Natural mosquito repellent

Natural mosquito repellent. Mosquitoes are attracted to people thanks to things like strong smells (such as scented soaps, food, or skin odor), dark or bold-colored clothing, and warm body temperature.

It’s important to do what you can to keep them away, not only because the bites are itchy and annoying, but also because they can sometimes carry serious diseases, like West Nile, Zika, or malaria.  

A mosquito repellent doesn’t actually kill mosquitoes. Repellents work by making people less attractive to mosquitoes, so they’re less likely to bite you.

When deciding what type of mosquito repellent to use, you should consider:

• How long you will be outside
• How many mosquitoes are in your area
• Risk of mosquito-transmitted diseases where you live
• What you are putting on your skin

Many conventional mosquito repellents have the chemicals DEET or picaridin as active ingredients. But there are more natural mosquito repellents available that may also be effective.

If you live in an area where mosquitoes are more a mild nuisance, plant-based mosquito repellents may be a good alternative to conventional mosquito repellents.

What Are the Best Natural Mosquito Repellents?

Some natural repellents you might want to consider include:

Geraniol (found in citronella, lemongrass, and rose oil). Studies have shown that repellents containing this natural chemical can help keep mosquitoes at bay for a short while, but they don’t work as long or as well as other types of repellents.

Catnip oil. This insect repellent is derived from the nepeta cataria plant. It may offer mosquito protection for 7 hours, according to the EPA.

Cinnamon oil. This has been shown to help make you a bit less attractive to mosquitoes for up to an hour and a half, which is longer than many other natural oil repellants.

IR3535. This is also known as Merck 3535. It is an active ingredient in some insect repellents.

IR3535 was used for years in Europe before being registered by the EPA. It may offer up to 2 hours of mosquito protection. IR3535 is considered “natural” because it is structurally related to a naturally occurring chemical.

2-undecanone. This is derived from the tomato plant. It may offer 4½ hours of protection from mosquitoes. It can be found in some insect repellents.

Nootkatone. This oil is made from grapefruit skin and cedar trees has been approved by the EPA as an ingredient in insecticides. It has been found to repel and kill many biting insects, including mosquitoes. Studies show it can give several hours of protection.

Many other natural ingredients are currently being studied as mosquito repellent. These include:

• Fennel
• Thyme
• Clove oil
• Celery extract
• Neem oil

More studies are needed to verify their safety and efficacy.

Garlic and vitamin B1 taken by mouth won’t protect against mosquitoes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

How to make lemongrass mosquito repellent?

Follow these 5 minutes simple homemade mosquito repellent spray with lemongrass and essential oil.

Ingredients

• Lemongrass (1 piece)
• Essential oil (1 tablespoon)
• Water (2 cups – 473 ml)
• Small spray bottle (capacity 250 ml)
• Strainer

Directions

1. Wash and chop finely the lemongrass sticks.
2. Leave the chopped lemongrass in a blender and mix well.
3. Add a tablespoon of essential oil.
4. Boil water and add to the lemongrass mixture.
5. Drain using a strainer and put into a spray bottle.

Spray enough to open body parts that are easily bitten by mosquitoes such as hands and feet.

Coffee grounds

Coffee grounds are one of the often natural ingredients used as an insect and household pest repellents like cockroaches and ants. But, who would have thought if using burned coffee ground is also serve as a natural and safe mosquito repellent solution?

Many insects don’t like the smell of coffee, and mosquitoes are one of them. Coffee grounds have a very strong smell, and even stronger when they are burned.

The common belief is the strong smell of burned coffee grounds can reliably block mosquitoes to track us from the emitted carbon dioxide that humans naturally exhale when they biting us.

How to make burn coffee grounds for mosquito repellent?

Here’s the complete list of ingredients and directions on how to burn used coffee grounds to repel mosquitoes at home:

Ingredients

• Used coffee grounds
• Aluminium foil
• Glass plate or bowl
• Charcoal
• Lighter

Directions

1. Remove the coffee grounds from your coffee maker.
2. Put them in a container and place it in a cool or dry area until it’s completely dry.
3. Once it dried, place them into a bowl or plate that cover with aluminium foil (to ensure that you are not burning the container too).
4. Ignite the coffee grounds by using hot charcoal until the coffee grounds start burning and smoking.

Once it starts burning and smoking, place it in a place or location in surface-level like on the top of a table or cabinets for the best results.

Garlic

Apparently, garlic can be more than just a perk up the flavour to your food. Garlic is known on its natural sulfur that is toxic when mosquitoes ingest it.

Thus, homemade garlic-based natural mosquito repellent getting more popular since many people’s beliefs that its strong smell are able to offer mild protection to pesky flying insects like mosquitoes.

By utilizing the amino acid content found in garlic, eating large amounts of garlic and/or rubbing garlic on your body are beliefs help to make your body more unattractive for mosquitoes to bite. Though, there is another way to make use of garlic without needing you to eat it – for example by making garlic mosquito repellent sprays.

How to make garlic spray to repel mosquitoes?

Steps and ingredients how to make garlic mosquito repellent spray at home:

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic
• Water (2 cups = 473 ml)
• Spray bottle (capacity 250 ml)

Directions

• Blend 3 cloves of garlic with a little extra water to make a better liquid in the mixer or blender.
• Pour the liquid using a strainer into a spray bottle to separate the solids from the oil.
• Add the rest of the water into the spray bottle, mix well.

You can apply this garlic spray to kill larvae as well as to stop mosquito eggs from hatching in the mosquito breeding sites or in a place where water normally stagnates found around the home, such as:

• Buckets
• Vases
• Flower Pot saucers
• Trash can

Natural mosquito repellents vs pest control service

With a wealth of information about homemade natural mosquito repellents on the Internet, raises new questions to many homeowners when measuring the effectiveness of these cheap and easy methods: do natural mosquito repellents work?

Natural mosquito repellents

The natural mosquito repellents can be working well depends on how high is the mosquito infestation level at your place. If you have a small infestation, natural products may be can work pretty well for you.

However, you have to remember that the natural remedies itself may have a health and safety risk as well as not be the best long-term solution for your mosquito problems, these include:

• Lemongrass spray – can cause irritation or allergic reactions in some people when it applies to sensitive skins.
• Coffee grounds – can cause a fire at home when it’s not well made. Other than that, it can also harm your children’s safety when they are able to access the incense you made.
• Garlic spray – maybe work for a short period, but once its savour is gone, mosquitoes are ready to return back and start breeding at your property.

5 FAQs About Natural Mosquito Repellents