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Jumanji, Welcome to the Jungle: Citronella and the Mosquitoes


Alex, played by Nick Jonas in the new movie of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, has weaknesses as every other player in the game, but the most important of them is the ‘allergy’ to mosquitoes. In the scene where he makes margaritas for everyone, we see that his house (built by Alan Parrish) is loaded with lots and lots of citronella candles to keep away mosquitoes... But what does citronella exactly do to these creatures?
First of all, let's define what citronella is. What we call citronella is an oil obtained from the stems of mainly two species of the Lemongrass family: the Cymbopogon Nardus and the Cymbopogon Winterianus. This oil contains a majority of aldehydes and alcohols, being the active compounds in citronella oil (for the purpose of repelling mosquitoes) camphor, eucalyptol, eugenol, linalool, citronellal and citral.
What does it do to mosquitoes? Well, some evidence suggests that these compounds interfere with mosquito olfactory receptors. It is said to mask the carbon dioxide and lactic acid scents that mosquitoes are searching for, so generally, insects will have a much more difficult time locating you when you have applied citronella oil. However, the definite mechanism of action of these compounds in preventing mosquito bites has not yet been fully elucidated.
Although this may sound good, citronella oil is not miraculous. It is demonstrated that citronella oil used in a variety of preparations is less effective than DEET, the most common synthetic active ingredient in insect repellents, in terms of duration of protection against mosquitoes. And despite the fact that the oil’s mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research, the citronella has to be used undiluted; as for candles, the plant itself (only the oil obtained from the plant will repel mosquitoes) and other citronella-emitting devices just work in areas of limited air movement, being ineffective in open areas.
And there is more! The EPA considers the oil of citronella as a biopesticide with a non-toxic mode of action, but it's quite known the adverse effects of the product in people. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the oil might cause skin irritation, and the direct application of citronella oil can lead to raise the heart rate of some people, the reason why some countries banned the oil's use as an insect repellent (for example, Canada).
So, I’m so sorry Alex, but considering that you where in an open area, surrounded by candles that where diluted, and exposed 20 years of your life to citronella, by the time our four heroes arrived you would be buried below ground, don’t you think?

Photograph by @monicore
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