3
chapter
DIY Methods to Repel Mosquitoes
Do-it-yourself repellents may seem attractive because they allow
you total freedom in what you choose. You get to adjust your
budget, control the methods based on your needs and wants, and
work out which ones suit you best.
However, that still takes a serious amount of time, money, and attention. You’ll want to know the basics of just about every DIY option before making an investment. We’ll discuss 5 types of DIY repellent options:
However, that still takes a serious amount of time, money, and attention. You’ll want to know the basics of just about every DIY option before making an investment. We’ll discuss 5 types of DIY repellent options:
No matter which solution you choose, you should always
understand the pros and cons of what you’re getting into.
Plants have survived bugs for millions of years, and it’s thanks to
evolutionary developments. In fact, the oils and chemicals in
mosquito-repellent plants are often inspiration for store-bought
products!
Eucalyptus
Lavander
Citronella
Eucalyptus trees, while they grow large over time, can still
grow in portable containers. They have a sweet pine or mint
smell, which helps repel mosquitoes.
Their leaves produce an oil called eucalyptol. Placing a few
fresh leaves on your window sill can help keep bugs away.
Lavender is a hardy plant that can outlast winters and provide
a pretty purple sight inspring.
The strong smell of lavender may make it difficult for
mosquitoes to track you down by your lactic acid.
Its linalool oil is also an alcohol that inhibits mosquito
receptors the same way over-the-counter bug spray does.
Planting a few lavender plants in your yard may distract the
bugs and make it harder for them to focus on you.
This is the one you may know! Probably from the term
citronella candles. These small shrubs make great container
plants at about 1-2 feet tall and wide.
It’s called the mosquito plant because its natural citrus
fragrance helps repel mosquitoes.
The candles that include their oil are frequently used to
promote a natural scent barrier inside and outside a home.
There are many other plants that produce similar oils and scents,
including:
Marigolds
Rosemary
Mint
Sage
Monarda
Allium
Each of these offers a way for your garden to act as a natural
barrier against mosquitoes.
Cons of Plant Repellents
However, they are plants that need taking care of. This often requires a lot of:
- Time
- Energy
- Research
Otherwise, any plant you bring in might make a rapid departure to that holy compost pile in the sky.
Each plant we mentioned and most others have an essential oil
that manufacturers have distilled. Eucalyptol, linalool, and
citronella are just three of hundreds of options.
You can use each essential oil in a mix of water for easy spraying. Simply dabbing drops on your wrists or around your home may also work as well.
You can use each essential oil in a mix of water for easy spraying. Simply dabbing drops on your wrists or around your home may also work as well.
Not only can these oil mixes help repel mosquitoes, many of
them are naturally pleasant scents to enjoy around the house
anyway!
We all probably know at least one person who swears by apple cider
vinegar for… everything. Anecdotal cures for pests have been around
for centuries—in part because many work, and in another part because
that’s what we’re told.
Plants and essential oils make another appearance here in these homemade options. Many homemade remedies today involve mixing essential oils into water or another medium:
Plants and essential oils make another appearance here in these homemade options. Many homemade remedies today involve mixing essential oils into water or another medium:
Apple cider vinegar + essential oil drops
1/3 cup witch hazel + essential oil drops
Coconut oil + water
Freshly squeezed lemon juice + water
Isopropyl alcohol + water + essential oil drops
Each of these solutions works on the same principles we’ve
covered: masking our signals like lactic acid built up from
sweat or our CO2 emissions from breathing.
Cons of Homemade
Remedies
Remedies
However, these solutions may fail to work in the long-term. If they do, it will be difficult to diagnose why.
It might be your solution mix. It might be the oils used. It might be the mosquitoes around you.
With homemade remedies, it is hard to be certain of anything.
The pests avoid the smells of these plants, so the logic is
that they’ll avoid us if we make our home smell like these
plants.
These make for attractive solutions. The investment is simply a
matter of purchasing the ingredients, mixing them, and regularly
spraying as needed.
All the DIY solutions reviewed so far focus on hiding certain
signals to cause mosquitoes to avoid us while we’re working in
the yard or outside at a summer barbecue.
With traps, we want to leverage our new knowledge to attract the bugs and kill them in swarms.
With traps, we want to leverage our new knowledge to attract the bugs and kill them in swarms.
Sugar, yeast, and hot water combine to create your own source of
carbon dioxide. Place these ingredients in a 2-liter bottle, and
you can put it anywhere.
This attracts the mosquitoes as they search for a person or pet to bite. The next step is to construct the bottle in such a way that it keeps mosquitoes in when they enter.
By cutting the bottle in half and inverting the top to act as a funnel, you create that environment.
This attracts the mosquitoes as they search for a person or pet to bite. The next step is to construct the bottle in such a way that it keeps mosquitoes in when they enter.
By cutting the bottle in half and inverting the top to act as a funnel, you create that environment.
They enter and either can’t escape or fall into the mixture and
drown.
It’s important to take into account that while this lure may attract mosquitoes to your property, there are no guarantees they’ll actually fall into the trap!
You could end up with more mosquitoes than you started.
It’s important to take into account that while this lure may attract mosquitoes to your property, there are no guarantees they’ll actually fall into the trap!
You could end up with more mosquitoes than you started.
Remember what we’ve learned about mosquito breeding? Anywhere
there’s standing water will do. This ingenious trap revolves
around that.
Take a cup and glue a dark sock to the bottom before pulling it over the rim. With a bit of construction, you put a metal mesh in the cup and fill the cup with water.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs near the water on the sock, which fall past the mesh. By the time the larvae grow up, they’re too big for the mesh and never get out to bug you!
Take a cup and glue a dark sock to the bottom before pulling it over the rim. With a bit of construction, you put a metal mesh in the cup and fill the cup with water.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs near the water on the sock, which fall past the mesh. By the time the larvae grow up, they’re too big for the mesh and never get out to bug you!
Cons of Standing Water Traps
However, once again, this is not an ideal solution as there may also be standing water in other areas of your property.
While some females may lay their eggs in your trap, others may just as easily lay eggs in any other tiny puddle around your yard or home.
Yes, you read that right. This may sound like a Star Trek
device, but we now have mosquito repellent apps for your phone.
One button pressed on your phone and these apps claim to emit low frequency or ultrasonic sounds that bug the bugs.
While we cannot hear them, mosquitoes apparently hate the noise and avoid it.
One button pressed on your phone and these apps claim to emit low frequency or ultrasonic sounds that bug the bugs.
While we cannot hear them, mosquitoes apparently hate the noise and avoid it.
This idea is older than you think! Mosquito control has had
battery-operated emitters for decades. Radio stations have even
attempted to broadcast the noise.
Cons of Mosquito Apps
However, in any controlled test or study, these noise nuisances don’t work.
These DIY solutions require some learning and implementation to
put into practice. They may cost you lots of money all for
little to no results.
If you have the time, money, and energy to do all that, it may be for you.
However, if you’re looking to save time, in the next chapter we’ll introduce you to store-bought solutions and professional remedies
that make the job easier and get better results.
If you have the time, money, and energy to do all that, it may be for you.
However, if you’re looking to save time, in the next chapter we’ll introduce you to store-bought solutions and professional remedies
that make the job easier and get better results.
Chapters
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