Large-scale citronella farming has real environmental costs

It depends on the farm, but overall it’s not great for biodiversity or soil health.

Here’s the thing: citronella is a grass, and like any monocrop, large plantations replace diverse ecosystems with a single species. In places like Indonesia and Sri Lanka, forests get cleared for citronella fields, which means habitat loss and carbon released from deforestation. That “natural” label doesn’t make it harmless.

On top of that, citronella is often grown with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides—ironic for a plant used in bug repellents. Soil erosion is a problem too, because the grass is harvested multiple times a year, leaving ground exposed between cycles. Water use can be high depending on the climate.

There are better-managed farms, especially smaller operations that rotate crops and use organic methods. But the global supply for cheap citronella oil mostly comes from industrial-scale plantations that cut corners.

If you’re buying citronella products for “natural” reasons,