There are many ways to repel mosquitoes, but did you know that there are ways to do it naturally? You can find many products on the market that contain chemicals that can be harmful to your health, so why not try some natural methods? Here are a few ways to Repel Mosquitoes Naturally.
Gardeners have long known that Natural Pest Control is the best way to protect plants from damage. By using predatory insects and other natural means, gardeners can keep pests in check without resorting to harsh chemicals. Natural pest control is not only better for the environment, but it is also more effective in the long run. Gardeners who use natural pest control methods can be sure that their plants will be healthy and productive for years to come.
What Smells Do Mosquitos Hate?
If you’re looking for a natural way to keep mosquitoes at bay, there are a few smells that they really don’t like. Citronella, lemon eucalyptus, and lavender oil are all effective mosquito repellents. In fact, citronella candles are often used to create an mosquito-free zone outdoors. You can also make your own mosquito repellent by mixing these oils with water in a spray bottle. Just be sure to reapply every few hours, as the scent will fade over time. And if you’re really feeling adventurous, you can even try planting some citronella in your garden!
What’s a Home Remedy for Mosquitoes?
If you’re looking for a natural way to keep mosquitoes at bay, there are a few home remedies that can help. One popular method is to plant mosquito-repelling plants around your home. Citronella, lemongrass, and eucalyptus are all effective options. You can also make your own mosquito repellent by mixing together equal parts water and vinegar, and adding a few drops of essential oil.
Another natural pest control method is to place bowls of water around your property; the water will attract the mosquitoes, which will then drown. Finally, you can reduce the number of breeding sites by regularly emptying out any standing water, such as in flowerpots or birdbaths. By taking these simple steps, you can enjoy your summer without worrying about pesky mosquitoes.
What is the Best Homemade Mosquito Repellent?
Mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance- they can also transmit dangerous diseases like West Nile virus and malaria. Fortunately, there are a number of natural mosquito repellents that can help to keep these pesky insects at bay. One popular option is to mix equal parts water and apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. This solution can be spritzed on skin or clothing, and it will help to repel mosquitoes for hours.
Another effective mosquito repellent is made by soaking lemon or eucalyptus leaves in boiling water. Once the water has cooled, it can be sprayed on skin or clothing, or even used as a natural insecticide around the perimeter of your home. With a little creativity, it is easy to make your own natural mosquito repellent that is just as effective as any store-bought product.
7 Ways to Repel Mosquitoes Naturally
While they have their place in nature, and I’m sure serve some important natural function, from most people’s points of view they’re just annoying. Some mosquitoes are even dangerous, as they can carry horrible diseases. But don’t think that you have to resort to chemicals to protect your family from mosquitoes. Here are some great ways to repel mosquitoes naturally.
1. Grow the Right Plants
One of the best natural ways to repel mosquitoes is to plant natural mosquito repellent plants! These plants tend to have scents that mosquitoes hate, but you may actually love. Some great mosquito repellent plants are lavender, citronella geranium (a kind of geranium that smells like citronella), regular citronella grass, peppermint, rosemary, marigolds, catnip, and basil. You can choose to plant these around your lawn to try to keep mosquitoes away, or put them in pots that you can drag near to you when you’re outside.
2. Blow Them Away
Mosquitoes aren’t good at flying in high wind. So if you set up fans near where you’re sitting outside, they’ll have a hard time reaching you. Set up enough fans, or use a couple of oscillating fans, and you’ll easily create a mosquito free zone!
3. Avoid Floral Perfume
If you want to be invisible to mosquitoes, then the last thing you should do is wear something with a strong scent that they like! Just as some of the plants mentioned above have scents that can repel mosquitoes, there are also some scents that can attract mosquitoes. In particular, you’ll want to avoid wearing anything with a floral scent, whether that scent comes from a perfume or lotion. Instead, you may want to try making your own DIY lavender perfume or DIY citronella spray for a DEET free, all-natural bug spray. You can even blend several scents together (like citronella + lavender + rosemary) for a scent that’s repellent to mosquitoes, but that smells nice to people.
4. Spray Garlic
Like the little vampires that they are, mosquitoes hate garlic. So one of the most effective natural ways to repel mosquitoes is to spray garlic around your yard. To make this garlic spray, break a bulb of garlic into several cloves. Peel those, then put them in a blender/food processor with enough water to fill the machine 1/2 way. Run the blender until you have a nice garlicky mixture. You then need to strain this mixture with a sieve or cheesecloth so that the garlic water goes into a cup and the garlic chunks stay behind. Pour the garlic water into a gallon water jug, then fill the rest of the jug with water. Keep this in your fridge or pantry and use it to fill a spray bottle. Then spray your yard down! This is safe to use on/near plants as it’s also a natural insecticide and fungicide. It will also repel some animals (like mice and rabbits). Your household pets may not like the smell, though. And you’ll want to keep them away from the mixture as garlic is toxic to both cats and dogs.
5. Remove Standing Water
As mentioned earlier, mosquitoes love stagnant water. So if you have any in your yard, even if it’s in a decorative birdbath or fountain, you might want to get rid of it until the mosquitoes aren’t so prevalent. If you can’t/don’t want to remove the standing water for some reason, you can put coffee grounds in the water. This will kill any mosquito larvae in the water.
6. Bring in Mosquito Eaters
Another one of the most effective natural ways to repel mosquitoes is to bring in natural mosquito predators. You should focus on attracting both predators that eat adult mosquitoes, and predators that eat mosquito larvae. Dragonfly nymphs (baby dragonflies that live in water) and fish love to eat mosquito larvae. To get rid of adult mosquitoes, try to attract adult dragonflies, bats, and birds (purple martins and swallows are particularly good at catching them).
7. Get Different Colored Lights
Did you know that while mosquitoes love light, they prefer certain colors of light? They seem to prefer cooler blue/violet colored lights. Red and yellow lights aren’t as interesting to them. If you have CFLs outside, they’ll likely be emitting violet wavelength light (even if it doesn’t look purple to you), and many LEDs are an obvious blue color. But you can buy lights that are designed to be less attractive to bugs. You can find LED yellow bug lights that work pretty well. Not only are they not an attractive color, but they also don’t give off as much heat as traditional bulbs (which is good, because mosquitoes also love heat). You can also buy red and yellow CFLs, though CFLs tend to give off a bit more heat than LEDs. If you’re tired of being attacked by mosquitoes the minute you step by a light outdoors, changing your bulbs out to different colored ones could make a big difference!
So as you can see, there are a lot of different ways to repel mosquitoes naturally, and none of these use any chemicals!
Donna Reidland says
I’m definitely going to try a couple of these!
Mother of 3 says
Great ideas! I need to try a few of these for sure. I am like a bug magnet and even insect sprays/ citronella candles seem to do nothing to prevent mosquito bites but I am willing to try garlic spray and planting repellent plants. Pinned.
Chandhini says
Thanks for the useful article with great tips. It will be of great help.
LINDA says
Pinned to Pinterest. We live in Connecticut so we know all about mosquitoes! Thanks for the info. Linda !Crafts a la mode
Kippi says
Great ideas to try to keep mosquitoes away naturally.
Richella Parham says
We have SO MANY mosquitoes around here! Thanks for these tips; I’ll have to try them.
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!