So Zote it bee (or mosquito)

May 1, 2014 1:54 PM

Is there enough citronella oils in Zote to actually repel mosquitoes from clothes washed using it?

There are a jillion home made laundry soap recipes out there, some easy, some hard, that use Zote. Some even mention the mosquitoes as a plus but has anyone tried it?

Tossing drops of citronella oil in can possibly work, but I'd rather have something more fool proof for the tweens doing their own summer laundry.

My main thought would be to mix grated Zote in with powdered Charlie's Soap. CS is "safe for HE" but I'd have them scoop the Charlie's-Zote into the tub. Charlie's says 1tbsp per load, so I'd go for some pink flakes in it, maybe 2/3 Charlie and 1/3 Zote.

Any experience here with this? The kids mostly will stay in the state, high mosquito season.

posted by tilde to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Best answer: According to this study, applying citronella directly to your skin is only good for about 30 minutes of protection. It's hard to see how clothes that have been through a rinse cycle are going to retain any protective qualities from the cintronella.
posted by COD at 6:03 PM on May 1, 2014

I'm not sure if you're asking about Zote specifically or mosquito repellent in general, but if it's the latter, you probably want permethrin.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 6:50 PM on May 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hrm, sounds like the oils won't, even if they are in high enough concentration, last the "whole day". Just figured out PubMed.
posted by tilde at 4:37 AM on May 2, 2014