Not Bug Spray: Essential Oil From This Native Tree Can Help Repel Mosquitoes

It might feel as though mosquitoes are a pesky annoyance all year. In the U.S., mosquitoes actually have a dedicated season, depending on where you live. It's probably no surprise that mosquito season has the longest stretch in warm, humid areas. If you've had it up to your eyeballs choosing between trying to live your best life outdoors and having itchy mosquito bites covering almost every inch, it might be easy to reach for a chemical remedy like DEET to keep mosquitoes from using you as their own personal supply. But there's a way better option that's been doing this job for centuries, even before spray cans existed. Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) has a superpower that lies deep inside the tree's wood pulp and can help kick mosquitoes to the curb.

While there's a mosquito-attracting tree you don't want in your yard, an incense cedar is definitely one you might, especially if you live in USDA Zones 5 through 8. Although planting them around your landscape can certainly elevate its aesthetic, simply growing these Western North American native trees doesn't really do much to repel insects. That pleasant, aromatic scent you notice walking past one is just a sneak peek of what's locked inside. The extracted oil is like chemical warfare against insects, except without the chemicals. Rather than the icky smell of traditional bug sprays, cedar leaves a warm, earthy fragrance behind.

Find out how this essential oil works to get mosquitoes to say "peace out" when it's their season in your neck of the woods.

People used essential oils to fight insects before the invention of synthetic insecticides after World War II. That's not a coincidence. The same intense fragrances we find so pleasant tend to be exactly what insects can't stand, which is why this approach still holds up against all types of pests today, especially when you want to say goodbye to wasps. Incense cedar oil fits squarely into this category as a botanical insecticide — pleasant and woodsy to us, disorienting to mosquitoes. Since mosquitoes are drawn to humans by scent and heat cues, incense cedar oil's organic compounds act like an invisible barrier, causing confusion and hopefully making them pass you over instead of landing.

The really good news is that this same effect reaches beyond mosquitoes. Incense cedar also helps stop ticks and fleas in their tracks, which your pets will appreciate as much as you do. It also plays well with other essential oils rather than having to fight alone. Cinnamon oil, for example, can help defend you and your space against certain mosquito species when paired with cedar. Some pest-control recommendations go even further: OPC Pest Control notes that "cedar oil and garlic 'juice' can be combined, for example, for an especially effective anti-mosquito treatment." 

And if incense cedar isn't quite the scent profile you're after, there are plenty of all-natural mosquito repellents that aren't citronella that are worth checking out, too.