Company

Mosi-guard® was founded in 1994 by Paul Clarke, a Doctor of Tropical Diseases and Ian Hughes-Guy. Paul and Ian ran a network of travel clinics and wanted to offer their customers more choice by providing an effective alternative to DEET repellents.

Paul discovered that the Chinese had used an extract of lemon eucalyptus called 'quwenling' to repel insects for thousands of years. 'Quwenling' is a Chinese word that means ‘effective repeller of mosquitoes’. Paul went on to lead research on Quwenling, developing, testing and producing an insect repellent derived from oil of lemon eucalyptus which is now known as Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus. 

Today Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus is sold worldwide and is the only plant based insect repellent that has been scientifically proven to work just as effectively as other synthetic repellents.

Team

Jacqueline Watson, Managing Director

Jacqueline joined the business in 2004 as Finance Director and became the Managing Director in 2009. She has particular responsibility for the sourcing of raw materials as well as for legal and commercial matters. 

Jacqueline is based near Cambridge where her down time includes playing golf and tennis. She also enjoys travelling internationally with her husband and two daughters.

George Parker
Scientific Officer

George joined the company in 2011 and works from the Leeds head office. He is responsible for quality control, quality assurance, research and development and anything that requires a scientific input.

When not working George enjoys cycling (slowly) and trying to keep old cars road-worthy.

Rebecca Davison
Head of Operations

Rebecca joined the company at its start-up in 1994. She is responsible for the overall day to day operations of the company including stock management, distribution, customer services, as well as company finances and accounts.  

In her spare time, Rebecca is usually found walking her two Labradors, is an active committee member of the local sailing club and is a fully qualified RYA Powerboat Instructor.

Beverley Charles
Admin Assistant

Beverley joined the company in 2010 and is responsible for dealing with customer enquiries, the running of the UK mailorder business and general administration. 

Beverley has just adopted a rescue dog and enjoys chasing her around the local area as a result of previous bad training!

Genevieve Faherty
Regulatory Affairs Director

Genevieve joined the business in 2007. She is responsible for overseeing all product registrations and data development.

Genevieve is based in USA where she and her family raise their own food using organic farming methods, rely solely on wood and solar heating and make biodiesel for their farm vehicles from waste vegetable oil. In the winter months she helps run a local, non-profit ski hill on a volunteer basis.

Alicia Werner
Regulatory Affairs Assistant

Alicia joined the company in 2011. She is responsible for product registration submissions and keeping abreast of the latest innovations and developments in the insect repellent market. 

She is based in Vermont, USA where she and her family enjoy hiking in the Green Mountains.  Alicia is also a long time board member of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association.

Efficacy

Have you ever thought about buying a naturally and sustainably sourced insect repellent but changed your mind because you thought it might not work? Were you concerned that naturally derived products may not be tested as thoroughly as more established, synthetic repellents? When it comes to Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus insect repellents you can put these concerns to rest. 

Insect repellents compared to cosmetics
You may think that insect repellents are similar to say, moisturisers or face creams in terms of the tests they have to pass to be brought to market. In fact, the tests for insect repellents are much more comprehensive and strict. For example, insect repellents must pass comprehensive human health (and often environmental) risk assessments by the relevant authorities, based on literally millions of pounds (£) worth of data, neither of which are required for cosmetics. 

Comparing natural insect repellents
Perhaps the most well-known natural insect repellent is citronella oil. This is no longer permitted for sale as a repellent in Europe or Canada because of an absence of supporting toxicity and efficacy data. Two other natural oils, lavender and peppermint have some repellent characteristics and could be used in Europe within insect repellent products.  However, the repellency of these products is typically reported as less than an hour and efficacy must be proven before a product can achieve authorisation under this new legislation. In the US, there are natural ingredients included on FIFRA’s list of substances but because of the absence of efficacy or toxicity data required for these substances, they do not carry with them the credibility of an EPA Registration registration (look for this on the bottom of the product label) or the data needed to support efficacy claims.

Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus efficacy tests
Unlike other essential oil based products, which typically only last for less than 1 hour, Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus products have passed the most rigorous efficacy tests, providing up to 10 hours of complete protection against a wide range of biting insects. More than 35 studies have been conducted on Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus insect repellent formulations, or those containing the same active ingredient Citriodiol® which is also known as PMD rich botanic oil (PMDRBO) and oil of lemon eucalyptus. Each of these reflect a level of efficacy that far exceeds any other plant-based repellent and is on par with synthetic repellents like DEET. They have been conducted around the world in both lab and field settings, against 26 different species of biting insects to ensure that no matter where you are, you can rely on Mosi-guard Natural® for long-lasting, effective protection.

Proven to be Nature's most effective insect repellent
You can feel confident that this wealth of data translates to strong protection because it has been proven robust enough to support product approvals with some of the strictest authorities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and independent scientists agree that it is the only naturally derived insect repellent that really works. Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus is nature’s most effective repellent and is also supported by science.

Export

Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus is a leading insect repellent brand that is manufactured in the UK and exported globally in two main ways.

1. Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus is sold by independent distributors globally.

2. Citriodiol®, the active ingredient in Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus, is exported for companies around the world to produce their own brands and formulations of insect repellent.

If you are interested in our export programme then please talk to us about stocking Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus or purchasing Citriodiol.

Ethics

Ensuring Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus products are ethically and sustainably sourced is very important to us. Citriodiol® is our own naturally and sustainably sourced active ingredient found in many well-known brands of insect repellent, including Mosi-guard® Lemon Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus Citriodora Oil is the essential oil used to make Citriodiol and it is produced in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. The process can vary on each plantation but in broad terms the following practices are followed:

Growing the trees

Eucalyptus Citriodora trees are generally grown on small plantations where:

• The trees are not genetically modified and seedlings are planted and tended by hand.

• No synthetic fertilizers are used; the soil is simply conditioned with lime on planting and every couple of years thereafter to ensure it provides the best possible conditions for growth.

• Waste leaf from the distillation process is used to improve the soil and to help to retain moisture.

• Weeds are often controlled by running cattle in the plantation.

Harvesting the leaves and managing the trees

• Leaves and branches are harvested by hand from the trees. The branches are then cut selectively from each tree so that the trees can continue to grow and produce new leaves for many years. Once the branches have been harvested, the twigs containing leaves are cut from the branches. The leaves and small twigs are steam distilled to produce Eucalyptus Citriodora Oil.

• The number of harvests each year is adjusted to ensure the on-going health of the trees and once or twice during the 10-15 year life span of each tree, it will be cut to a stump and allowed to regrow.

• At the end of its life it will be cut down and a new line of trees will be planted adjacent. The trees which are cut down are used as fuel either on the plantation or sold to local businesses. On some plantations the trees are turned into charcoal (a key source of fuel for the local population) using brick ovens on the plantation – another very sustainable process.

Distilling the oil

• Leaves are placed in large 'pots' and are compressed by foot and with a large circular weight.

• Steam is applied to remove the oil from the leaves. The water used to produce the steam is recycled through the distillation pots and is then used for irrigation.

• Waste leaves and surplus twigs are used to fire the boiler which produces the steam. No other fuel is required to run the boiler. In fact excess energy generated by the process may be used to run other equipment on the plantation. Waste leaves are also used to maintain the soil.Some of the waste leaves may be used to make dyes for fabric.

The workforce

• Workers on the plantations are men and women and nearly all local.

• Plantations provide good, stable jobs for both men and women and are important to the local economy.

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