Natural Mosquito Repellents: Which Ones Actually Work?
The short answer
- Some natural repellents work. The ingredient and how much of it matter far more than the word “natural.”
- Geraniol is the best-studied plant-based active, with over an hour of protection against both mosquitoes and ticks in skin tests.
- Citronella, rosemary, cedarwood and peppermint are mostly there for scent. Look for one named active with a percentage, and reapply.
“Natural” is the most popular word on a bug repellent label and the least useful one. It tells you where an ingredient came from, not whether it works. Some plant oils have real research behind them. Others smell nice for twenty minutes.
We made Notch because I wanted the first kind without the smell of the second. Here’s the scorecard I used to get there.
The scorecard
These are plant-based actives from the EPA’s minimum-risk list, tested in a lotion on human skin. Mosquito times are complete protection against the yellow fever mosquito; tick times are against the blacklegged tick.12
| Ingredient | Mosquitoes | Ticks | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geraniol | Over 1 hour | 1 to 2 hours | Needs to be about 5% or more |
| Clove oil | Over 1 hour | 1 to 2 hours | Harsh on skin |
| Cinnamon oil | Over 1 hour | 1 to 2 hours | Harsh on skin |
| Lemongrass oil | 30 minutes or more | 10 minutes to 1 hour | Short on both counts |
| Citronella oil | 30 minutes or more | 10 minutes to 1 hour | About 20 minutes in real products3 |
| Peppermint oil | 30 minutes or more | 10 minutes to 1 hour | Fades fast |
| Cedarwood oil | Under 20 minutes | 10 minutes to 1 hour | Scent, not protection |
| Rosemary oil | Under 20 minutes | Under 10 minutes | Scent, not protection |
Two things the table can’t show. Strength has a threshold: geraniol’s protection jumps sharply between 4% and 5%, and below that it drops to minutes.4 And geraniol is the only row with a long research trail behind it, including tick work.
You’ll also see oil of lemon eucalyptus, or OLE. It starts as a plant extract but is refined into an active called PMD, so it’s an EPA-registered repellent rather than a minimum-risk one. It lasts a long time against mosquitoes, less so against ticks.
What “minimum-risk” means on a labelEverything you need to know about geraniolHow to build a natural tick routine
The ones to skip
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Citronella
The scent everyone pictures, and about 20 minutes of protection in the classic head-to-head test of repellents.3
The full research on citronella, on BugRepellent.GuideGeraniol vs. citronella vs. lemongrass
BugRepellent.Guide is a repellent research site run by the Notch team.
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Rosemary, cedarwood and peppermint
In plenty of natural sprays, mostly for the smell. On their own they give little or very short-lived protection.1
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“A proprietary blend of essential oils”
A blend is only as good as what’s in it and how much. If the label won’t name one active with a percentage, you can’t know what you’re getting.
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Bracelets, patches and pouches
A repellent only protects the skin it covers, and a wearable can’t cover you.
The Botanical Repellent Hierarchy
GeraniolBest-studied plant active. Repels mosquitoes and ticks.
OLE* / PMDLong-lasting, but weaker against ticks
Lemongrass · Clove · Cinnamon · SoybeanSome protection in tests, but short-lived, harsh on skin or thinly studied
Citronella · Peppermint · Cedarwood · Rosemary
*Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) is refined from the leaves of the lemon eucalyptus tree and enriched in PMD (para-menthane-3,8-diol), which can also be made in a lab. Unlike the others here, it’s an EPA-registered active rather than a minimum-risk one, and it isn’t for children under 3.
Want the numbers behind this ranking? BugRepellent.Guide’s comparison of natural repellents shows how each ingredient performed in published tests, and its geraniol page collects every geraniol study we’ve found. It scores every product, ours included, by the same published rules.
The natural repellent we made
Everything above comes down to a short checklist: one named active with a percentage, at a strength that clears the threshold, in a format you’ll actually spread over all your exposed skin, reapplied on schedule. Notch Nourish + Defend Botanical Insect Repellent is that checklist in a tube: 5% geraniol in a hydrating, non-greasy lotion with a light rose scent. It repels mosquitoes and ticks, and for maximum protection you reapply every hour. A lotion makes the even-coverage part easy.
Frequently asked questions
Are natural repellents gentler on skin?
Not automatically. “Natural” describes where an ingredient comes from, not how your skin will react, and some essential oils, clove and cinnamon in particular, are known for being harsh. If your skin reacts easily, try a small amount on your inner forearm first.
Does OLE count as natural?
Sort of. It starts as lemon eucalyptus extract but is refined and enriched in PMD, a compound that can also be made in a lab, and it’s EPA-registered rather than minimum-risk. It’s a good mosquito repellent, but it isn’t recommended for children under 3, and it’s weaker against ticks.
References
- Luker HA, et al. Repellent efficacy of 20 essential oils on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and Ixodes scapularis ticks in contact-repellency assays. Scientific Reports, 2023. Ingredients tested at 10% in a lotion; mosquito times in the table are from this study.
- Eisen L. Efficacy of unregulated minimum risk products to kill and repel ticks. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2024. Tick times in the table are this review’s ranges for 10% lotions on human skin.
- Fradin MS, Day JF. Comparative efficacy of insect repellents against mosquito bites. New England Journal of Medicine, 2002.
- Lopez AD, et al. Repellency of essential oils and plant-derived compounds against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Insects, 2025.
