Mosquito repellent is OK, although I’d prefer a Mosquito Massacre Potion – because I truly detest insects. I don’t even like touching a page on my phone or tablet that has a picture of a bug on it. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is. Anyway, if you’re one of those people who wants to reduce the toxic chemicals in your life and the life of your family, then a DIY repellent is simple and easy to make.
Besides, this is the time of year when getting rid of mosquitos and other nasty critters is really important. Sitting outside at a picnic or barbecue and having those damn things hovering around just isn’t fun.
Many Type of Mosquitos
I didn’t realize that all mosquitos aren’t alike until I started researching this topic, but there are lots of different kinds:
Anopheles: these kinds love humans and hang around stagnant water
Copquillettidia: these are very prevalent in warm, moist areas, like Florida and the Gulf coast. They mostly nibble on large mammals but will attack dogs and cats and are very aggressive.
Culex: these live around fresh water, are especially active at dusk and may be carriers of West Nile Virus
Culiseta: this one attacks birds and ignores humans: Go Bird!
Mansonia: prefers large mammals and like the culex is very active at dusk
Aedes: these nasties love humans and some species may carry yellow fever and Dengue
Psorophora: they love blood from any living creature and will fly long, long distances to find a tasty meal
Uranotaenia: live in pools, swaps and lakes and feed mostly on reptiles
Wyeomyia: they live around bromeliads and pitcher plants and are not aggressive and mostly ignore humans
Making Your Natural Repellent
We must introduce this recipe by stating that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all mosquito repellent. For whatever reason, some repellents work for a particular person and some will not. So if you experiment unsuccessfully, don’t give up – just try a different recipe. Having said that, here is a basic mosquite repellent recipe which requires only two ingredients: a carrier oil + a natural essential oil.
If you don’t know about essential oils you might not notice that we included the word “essential”: the fake, chemical ones are almost certainly guaranteed to fail.
Carrier Liquids: three ounces
* Water (least recommended)
* Lemon juice
* Olive oil
* Any natural cooking or cosmetic oil
* Witch hazel
* Vodka
Essential Oils: approximately 20 drops
* Citronella
* Eucalyptus
* Tea tree
* Peppermint
* Cypress
* Geranium
* Bergamot
* Lemon
Mix the two and shake before use, each time you use it. It will last several hours depending upon what you’re doing.
The good news is that this natural mosquito repellent will usually keep away other pests like flies or even stinging insects.
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