Mosquito coil
Espiral antimosquitos
- Date
- 1890 · confidence medium
- Place
- Arida, Wakayama, Japan
- Credited to
- Eiichiro Ueyama
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A rod of pressed pyrethrum powder that burns slowly and gives off smoke that repels and kills mosquitoes; the spiral shape, which lasts for hours, dates from 1895. It is used in homes and terraces in warm climates.
Ueyama founded the company that later became Kincho; pyrethrum mosquito incense is its evolution, and the spiral was reportedly his wife Yuki's idea, according to company tradition.
What it led to
- cheap household protection against mosquitoes
- the pyrethrum and household insecticide industry
- spread across Asia, Africa and Latin America