I'm looking for a GOOD, INEXPENSIVE - preferably home-made, mosquito repellant!

Question

MY garden is doing WELL! The plants are much thicker than I anticipated! All I have to DO, is to walk out into the garden, and the little 'buggars' ( I have STRONGER WORDS FOR THEM - BUT I'm TRYING to be POLITE) are all over me! HELP!!!

Answer 1

We use Bounce dryer sheets.  Rub them on your clothes a bit then stick the sheet in your pocket with most of the sheet hanging out.  

We have 3 kids and we use it all summer long - keeps the mosquitos away and you smell nice.  My neighbors even started using it, so now we have 12 kids running around the cul-de-sac with bounce dryer sheets hanging out of thier pockets.  Kinda cute.

Answer 2

Try a lemon dishwashing liquid, put it in a pan, or on a paper plate. They will be attracted to it and they will die. Also try the following tips:

1>Strive to wear light-colored clothing. Many mosquitos use their vision to locate targets from a distance; dark clothing and rich foliage are excellent attractants.

2>Try not to be outdoors when you are hot. You release more carbon dioxide when you are hot, and carbon dioxide is a major attractant of mosquitos.

3>Try not to be outdoors after an intense workout. Vigorous exercise can result in significant lactic acid build-up in your muscles, and lactic acid is a strong attractant of mosquitos.

4>Don't eat salty foods. Eating salty foods can cause you to produce higher-than-normal amounts of lactic acid.

5>Avoid using products with fruity or floral fragrances. These fragrances are mosquito attractants.

6>Wipe off perspiration on a regular basis. Perspiration attracts mosquitos via the chemicals contained within. Perspiration increases the humidity around your body, which also attracts mosquitos.

7>If possible, stay away from pools of water. Even mud puddles and moist plants attract mosquitos.

8>Use any of the following natural plant oils as natural mosquito repellents:

>Lemon Eucalyptus Oil

>Citronella Oil

>Cinnamon Oil

>Rosemary Oil

>Peppermint Oil

These natural plant oils typically need to be re-applied on a regular basis, as they wear off more quickly than conventional bug sprays.

A widely available product called Repel Lemon Eucalyptus has been shown through a number of studies to be an extremely effective mosquito repellent. Bite Blocker is another commercially available natural mosquito repellent that has tested well.

Answer 3

Hi! yeah I hear ya, that's exactly what happens to me. Hardly any skeet's in my yard until I walk up to the garden happily to check out my harvest and pick a few things, and my legs are just covered with those little Fu... uh.. buggers..! Man I hate those things, not to mention the diseases they carry.

I heard they are attracted to blue colors, so that makes sense why my pants are covered.

I do know planting marigolds throughout the garden has some nice repelling abilities, also planting them throughout the yard or in places with high foliage helps as well. Wish I would have, I didn't think it would be this bad.

I have heard, simple rubbing alcohol or cedar oil works as a repellent on the body, and throwing a few moth balls around the yard will repel the skeets and some other bugs, but I have not tested this myself. I have also heard of lavender, catnip, and vanilla as being used as a repellent, both on the body and garden.

Otherwise for the time being, a nice electric bug killer with a UV light works nicely to kill them during the night, and using store bought repellent for the body is the best bet until you have a chance to test these methods.

I know, I hate having to spray on all those chemicals just to go out and pick a few tomatoes or water my garden. But west nile or whatever else those things carry, would not be very fun to have.

Anyways, just do a few searches online for each item for more detailed information. I hope this helps!

Answer 4

I have an aunt who works out on a farm, and she swears by vinegar. Apparently it does work: I have a blood-sucker problem here too, but not when I've wiped myself down.

You say you garden. Try adding members of the mint family to your gardening, especially pennyroyal: That is an especially good herb for repelling biting bugs. There is one thing, though: You may want to keep it in containers so it won't take over everything else.

Good luck!

Answer 5

They are attracted to sweet bleed so avoid too much sugar in your diet. Also, applying rubbing alcohol or lotion - things that don't taste too good and could be poisonous to mosquitos are a good repellent to make them not want to suck on your skin. Maybe you can make a mixture with cayenne pepper and spread it on your body! That ought to sting them back :)