Fact Check: Can placing a clove-spiked lemon in a room keep dengue mosquitoes away?

Hyderabad: Several social media users have claimed that spiking a few cloves into a half-cut piece of lemon keeps the dengue mosquitoes at away.

Similar posts can be seen here and here.

The caption to the post reads, ‘Keep Dengue Mosquitoes Away. Although cloves give us a pleasant aromatic fragrance but this was not liked by the Dengue mosquitoes. They can’t stand this spice scent which is most commonly used for culinary purposes. So these cloves are considered as an effective remedy in repelling the house flies and Dengue mosquitoes. In this process, the aroma of cloves with lemon combination which is another effective ingredient in which the Dengue mosquitoes want to resist the smell therefore an effective repellent.’

The post further advises cutting a Lemon put 10-15 cloves in each half and keep in your room. This apparently will keep the Dengue mosquitoes away from your room.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false.

According to a study, the essential oils extracted from cloves and citronella do provide over an hour repellent effect against mosquitoes. It should be noted that we are not talking about clove and lemon in its original form.

The results of the study clearly indicate that clove, citronella and lemongrass oil are the most promising for repellency against mosquito species. These oils could be used to develop a new formulation to control mosquitoes.

What works with mosquitoes?

A study has found that ‘DEET-based products provided complete protection for the longest duration. Higher concentrations of DEET provided long-lasting protection. A formulation containing 23.8 percent DEET has a mean complete-protection time of 301.5 minutes. All other botanical repellents we tested provided protection for a mean duration of less than 20 minutes. Repellent-impregnated wristbands offered no protection.’

Currently, available non-DEET repellents do not provide protection for durations similar to those of DEET-based repellents and cannot be relied on to provide prolonged protection in environments where mosquito-borne diseases are a substantial threat’ the study added.

Lastly, the only proven way limes and cloves can be effective is by using repellents containing essential oils extracted from them. Simply burning them might have a protection for a few minutes but it may cause respiratory inconvenience to those who have a sensitive nose. Studies show that although these oils do mask our scents to prevent mosquitoes from biting us when applied to the skin, the oils are still not an effective alternative to products containing DEET.

NewsMeter reached out to Prof. (Dr.) S. Vijay Mohan, M.D, Sr. Consultant Physician, Care Hospitals & Professor & HoD, Dept. of Internal Medicine, to debunk the claim.

He said, ‘No, we should not believe on such the WhatsApp or social media health tips. The tips are not backed by any scientific study. Follow tips after verifying the authenticity and scientific basis. Many of them are fake. It won’t hurt people but may not be useful at the same time. I have no scientific explanation and proof to confirm that it works. Moreover, relying completely on this might increase the chances of you getting dengue’.

Adding to that ‘There are no scientific explanations to most of the home remedies but still, we follow them and they may help in some ways and may not help always. It’s a difficult point to answer straight.'