Household pests are important as they have an immediate and direct impact on our life. Comparatively, Mosquitos are the deadliest of all. Chemical control such as repellents in the form of coils, vaporizers, mats, creams and sprays are being used by many to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. These are the intentional addition by the user to their home in order to improve environmental quality for themselves. Particularly, the use of coils is greater in the lower socio-economic status (SES) strata in developing nations. Both natural and synthetic repellent coils can be used for mosquito control and they have varying degrees of effective. So, it is important to know which is better than other. A repellent coil is made up of combustible fuel, binder agents and retardants.

The principle behind the coil is production of a smoke of sufficient insecticidal efficacy to destroy adult mosquito in their resting and flying areas. The efficacy of coils are determined by the four factors by the manufacturers. They are i. landing inhibition ii. bite inhibition iii. Knockdown and iv. Mortality of the vector. However, researchers consider the side effects and safety aspects of the products. Synthetic chemicals fail on safety, pests develop resistance and are non-degradable. On the other hand, natural ingredients based repellants are safe, pests don’t develop resistance and are easily degradable. Thus, the ingredients of cow dung and phytochemical compounds of plant extract used in natural based coils can be a good solution for mosquito repellence. Simply assuming that all plants are equal or that ‘natural product is safe’ can be dangerous because plants produce a variety of insect toxins, many of which are dangerous to mammals as well as insects. It must be scientifically validated for their activity, efficacy and safety before making any formulation.

Key words : Mosquito coils, synthetic repellents, Natural repellents.