Essential oils of Eulcalyptus globulus, Lavender officinalis, Rosemarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris were examined for their repellent activities against Culex pipiens pallens. All 4 essential oils effectively repelled adult mosquitoes on hairless mice. Essential oil of T. vulgaris (thyme) had potent repellent activity within the tested materials, with a protection rate of 91% at a concentration of 0.05% topical treatment. Thyme essential oil significantly extended the duration of protection until 3 bites by mosquitoes. With gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, thyme essential oil was a rich source of 5 monoterpenes, including in descending order thymol, p-cymene, carvacrol, linalool, and alpha-terpinene. These 5 monoterpenes also were assessed to determine their repellent activities to the mosquitoes. alpha-Terpinene had a potent repellent activity with a protection rate of 97% at a concentration of 0.05% topical treatment. Additionally, carvacrol and thymol showed an equivalent level of repellency. A spray-type solution containing 2% alpha-terpinene was tested for its repellent activity against Cx. pipiens. This solution showed stronger repellent activity than the currently used repellent N,N-diethyl-m-methylbenzamide (deet).