Discovering Mosquito Repellent Plant - Pokok Halau Nyamuk (Citrosa Geranium)

Sungai Buloh is famous for plant nurseries. As that is our neighborhood, Grace and I decided to pay some of these nurseries a visit. There are many plants and scrubs that we have never seen before. Browsing through rows of these plants is good for an education in nature study. 

We purchase a couple of flowering plants but one of the most interesting one is the mosquito repellent plant known in the Malay language as 'Pokok Halau Nyamuk'. We ask the nursery owner whether this really works and she vows that it does. The Malays have used such plants in their kampongs to get rid of mosquitoes.

We took a whiff of the leaves and true enough, there is a rich fragrance similar to the scent of citronella and a little fresh lemon combined. 

'Pokok Halau Nyamuk' is known as Citrosa Geranium - a hybrid of Chinese Citronella grass and a scented African Geranium. It is about 2 feet (61 cm) tall and has large beautifully configured leaves. The flowers are pink but we have not seen those on our plant yet. It has to be grown in dry area and does not like too much water. Our Citrosa plant has been affected by too much water and is dropping its leaves. 

We have placed our plant in the porch at the back of the house. We have also plucked off some stems of leaves and planted in small pots on our window sill in the kitchen. Amazingly, these stems are growing well. The leaves remain green for weeks. We believe that we have less mosquitoes than before.

We have learned much about our Pokok Halau Nyamuk from the internet. The next stage is to multiplying the number of Citrosa Geraniums in our house., Here are some ideas from the internet (that we have cut and paste) to show you how you can grow and multiply your own mosquito repellent plant:

• Step 1
  
  
  Pelargonium Citrosa, or Citrosa Geraniums, can be started using stem cuttings quite easily. Start with a robust "mother plant" and snip branches off as they become long. This trimming also helps shape the plant. Un-shaped, they can grow as large as four feet high and wide. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 2
  
  
  To start plants from cuttings, snip the ends of branches and strip all but the end leaves off. You should have two or three nodules (where you pulled off leaves) on your stems. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 3
  
  
  Dust the ends of the stems with rooting hormone and plant them in peat pots filled with a sterile, light planting medium. Keep the soil moist but not wet to avoid mildew.
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 4
  
  
  After about a week to get a good start (developing roots is hard work!), move your plants to a sunny window until after the last frost. I put my Citrosa in an east window. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 5
  
  
  Put baby Citrosa out after the last frost in your area. Don't bother with fertilizer for this robust plant but make sure it's planted in a good garden soil or potting mixture. Be sure to pinch frequently for bushiness. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 6
  
  
  Choose a few healthy plants with lots of branches to keep over the winter. Pot them up. Then bring them in and treat them like houseplants. Fertilize lightly in late winter and make sure they get plenty of light. Water when the surface of the soil gets dry to the touch. Don't over water. Trim leggy branches back to encourage bushiness.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Source:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2237718_propogate-mosquito-plants.html

Hi, if you have any great Household tips and ideas, 
feel free to write to me at koolgrace7000@gmail.com. 
You can also submit your ideas here onsite. Thanks a million and stay kool!

Kitchen Wizard

My friend's husband is always telling her that housekeeping would be a snap if only she would organize her time better.

Recently he had a chance to put his theory into practice while his wife was away. When I popped in one evening to see how he was managing, he crowed, "I made a cake, frosted it, washed the kitchen windows, cleaned all the cupboards, scrubbed the kitchen floor, walls and ceiling and even had a bath."

I was about to concede that perhaps he was a better manager than his wife, when he added sheepishly, "When I was making the chocolate frosting, I forgot to turn off the mixer before taking the beaters out of the bowl, so I had to do all the rest."

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Hi, if you have any great Household tips and ideas, feel free to write to me at koolgrace7000@gmail.com. You can also submit your ideas here onsite. Thanks a million and stay kool!

Wipe Out Cockroaches From Your Home

By Bert Kang

In Malaysia, cockroaches are the most common pests. It is not uncommon to find them in most kitchens and so they are the first pests that we need to deal with. The way to prevent the cockroaches from visiting your home is to make it roach-unfriendly. If the cockroaches do not like the environment, they will not stay. Here are what we use to prevent cockroaches from building their homes in our home.

Peppercorn Sachets

Cockroaches do not like hot spicy stuffs. With that in mind, we sew little sachets made of porous netting materials and filled them with peppercorns. We place these in the dark corners of our kitchen cupboards and bedroom wardrobes.

Bay Leaves

Cockroaches somehow do not like bay leaves. As you know, dried bay leaves are available as condiments and sold in grocery stores or supermarkets. You can sew sachets with silk or porous netted materials and place them in corners, just like the way you would place with the sachets of peppercorns. You may also use whole leaves and scatter them in the cabinets and cupboards.

Garlic Powder

You can buy Garlic Powder from grocery stores or supermarkets. Sprinkle this powder in the pathways where cockroaches tend to use. Sprinkle this in dark corners in the kitchen or store rooms and all the cockroaches will avoid your home. You can also put these in cloth sachets and place them in appropriate places.

Fresh Cucumbers

Strangely, cockroaches do not like the odor emitted by fresh cucumber. Slice a cucumber and place the slices in small dishes. Place these dishes around the place that tend to be full of cockroaches. Change the cucumber once every two days. This may not be the most ideal cockroach repellent but when you are out of other natural repellents, cucumber will keep all these dirty critters at bay.

Chilli Spray

If you discovered the holes or gaps where cockroaches tend to us as their entrances, you can seal these locations by spraying them with a specially concocted Chilli Spray. A simple way is to purchase chilli powder from a local grocery store and dissolve 2 tablespoons of this in hot water. Leave this solution to cool. Fill a pump spray bottle (those that you use to spray water on clothes or plants will suffice) with this spicy solution. Spray at the holes or gaps that you suspect are entrances for the cockroaches.

If you cannot find chilli powder, you can use Tabasco Sauce instead. We have not tried using the Malaysian chilli sauce because we are not sure what all the different ingredients might do. We are afraid that instead of repelling the cockroaches, this local chilli sauce may attract other creatures. Tobasco Sauce, on the other hand, is a better repellent because it is made of red pepper and vinegar.

Just a word of caution. Before you spray your magic fiery concoction, be sure that no wind is blowing your way. Because if that happened, then you will most probably be the first to be terminated before any cockroaches get repelled. You got my drift?

Cedar Wood Oil

This is a more expensive Cockroach repellent. Apart from its lovely fragrant, Cedar Wood Oil is also anti-bacterial and a natural fungicide. The type of Cedar Wood Oil available is usually sold as essential oil. Add 3 to 4 drops of Cedar Wood essential oil on 20 to 30 fluffy little wads of cotton and scatter them in places that you suspect your unwelcome guests may make their residence. Put some in the cabinets under the sink, in the cabinets in the bathrooms too.

Blend a teaspoon of Cedar Wood essential oil with a glass of olive oil and use it to wipe on your door and window frames. You can add a little vinegar to this concoction and then put the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray lavishly in suspected areas such as kitchen, garage and garbage bin area. If you are able to purchase Neem oil, add it to your concoction. This natural oil is from India and it works wonder in preventing cockroaches and other insects from invading your home.

Mint Oil

You can create your own insect spray by using Mint Oil. You can buy Mint Oil from supermarkets or organic stores. Apart from cockroaches, Mint Oil works amazingly well against a variety of home and even garden pests. We learn that it is very effective against wasp colonies too.

Dish-washing Liquid Detergent

Create a cockroach spray by mixing two cups of water with two tablespoons of liquid dish-washing liquid detergent. Shake this mixture thoroughly and fill a spray bottle with it. When you spot a cockroach, just spray at it. Bam! This mixture will kill the invader almost immediately. You also use this solution as a repellent by spraying it on corners and cracks. Cockroaches do not like the odor and will avoid passing through the sprayed areas.

Moth Balls

My mother uses moth balls extensively. She buys hundreds of them and throws them everywhere. Cockroaches hate the smell of moth balls and so thus the moths. Guess that is why they are known as 'moth' balls.

Use lavishly for the cabinet below the kitchen sink. This will not only keep the cockroaches away but also keep the cabinet smelling fresh. Drop some of these balls behind your stoves and also in shoe racks and other confined dark places. Store room and garage aretwo of the places you may want to scatter moth balls in all the dark corners.


Avoid placing them near to places where you hang your salted fish or other dry foods. Moth balls are not good for you and so if at all possible use natural ingredients such as the spicy spray or peppercorn sachets.


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Hi, if you have any great Household tips and ideas, feel free to write to Grace or me at koolgrace7000@gmail.com. You can also submit your ideas here onsite. Thanks a million and stay kool!