Despite how over-the-top it sounds, the deadliest animal on this planet is the mosquito – and that’s been the case for decades, not all of a sudden. Even as recently as Aug. 7, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the mosquito kills more people than any other creature in the world.
Acknowledging that, the American Mosquito Control Association and many other organizations use World Mosquito Day (Aug. 20) as a platform for warning the public of the dangers of this winged menace. Although none of those noble humanitarian outfits are likely to clue you in on this, one of nature’s most potent mosquito repellents happens to be the cannabis plant.
How does weed drive away mosquitoes? And could you grow your own plant at home this summer – legally – to protect yourself from them? Read on to find out!
The World’s Deadliest Animal
What is it that makes something so tiny so lethal? According to 2022 data from Statista, lions kill roughly 250 people per year, dogs kill about 30,000 (mostly from transmitting rabies) and snakes kill 100,000, all of which is awful. But mosquitoes kill … more than 1 million people every year – and that’s with only some of them on hunting duty, as only females need to score blood to produce eggs. That’s why the heavyweight champion remains uncontested decade after decade.
Vector mosquitoes (versus nuisance mosquitoes) are like portable bioweapon manufacturing labs, carrying fatal viruses and parasites far and wide, and in huge numbers all over the world (minus Antarctica). With more than 3,700 types of mosquitoes worldwide, there is an estimated minimum of 110,000,000,000,000 (“trillion” just didn’t pack the same punch) mosquitoes flying around the planet at any given time. Most fly for only a few miles in between meals, but some can travel up to 100 miles.
Photo by Pixabay
The most destructive diseases they carry are malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, lymphatic filariasis (aka elephantiasis) and dog heartworm. Viruses can actually reproduce while inside a mosquito, too; that’s how advanced mosquitoes are as disease vectors. In the United States, the most common mosquito-borne illness is West Nile virus, which is typically contracted abroad and brought home, where it spreads.
Compounding mosquitoes’ payloads is their adaptability to new environments and new threats. This is particularly concerning for two of the three most dangerous types of mosquitoes: Aedes, Anopheles and Culex. According to the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has adapted incredibly well to urban environments. It has learned to feed only on humans and to lay eggs both indoors and outdoors, and in a variety of containers.
Not to be outdone, the Anopheles mosquito has developed a resistance to widely used chemical-loaded insecticides. In addition, it intelligently altered its feeding schedule to avoid the nuisance of bed nets and in-home sprays by feeding earlier in the day and only outdoors. How scary is it that they’re that smart?!
According to the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has adapted incredibly well to urban environments. It has learned to feed only on humans and to lay eggs both indoors and outdoors, and in a variety of containers. / Image in Public Domain
Cannabis’s Mosquito Repellency
Cannabis’s built-in defense against mosquitoes is active only while the plant is still growing in soil. After the plant has been harvested, it no longer needs that ability, and the effect ceases. It can, however, be preserved by incorporating cannabis extracts into a topical. (More on that later.)
Also important is the selection of more pungent aromas (gassy, diesel, skunk, etc.) instead of sweeter, more flowery strains. This is because terpenes are the primary cannabis constituents responsible for arthropod deterrence. In tandem, favor female cannabis plants over male cannabis plants, as these accumulate more of the defensive compounds. That said, a July 2020 study in “Molecules” found that male cannabis plants could be a sustainable source of larvicidal compounds, so they’ve got a lot going for them too. (Psst! To find out whether your plant is a boy or girl, read “Cannabis Gender: Male vs. Female Weed” by Future Harvest.)
Learn what gives cannabis its distinct taste and smell in “Terpenes: The Key to Discovering Your Cannabis Palette.”
By the way, don’t base cannabis’s effectiveness at repelling mosquitoes on how well it measures up to the effectiveness of chemicals, such as diethyltoluamide (DEET). If you’re more concerned about killing bugs than you are about avoiding carcinogens, then a commercial insecticide is probably what you want. But if you appreciate not being exposed to substances linked to cancer and other health threats, consider the botanical insecticide cannabis as an alternative.
Laws in the U.S. for Growing Cannabis at Home
Federal Laws
Congressional legislation distinguishes between hemp (which is legal) and marijuana (which is illegal), even though both hemp and marijuana are cannabis. Under federal law, because marijuana is still in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, Congress prohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensation and possession of marijuana except in federal government-approved research studies. So, unless you’re one of those lucky scientists with a permission slip, you can’t legally grow weed that has more than 0.3% THC by dry weight.
For an update on where cannabis is in federal legislation, read Head Magazine’s analysis of recent efforts to reschedule or de-schedule cannabis in the list of controlled substances./Photo by Katrin Bolovtsova/pexels.com
Hemp, although legal to grow pursuant to the Farm Bill of 2018, is closely controlled by the federal government, making growing the plant incredibly challenging. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):
“To produce hemp, you first need to be licensed or authorized under a state hemp program, a tribal hemp program, or the USDA hemp program. The program you are licensed under depends on the location of your hemp growing facility. The first step is to reach out to your local state department of agriculture or tribal government to see if they have a production plan that has been submitted to or approved by USDA. … If your state or tribe has an approved plan or is in the process of developing a plan, you must apply to and be licensed or authorized under its hemp program. If your state or tribe does not have a pending or approved hemp production plan, you may apply for a USDA hemp production license. To obtain a license to produce hemp under the USDA production program, create an account using the Hemp eManagement Platform (HeMP) and use HeMP to submit a USDA Hemp Application.”
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko/pexels.com
State Laws
As of August 2024, you are legally permitted – only at the state level, and subject to numerous requirements – to grow cannabis at home if you live in:
- Alaska (medical or recreational use)
- Arizona (medical use only)
- California (medical or recreational use)
- Colorado (medical or recreational use)
- Hawaii (medical use only)
- Illinois (medical use only)
- Maine (medical or recreational use)
- Maryland (medical use only)
- Massachusetts (medical or recreational use)
- Michigan (medical or recreational use)
- Minnesota (medical use only) (not yet in effect)
- Missouri (medical use only)
- Montana (medical use only)
- Nevada (medical or recreational use)
- New Hampshire (medical use only)
- New Mexico (medical use only)
- Oklahoma (medical use only)
- Oregon (medical or recreational use)
- Rhode Island (medical use only)
- South Dakota (medical use only)
- Utah (medical use only)
- Vermont (medical or recreational use)
- Virginia (medical or recreational use)
- Washington (medical or recreational use)
To determine whether you are eligible for a permit to grow (if applicable), and to determine how many plants you may grow, consult the above states’ government websites. This will ensure that you are acting on current information and can locate any necessary applications or forms.
Cannabis-Derived Mosquito Repellents
An alternative to growing at home is to purchase products that use cannabidiol (CBD), one of the 100+ cannabinoids in the plant, for cannabis’s natural insect-repellent abilities. As was mentioned before, you can preserve those abilities in harvested cannabis plants through extraction. A quick online search shows quite a few CBD-based insect repellants (mosquitoes don’t get the spotlight, but they’re equally shooed away):
- Alni Lemongrass & Basil Salve with CBD
- Bath by Bex Bug-B-Gone
- Boss Farms Insect Spray & Repellent
- CBD Body Blends Creamy Silk Lotion with Insect Repellent
- CBD Bristol Bite Nurse
- Friend Leaves CBD Simply Organic Bug Repellent
- Green Compass BUZZ Insect Repellent
- Heatherly Apothecary CBD Sunscreen & Bug-Off Lotion
- HEMP360 Bug Repellent with CBD
- Hempstock Pharmz Buzz Kill
Note: Product availability and hyperlinks are subject to change without Head Magazine’s knowledge following the publication of this article. If a hyperlink provided above no longer works, feel free to perform a keyword search using the names of the product and its manufacturer.
Disclaimer: Head Magazine neither sponsors nor is sponsored by the above manufacturers, and we encourage readers to do their own research to determine which products can best meet their specific needs, particularly as relates to any medical sensitivities to product ingredients.
Conclusion
Perhaps it’s due to cannabis’s manufactured bad reputation that we’re always quick to favor chemicals – no matter how unsafe – over a plant whose applications seem to be endless. Even so, now you know that a cannabis farm is one of the safest places to be during mosquito season. Maybe you could indulge in a summer vacation to the Emerald Triangle and take a “cannasseur weed tour” or pamper yourself with canna-farm glamping on a refreshing retreat. If you needed an extra reason for a groovy trip (pun intended), hiding from the world’s deadliest animal should suffice.
Kathleen Hearons is a writer, editor, linguist and voice over actor from Los Angeles. She specializes in creative writing and research-intensive analysis and reporting.
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