Essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) and Murraya koenigii (curry leaf) were tested for their toxicity and repellent activity against Callosobruchus maculatus in stored cowpea. In the contact toxicity bioassay, lemon grass oil at 0.15 g/litre caused 100% mortality and the number of eggs laid was zero. Curry leaf oil also showed similar activity at 0.75 g/litre. In fumigant toxicity bioassays lemon grass oil at 1.5 g/litre and curry leaf oil at 7.5 g/litre caused 100% bruchid mortality and reduced their oviposition and F¹ adult emergence. In contact toxicity bioassay, the lowest LC⁵⁰ value of 0.026 g/litre was observed for lemon grass and the LC⁵⁰ value of curry leaf was 0.240 g/litre. The results indicated that lemon grass oil was more effective as a contact toxicant on bruchids than curry leaf oil. In olfactometer and choice chamber bioassays, the percent responses of bruchid decreased with increasing doses of both oils. Only 7.0% bruchids settled in at the dosage of 160 mg in choice chamber for both lemon grass and curry leaf oils.