Keep Mosquitos Away Naturally

Fighting mosquitoes is a battle for many on an annual basis. Many of us hate using chemicals on our skin and when Deet products are printed with warnings about our kids, it’s difficult to ignore. We don’t want to put toxic products on our kids and on ourselves for that matter and when we have very young kids or babies we know that toxic repellents are not even an option.

We also don’t want West Nile Virus, Malaria or the awful swelling/itching/misery that goes along with being a lunch buffet for neighbourhood mosquitoes.

Here are some natural tips to keep mosquitoes away

-Plants. Plant things like basil, citronella, marigolds, catnip, garlic and tansies throughout your property. Your herb and your flower gardens can naturally repel mosquitoes

-Standing water. This is a no brainer. Get rid of it!

-Listerine. This one is under debate but many sources say spraying bugs and your patio with Listerine Mouthwash will kill mosquitoes and spraying around your property will repel them. There are sources saying this is an urban myth so be cautious

-oil of eucalyptus. (I tried this on the weekend at the drive in and it did work! I watched bugs hover near us and then leave. We used Off! Botanicals that contained Lemon Eucalyptus. It only worked for just over an hour though and we all had to re-apply.)

- Food. By eating certain foods you can make yourself less appetizing to mosquitoes. These foods include bananas, garlic and food or supplements high in b vitamins.

Avoid being outdoors during dusk as much as possible and if you do go out, cover up. A great way to deal with the sting of a bite is tea tree oil as well as Afterbite which is mostly ammonia. Bathing in an oatmeal bath (using a product such as Aveeno bath) an also be helpful in dealing with itching. Hopefully these tips will help you minimize the amount of bites you will be subjected to.