Summer is the time for backyard barbeques, playing on the beach – and also for mosquitoes. These pesky little insects can quickly turn a pleasant summer’s night on the back porch into an irritating ordeal. While there are a number of chemical insect repellants you can use for this, they are not also good for your long-term health and can also be rather expensive. So the next time you go out for a walk or fire up your grill, consider using some of these natural repellants.
Fans
Research has shown that mosquitoes are not active is the wind exceeds 10 miles an hour. So the next time you go out on your porch, set up an oscillating fan and crank it up to high. This should create enough of a breeze that you keep the mosquitoes away and it will help keep you cooler on a warm summer night as well!
Bats
Another way to help bring down the mosquito population in your yard is to set up a bat house. While some people are nervous around these flying mammals, they are actually very good for the environment and some species have been shown to devour from 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. They also help with pollination, which is great if you have a garden.
Marigolds
These lovely yellow flowers will do more than brighten up your back porch or patio: they contain thiophenes, chemicals which give these plants their distinctive smell and will also help repel and even kill of mosquitoes.
Bacteria
Preventing mosquitoes from hatching in the first place is a great way to control the population. Mosquito “dunks” can be purchased from nearly any garden or home improvement store and be placed into birdbaths, water gardens or other sources of standing water. They are harmless to humans and other animals like birds, but will kill off mosquito larva before they can hatch.
Vanilla Extract
It’s not just for baking anymore! Add two teaspoons of this extract to a spray bottle of water, then spritz it all over before heading outside for the day. Not only will you help repel mosquitoes, you will smell great, too!
These are all pretty simple tips to follow and none of them will break the family budget. However, they will help make summer more enjoyable and save you from having to expose yourself – and your family – to some of the harmful ingredients that many insect repellants contain. It can also save you a bit of money, since some of these repellant products can be relatively expensive, thus saving your budget for a new grill or an extra trip to the beach! Summer just got a whole lot better!
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