As summer rolls in, so do pesky bugs — especially mosquitoes.
Considering mosquitoes cause hundreds of thousands of deaths per year due to disease transmittance, eliminating them from your surroundings should be a priority.
If you’re wanting a summer free from itchy mosquito bites, you should start preparing for it now. However, you may be worried about how much pest prevention may cost.
The good news is, you can protect yourself from mosquitoes with a few easy and affordable home remedies.
Here are our top nine picks of home remedies for mosquitoes:
1. Garlic
Garlic has a strong and unpleasant odor. The disgusting scent it gives off is also a natural repellent for mosquitoes, and if they ingest it, it’s a natural remedy that kills them.
If you’re looking to prevent or eliminate mosquitoes from the inside of your home, a homemade garlic spray can do the trick. To make the spray, crush garlic and boil it on a stovetop. After the mixture cools, fill a spray bottle with it and spray it into rooms.
While it may smell bad, you will have peace of mind knowing mosquitoes won’t go anywhere near the rooms.
2. Lavender
If you can’t convince yourself to tolerate the stench of garlic, you’re in luck — lavender is another one of our top home remedies for mosquitoes.
Lavender is a strong (but pleasant!) smelling flower. While humans may enjoy the smell of it, the same can’t be said of mosquitoes; the scent is a natural repellent for them.
By using lavender oil in rooms or rubbing it on your skin, mosquitoes won’t come anywhere near you — but you will smell wonderful in the process!
3. Coffee Grounds
If you have ground coffee in your pantry, you’re in luck — it’s another item on our list of the top home remedies for mosquitoes.
If there is standing water surrounding your home, then you might already notice that mosquitoes congregate around it. To prevent this, simply distribute coffee grounds in and around it.
How does it work? Mosquito eggs are drawn to the surface as a result of the coffee grounds. This deprives them of oxygen, and they die — meaning there will be less of them for you to worry about.
4. Mint
Did you know that mosquitoes can smell the scent of human skin? No wonder they seem so attracted to us!
The strong smell of mint can mask a human’s scent, and therefore keep mosquitoes away from them.
To use mint as a home remedy for mosquitoes, consider keeping mint leaves near you while being outdoors. You can also mix mint mouthwash with water and spray it on your skin or in rooms to keep them away.
5. Tea Tree Oil
Another strong-smelling oil that mosquitoes hate is tea tree oil. Since tea tree oil is a popular ingredient in hair products and lotions, you might already have access to some.
Consider rubbing tea tree oil on any body parts that aren’t covered by clothing. Aside from being a natural remedy for mosquitoes, tea tree oil is also antibacterial and antifungal — so it won’t harm your skin.
6. Rosemary
Rosemary is another beautiful smelling plant that has the opposite effects on mosquitoes. The insects hate the smell of it, making it another one of our top home remedies for mosquitoes.
To utilize rosemary as a natural repellent, gather a few stalks of it and burn them. Be sure to monitor them as they burn so as to prevent any potential fire hazards.
As the stalks burn, you will notice the mosquitoes be driven away from your surroundings.
7. Citronella Oil
Citronella oil is one of the most well-known home remedies for mosquitoes. The strong smell that is emitted while burning the oil is a definite repellent for the insects.
There are citronella candles on the market you can buy. Having them on hand while sitting outdoors during the summer can be extremely beneficial. The strong scent they emit masks the smell of humans, which will keep mosquitoes at bay.
8. Camphor
Camphor is the distilled bark and wood of a camphor tree. It has multiple benefits, including relieving pain, reducing itching, treating minor burns, and relieving earaches.
In addition to its health benefits, camphor can also work as a natural remedy to repel mosquitoes.
To use camphor to repel mosquitoes, take a block of it and burn it slowly in the affected room or area. The smell and CO2 that is released will prevent mosquitoes from returning to the area.
Camphor is generally easy to obtain; you can purchase it from major supermarkets or offline.
9. Create Your Own Mosquito Trap
Creating your own mosquito trap requires a bit more effort than the other home remedies for mosquitoes on this list, but it’s worth the time investment.
To make your own mosquito trap, you will need a plastic bottle, brown sugar, water, yeast, and tape.
Start by cutting the plastic bottle in half. After you have done so, add a mixture of brown sugar dissolved in hot water to the bottom half of the bottle.
Next, add yeast to the mixture of water and sugar. To finish the trap, put the top half of the plastic bottle upside down in the bottom half and secure it with tape.
The narrow opening at the top will be big enough for mosquitoes to get in but not big enough to get out. Once inside the bottle, they will be trapped in the sugary water mixture.
What entices them to venture inside the bottle? Yeast naturally emits CO2, a gas that mosquitoes are naturally attracted to.
Be sure to change the sugary water mixture in the bottle every two weeks.
Home Remedies for Mosquitoes Are a Great Way to Protect Yourself This Summer
Overall, mosquitoes are annoying insects that can transmit disease and cause itchy, painful sores on your body.
Thankfully, there are many affordable home remedies for mosquitoes out there. Some remedies include using everyday household items to keep the insects at bay.
If you’re looking for more advice on mosquito protection and prevention, be sure to check out our website today.
