PMD Rich Botanic Oil (Citriodiol®/Citrepel®) and Coronavirus

No Mozzie uses PMD Rich Botanic Oil as its core active ingredient. We combine this PMDRBO with carefully selected plant oils and ethno-botanicals to make No Mozzie extremely effective at repelling mosquitoes, midges, sandflies and other flying insects.

PMDRBO is a natural product also known by the brand names Citrepel® or Citriodiol® and is derived from natural essential oils – predominantly Lemon Eucalyptus or Lemongrass. It was first identified in the 1970’s as having the potential to repel insects that rivaled the common synthetic ingredient DEET.

Recently, articles in the press (see below) have appeared with stories about the British MoD having ordered Citriodiol® as “enhanced protection” against Coronavirus/COVID-19. Whether the MoD believes that PMDRBO kills the virus on the skin, or whether it believes that Coronavirus can be transmitted by mosquitoes was not initially made clear in the articles. Certainly the World Health Organization have said that there is no evidence that Coronavirus can be spread by mosquitoes.

To be honest, at first we were a bit sceptical because the news stories all used a brand name (Citriodiol®) as the subject rather than the common name (PMD Rich Botanic Oil). However, since these stories appeared, the MoD have shed a bit more light on their decision. The Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, says a PMD based spray has been given to military personnel in light of the Surgeon General’s advice that it wouldn’t do any harm. Apparently PMD Rich Botanic Oil can form a virucidal barrier on the skin and help prevent transmission of Coronavirus.

There is other evidence to suggest PMD can stop the spread of viruses – in the early 2000’s there was even a patent application for PMD-impregnated face masks!

To be clear, we make no such claim that No Mozzie can protect from Coronavirus/COVID-19. It’s designed to deter insects from biting and it does that very well. So, for now, we will just stick to what we know for sure – that No Mozzie is a powerful natural insect repellent.

The news story was first covered by Sky News and then picked up by the other major channels:

Sky News: coronavirus-uk-troops-given-insect-repellent-citriodiol-as-part-of-enhanced-protection
Telegraph: british-soldiers-to-get-insect-repellant-as-covid-19-protection
MSN: british-soldiers-to-get-insect-repellant-as-covid-19-protectionsn.com

(P.S. Only Sky news spells the noun “repellent” correctly. Tut)

Later articles added a little more substance:

Daily Mail: Could-insect-repellent-neutralise-coronavirus-MOD-hands-spray-soldiers-Covid
Net Doctor: insect-repellent-coronavirus/