Lemon peel lamp offered as a home remedy to keep mosquitoes away

Mosquito trouble rises in homes as the season changes. Swarms begin hovering around houses as evening falls. To keep them away, people use coils, sprsprays and other repellents, but these can sometimes be harmful to health. Natural ingredients can also be used to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Popular internet personality Poonam Devnani has described one such natural method. It is a homemade diya made from lemon peel, using only items found at home.

It needs one lemon, a few neem leaves, some cotton wool, a little neem oil or mustard oil, 2-3 camphor tablets, 5-6 cloves and a stick of cinnamon.

First, cut the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Then scoop out the remaining pulp from both halves with a spoon until they are completely clean. Only the peel of half a lemon is needed. Next, dry a few neem leaves, crush them lightly by hand and place them in the lemon peel.

Now make a small wick from the cotton wool, place it in the peel and pour a little neem oil over it. If there is no neem oil, mustard oil can be used. Then place a little camphor around the wick. Crush the cloves and cinnamon and put a little of the powder near the wick. Add a little more oil if needed.

Finally, light the wick and place the diya where mosquitoes gather most. If desired, 2 or 3 such diyas can be made and kept in different corners of the house. It is said that the smell of the diya keeps mosquitoes away.

According to Poonam Devnani, not a single mosquito will be seen if the diya is lit in the evening, and the fragrance of lemon, neem, cloves, camphor and cinnamon will spread through the house. The remedy can therefore be tried to guard against mosquitoes.