Background <p>Microencapsulation entraps the active ingredients of essential oils within a synthetic or natural polymer shell leading to their reduced volatility and enhanced sustainability. During the present study, citronella oil loaded gum acacia (COGA) microcapsules were synthesized by simple coacervation technique and characterized by employing various analytical methods.</p> Results <p>The formulated COGA microcapsules exhibited an encapsulation yield of 48.57% having a loading capacity of 40–45% and an encapsulation efficiency of 75.30%, indicating high effectiveness of the encapsulation process. Out of the tested different concentrations of COGA microcapsules against 3rd /4th instars of <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, 55&#xa0;µl/100&#xa0;ml concentration was found to be the effective one. LC₁₀, LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values of COGA microcapsules were calculated as 23.33, 33.39 and 47.80&#xa0;µl/100&#xa0;ml, confirming its high toxicity towards <i>Aedes</i> larvae. The larvicidal retention efficacy of these microcapsules was found to be 6 days as demonstrated by slow release kinetics of oil during the present study. Microcapsular larvicidal activity remained unaffected even after storing the microcapsules for 6 months either at 4°C or room temperature. No harm to non-target species (<i>Mesocyclops</i> sp.) was observed while exposing them to prepared microcapsules.</p> Conclusion <p>The results of the present study highlighted the potential of COGA microcapsules as safe biolarvicide having promising efficacy and sustainable property to be used for the control of <i>Ae. aegypti</i> in its breeding habitats.</p>