Skip to Content

Does Citronella Repel Gnats? (Quick Answers)

Citronella is considered an essential oil that is extracted from different types of leaves and stems of different species of lemongrass. It has a very strong aroma that has a variety of uses. In today’s article, we will discuss if citronella can repel gnats. 

Citronella repel gnats 

Citronella is considered to be a strong insect repellant and will help to ward off more than just gnats. The fruit flies and fungus gnats usually rely on a strong smell sense to navigate. That is why you can use different essential oils such as citronella essential oil to repel them.

Sometimes a different type of insects can invade your home and make your living environment unhealthy and annoying. They will fly everywhere, buzz annoying noises and even tend to come in large numbers if they want to live here.

Gnats are one of them. They are more than just dangerous pests or insects for your home and yard. Although they do not damage the plants, they come in large numbers and start to fly inside of your home, which can cause big trouble for you.

That is why you need to consider a strong repellant that will repel them and maintain their effectiveness for a longer amount of time. There are a variety of solutions in the market available to repel the gnats.

But if you’re looking to repel them without using chemicals or pesticides, as they can cause harm or damage to the family members of your house as well, there are some other ways you can implement.

You can use citronella essential oil to repel the gnats. Generally, the gnats use their strong-smelling sense to navigate and observe the environment around them. The strong, pungent aroma of citronella essential oil will help to drive them away.

In addition to that, it is a natural way and helps to repel the gnats effectively. Below is a brief discussion on the different senses of citronella that will repel the gnats: 

Citronella plant: 

Citronella plant is considered an effective option to repel the gnats. You can plant some citronella in your garden so that the gnats cannot come closer to the house.

Citronella oil: 

The strong smell of citronella essential oil will help to drive away from the gnats from your home. It is a strongly recommended and effective formula that can be used as a harmless repelling technique. 

Citronella candles: 

You can try using citronella candles to repel the gnats because they will spread a strong, pungent aroma that will repel the gnats. In addition to that, it is harmless for you and your family members as well.

Citronella grass: 

Citronella grass will not only help to repel gnats but will also help to drive away other insects from your house as well.

So, you can have citronella grass in your garden that provides a beautiful scent throughout the garden and drive away insects.

Does citronella repel fungus gnats? 

Citronella is considered an essential oil that is highly effective to drive away any type of insect. Generally, the citronella essential oil contains a strong, pungent aroma that the insects cannot resist.

There are different types of insects, such as gnats who rely on their strong-smelling sense for navigation.

As a result, they cannot smell anything that has a strong pungent aroma. That is why citronella essential oil can be considered a naturally harmless option to repel gnats.

Sometimes the fungus gnats can cause serious issues to your living environment.

They are a common type of flies that cannot resist the smell of citronella essential oil. That is why, if you’re looking to drive them away using a natural solution, you can rely on using citronella essential oil to repel the fungus gnats.

It is harmless for your family and the environment surrounding you. Instead of that, it will provide you with a beautiful smell that will change your mood and prevent the. See fungus gnats and other insects from entering your home.

3 reasons citronella repel gnats 

Living with gnats flying around your house can be annoying and disturbing. Generally, the insects come in large numbers and make the living environment unhealthy and awful.

That is why you may consider having an effective repellant that will drive away unwanted insects. Luke and try using citronella essential oil to repel the insects, such as gnats.

Many people tend to use pesticides or chemicals to repel the gnats, but it may cause harm to the family members and living environment as well.

That is why you can use the citronella essential oil because it has a strong aroma that will drive away from the gnats. In addition to that, it is completely natural and harmless. Below is a brief discussion on a few reasons why citronella repel gnats: 

It spreads a strong smell: 

Generally, the gnats used their strong-smelling sense to navigate and observe the environment surrounding them. Citronella central oil spreads a strong smell that will drive them away easily and naturally.

It is long-lasting: 

The citronella essential oil or citronella flavored candles are effective because they are long-lasting. That is why once the gnats go away from the strong smell of citronella, they will never come back.

Easily applicable and naturally harmless:

The best part about using citronella essential oil to get rid of gnats is that it is easily applicable and harmless to the environment. That is why many people tend to choose citronella to get rid of gnats.

How do you use citronella oil to repel gnats? 

Having insects inside of your home can be very annoying and unhealthy. Such as not spot flies can come to your house in large numbers and fly everywhere which may make you bothered and irritated.

However, you can use the chemical pesticides that are available on the market to get rid of this type of insect. But using them can be harmful and risky as they can be toxic and cause allergic reactions to you and your family members.

So, you can try using natural ways to drive the gnats away. In that case, using essential oils can be an ideal option. Generally, the insects such as flies or gnats use their strong-smelling sense to navigate and observe the environment.

So, if you use the naturally extracted essential oils that have a strong pungent aroma, it will help them to go away and never come back. Citronella essential oil is one of the most effective essential oils that can keep the gnats away.

You can make a solution out of the essential oil and use it to drive the gnats away from your home. Simply follow the steps below to use the solution using citronella essential oils that will keep the gnats away from your home: 

Take a clean bottle: 

The first thing you need to do to make the mixture is to take a clean bottle that will be used to store the mixture for future use purpose. You can take a bottle that has a capacity of 250ml water. Fill the bottle using water.

Pour citronella essential oil: 

Take the bottle full of water and drop five to seven drops of citronella essential oil. The general rule of thumb is to add 10 to 15 drops of citronella essential oil per liter.

So, carefully add the citronella oils to the water full of bottles to prepare the mixture.

Shake and spray: 

Once you have added all the mixtures together inside the bottle, now you have to check it well so that everything gets mixed properly.

Now spread the mixture into the furniture and surrounding your home. Hopefully, it will help you to get rid of the gnats.

What essential oil keeps gnats away? 

Getting your house invaded by insects and flies may be a common scenario for you. This can bother you a lot and make your household environment unhealthy and annoying.

That is why you can use naturally extracted essential oils to keep insects away. Generally, insects such as flies and gnats used their smelling sense to navigate and observe the area around them.

So, you can simply use a different type of essential oils that contain a strong aroma to drive the gnats away. Below is a brief discussion on a different type of essential oil that keeps the gnats away: 

Peppermint: 

Peppermint essential oil is pretty effective to drive away from the gnats. 

Lavender: 

The lavender essential oil has a strong aroma that will keep the gnats away from your home. 

Cinnamon: 

You can also try to use cinnamon essential oils that will keep the gnats away. 

Cedarwood: 

Cedarwood essential oil will help to keep the gnats away from your home. 

Final thoughts

Having insects such as gnats can be very bothering and irritating for your house and environment. That is why you can use citronella essential oil, which is a natural homemade remedy to keep the flies away from your home with its strong, pungent, aromatic flavor.