The Best, Safest All Natural Mosquito Repellents
The use of most commercial mosquito repellents will inadvertantly expose you to chemicals that could be detrimental to your health. Chemicals, allergic reactions, skin irritation and rashes... ugh!
50 years ago, people never thought twice when spraying DDT to control mosquitoes. Today, the most popular mosquito repellents contain DEET. It's no secret there is some debate as to whether DEET is actually safe or not.
Thankfully, there are a lot of natural ways you can dramatically repel mosquitoes in your own backyard.
Here are some of the best ideas for making your own all-natural mosquito repellents...
Things That Feed On Mosquitoes
Your first step should be to eliminate any standing water, because that's where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
Think along these lines:
- old tires that contain water
- low areas in your yard where water may remain long after the rain has subsided
- any containers left out that water can collect in
If you have a pond (which itself is a mosquito hatchery!), consider stocking your pond with guppies. They're small fish that thrive on mosquito larva and do well in still water ponds. Guppies reproduce rapidly, so before you know it, you'll have a mosquito-free pond!
Purple martins are birds that also have mosquitoes high up on their dinner menu too. Since they like living in multi-apartment habitats, one good-sized purple martin house will provide housing for a fairly large community of birds.
Frogs love mosquitoes. They also hate pollution and chemicals. If you have a clean environment in your yard, and like the sound of frogs croaking at night, then a frog pond can be a big help in alleviating your backyard mosquito issues.
Bats consume about 1,000 insects an hour. Building a bat house will bring these nighttime radar equipped little guys to your property in droves! This video shows how valuable bats can be to your property:
Plants That Repel Mosquitoes
There are a number of plants that repel mosquitoes enough to send them to your neighbors yard instead of hanging out in yours.
Some of the best ones:
- Lemongrass (or citronella grass)
- Catnip
- Marigolds
- Rosemary
- Mosquito plant (yes, there actually is a plant with that name)
These mosquito repelling plants take no more effort to plant and care for than any other plants, and the mosquitoes will stay away!
Organic All-Natural Mosquito Repellents
Organic and natural repellents can be purchased commercially, or they can be mixed up at home with simple readily available ingredients.
Here are a few different products and mixtures that are known to repel mosquitoes:
- Lemon grass DIY mosquito repellent - it's said to be similar to citronella.
- Rosemary and catnip - see how to make your own mosquito repellent spritzes and sprays.
- Homemade mosquito repellent - a mixture of common household ingredients, including a few drops of citronella oil or eucalyptus oil.
- Listerine to repel mosquitoes - yep, it works for some!
- Celery juice - a greener alternative from Danny Lipford. (video here)
- Commercial mosquito repellents - a handful of all-natural organic products you can buy.
This list of natural insect repellents highlights many different mixtures that can be effective in fighting off mosquitoes.
In the battle against mosquitoes, it's not mandatory that you expose your family to potentially dangerous chemicals. By staying with organic and natural products and methods, you can still provide relief from biting insects and greatly reduce the possibility of contracting diseases like West Nile Virus.
With global warming raising the temperature of our environment, it's likely the mosquito problem will worsen in years to come.
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