How to Keep Mosquitoes Away With Home Remedies

It is simple to keep mosquitoes away with home remedies. You do not have to spray yourself from head to toe with toxic insecticides to avoid getting bitten when you are outside. Mosquitoes are very sensitive to certain scents, and if you know just what scents to use, they will stay far away from you. It is a good idea to keep mosquitoes away with home remedies, as they carry diseases such as West Nile virus and malaria that babies and the elderly can be particularly susceptible to acquiring.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Marigolds
• Catnip
• Rosemary
• Fabric softener dryer sheets
• Lemon eucalyptus oil
• Plastic spray bottle
• Citronella candles

1. Plant marigolds, catnip and rosemary in your garden and around your house. These plants all emit odors that are unpleasant to mosquitoes and will keep them away.
2. Pin several fabric softener dryer sheets to your clothes when you are outside. The sheets have a repelling effect on mosquitoes.
3. Spritz yourself with lemon eucalyptus oil. You can get this from a health food store. Put five drops of the oil in 1 cup of water, then put the mixture in a plastic spray bottle and give yourself two or three good sprays before going outside. The scent of the oil will keep mosquitoes away.
4. Burn citronella candles around your house when you are outside at night. Mosquitoes hate citronella. Make sure you create a ring of lit citronella candles around wherever it is you are planning to be when you are outside.
5. Remove any sources of stagnant standing water from around your home. Mosquitoes love standing water and use it as a breeding ground. Even a small planter pot that has been left outside and filled up with rain water is a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes, so get rid of it.
6. Put up mosquito netting all around where you are planning to be outside. You can get mosquito netting from most sports and camping supply stores. The netting has thousands of tiny holes in it that are big enough for you to see out of, but too small for the mosquitoes to fly through. This netting is widely used in Africa in areas that are prone to malaria.

Tips & Warnings

• If you happen to get bitten by a mosquito, you can treat the bite with home remedies, too. An effective remedy is to spray a little bit of hair spray over the bite. This will stop the itching.