How do normal mats and coils work?

Mats and coils contain an ingredient called Allethrin, which is an insecticide which kills mosquitoes. Coils release smoke when burnt, and mats emit fumes when heated.

Pyrethrum has been the starting point of the development allethrin. The pyrethrum plant, predominantly grown in Africa, contains pyrethrums, a naturally active insecticide. The pyrethrin, per say is effective against mosquitoes, however due to its photolability, it gets degraded once exposed to light. This lead to the discovery of more photo stable pyrethroids, and saw the birth of allethrin. The more pure isomers of allethrin were latter discovered, to enhance its effectiveness, like d-allethrin, d-trans allethrin, etc.