Spring and summer mean more time spent outdoors tending to the yard and garden and participating in outdoor activities. It also means that many will be bitten by mosquitoes if they do not use a repellent. Infected mosquitoes can carry Encephalitis or West Nile disease and humans will become ill if bitten. Many people reach for DEET based formulas to repel the mosquitoes however these chemical formulas like off bug spray might not be the best option for your health or they might be bad for the environment. It is better to repel the mosquitoes with natural methods. Follow these tips for natural mosquito repellents for your family, lawn, garden and the family dog.
This article is focused on the creating natural remedies for repelling mosquitos, but if you’re looking for more articles about the health and wellness properties of essential oils, I recommend starting with the 10 best essential oils for healing.
Plants that Repel Mosquitos
Repel mosquitoes from your outdoor living space by planting fragrant herb gardens in raised beds and containers. Set eye appealing containers of Citrosa, lemongrass, and citronella on your patio to repel mosquitoes while you’re relaxing outdoors. Grow lemon thyme, lemon basil, and bee balm along your walkways and the fragrant herbs will repel mosquitoes.
Design sectional gardens throughout your yard and plant catnip, lavender, peppermint and bee balm. These plants will repel the mosquitoes in high traffic areas.
Landscape your dog kennel by growing an assortment of plant mosquito repellents directly outside the fence, by doing this you will naturally repel mosquitoes from your dog’s space.
Does Garlic Repel Mosquitos?
Spray your lawn and garden with a commercial garlic spray. Garlics potent scent distorts the mosquitos sense of smell and this is an effective natural repellent. Another way to utilize garlic is to eat one clove of fresh garlic per day.
You can do this by adding the garlic to your food preparation and consuming the garlic through your diet. Make a garlic oil application for your skin. Purchase garlic oil from natural food market and mix the oil with lavender, citronella, catnip, and lemongrass essential oils. Mix four drops of each and apply to your skin.
Attracting Beneficial Animals that Feed on Mosquitos
Install a bat box in your yard. Attach it to the back side of a tree. Bats come out of box at dusk and will eat their body weight in mosquitoes every night. This is a natural way to kill mosquitoes in your yard. The best way to keep the bats in your yard is to keep an outdoor light on throughout the night. The light attracts flying insects.
