why do mosquitos hate citronella?

Answer 1

Citronella
Latin name: Cymbopogon species
Other name: Lemongrass
"It might simply be acting as an irritant or they don’t like the smell. But nobody really knows why insect repellents work."
http://www.cherylsherbs.com/Catnip_and_Mosquitoes.htm

So no-one knows. Hmm. We DO know, however, that DEET is harmful to humans, although it does repel mosquitos. And according to the article referenced above, Catnip does the job even better.

But what about Pennyroyal? That works too, apparently.
Me, I'm just going to plant Lemongrass, Citronella Geranium, Pennyroyal and Catnip all over my garden area....because I don't know if any of them really work, but they sure SMELL good!
Happy Gardening!