After thorough detergent cleaning, wipe all surfaces which are prone to crawling insects (mainly the kitchen and bathroom) with a cotton pad soaked in full strength citronella essential oil. Use a flat cotton pad over the cotton balls since it makes the most efficient use of a fairly expensive essential oil. Another way would be to dilute it in water as a spray, but, Ana recommends to use cotton in full strength.
After the area is thoroughly cleaned,put a cotton ball dabbed in citronella inside a small plastic container in the area. Do remember to keep the citronella away from any food which is not sealed tightly as your food might taste lemony or like citronella.
Citronella keeps away the flying insects to a limited degree, but, it really keeps away all sorts of crawling insects ( cockroaches and ants especially ) and the best part about it is that it is all natural and not harmful.
Available at Rustan’s Supermarket Fresh, Rockwell and Makati.
For more information, visit: http://www.manilaherbal.com/essential_citronella.htm
Benefits from Citronella
**This perfect plant for the tropics is a natural insect repellant that can keep household pests like mosquitos, cockroaches, ants and house lizards at bay. Public areas with the likes of public toilets and baths, hospitals, kitchens, stadiums and others are the perfect places to need this essential oil as cleaning agent.
**For household use a few drops of this essential oil in water to clean the floors, toilet bowls and kitchen sinks and bathroom and kitchen walls and ceiling and rooms of the house to keep ants, cockroaches and lizards away and to keep mosquitoes at bay.
**Its biodegradable and antiseptic property makes it an ecological substitute to chlorine as a swimming pool fungicide.
**Use a few drops in your laundry water to keep the moths from attacking clothes in the cabinets and those to be stored.
**This essential oil can be added to carrier oil in oil lamps to keep mosquitoes away in the outdoors or open places.
**It can also be placed in spray cans to scent the rooms, cars, office space and other spaces to keep it from mosquitoes.
**Most pet lovers dub a drop or two of this essential oil behind the ears of their pets to free them from fleas. Sometimes it is added to pet soaps and shampoos
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