{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T11:22:15Z","timestamp":1787743335195,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Insect Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Spatial mosquito repellents contain volatile compounds that disrupt mosquito host seeking behavior. Some essential oils have been shown to be effective spatial repellents against biting insects. In this study, we acquired seven batches of commercially available candles containing mixtures of essential oils. Six of these candle labels claim that they repel mosquitoes. We used a taxis cage assay to evaluate the spatial repellency against\n                    <jats:italic>Aedes aegypti<\/jats:italic>\n                    mosquitoes of these and two control candles without essential oils. We used Headspace Solid-phase Microextraction Gas Chromotography-Mass Spectrometry analysis to identify a putative list of volatile organic compounds emitted by heated candle wax. We subsequently correlated individual compounds with spatial repellency. Three types of candles, containing mixtures of various essential oils, showed strong repellent efficacy compared to the controls, while the other three types did not produce significant repellency. The volatile organic compound composition varied between the different types of candles. Candles that were efficient mosquito repellents contained relatively high concentrations of essential oils. We identified several volatile organic compounds that are positively associated with mosquito repellency. The results of this study show that the efficacy of essential oil-based candles as mosquito repellents is based on their formulation.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/finsc.2026.1917728","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T10:53:54Z","timestamp":1787741634000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The efficacy of commercially available essential oil-based candles as spatial repellents against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes \u2013 do they actually repel?"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"April D.","family":"Lopez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, New Mexico State University","place":["Las Cruces, NM, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudia J.","family":"Galvan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University","place":["Las Cruces, NM, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F. Omar","family":"Holguin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University","place":["Las Cruces, NM, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher J.","family":"Sroka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Economics, Applied Statistics, and International Business, New Mexico State University","place":["Las Cruces, NM, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Immo A.","family":"Hansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, New Mexico State University","place":["Las Cruces, NM, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2018.2432","article-title":"Patterns, drivers, and challenges of vector-borne disease emergence","volume":"20","author":"Swei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1475-2875-11-164","article-title":"Spatial repellents: from discovery and development to evidence-based validation","volume":"11","author":"Achee","year":"2012","journal-title":"Malar J"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2025.02.009","article-title":"Making scents of mosquito repellents","volume":"41","author":"Meier","year":"2025","journal-title":"Trends Parasitol"},{"key":"B4","volume-title":"Guidelines for efficacy testing of spatial repellents","year":"2013"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1186\/s12936-024-05043-5","article-title":"Mosquito Shield\u2122, a transfluthrin passive emanator, protects against pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles Gambiae sensu lato in central Benin","volume":"23","author":"Fongnikin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Malar J"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2987\/17-6675.1","article-title":"Relative insecticidal efficacy of three spatial repellent integrated light sources against Aedes aEgypti","volume":"33","author":"Shen","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Am Mosq Control Assoc"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1603\/me10227","article-title":"Field evaluation of the Off! 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