Mosquito attacks are definitely enough to ruin any barbecue or picnic! Because of this, many people turn to store bought insect repellents to keep mosquitoes away, but these insect repellents often contain a toxic pesticide that is dangerous to human health. This pesticide is known as DEET.
Heavy exposure to DEET has been linked to memory loss, headache, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, tremors and shortness of breath in humans and is particularly toxic to children.
Health Fitness Revolution wants to keep you healthy and social, especially outdoors (we wrote an article about the health benefits of being in nature here). Here is are our favorite All-Natural Mosquito Repellents:
- Lavender Oil: To us, lavender oil is calming, soothing, and pleasant- to mosquitoes, it smells terrible! To keep mosquitoes out of your home, add a drop of lavender to ribbon and place around open windows. For yourself, add 30 drops of lavender essential oil to two tablespoons of coconut oil and rub onto exposed skin.
- Catnip: You can drive cats wild and make mosquitoes run in terror, research has found that the essential oil found in the herb catnip is about 10 times more effective than DEET in repelling mosquitoes.
- Rosemary on the BBQ: Mosquitoes often strike while we are BBQ-ing, but simply throwing a few stalks of rosemary over the heat trick will turn your barbecue into a natural mosquito repellent.
- Citronella: the one we all know about. Use only pure essential oil of citronella—not fragrance oil. Oils purchased in bulk for burning are not adequate for applying topically to your skin.
- Eat Lots Of Garlic: Mosquitoes HATE garlic (makes sense, since vampires do to! 🙂 )When you consume lots of garlic, garlic oil is gently released from your pores. This garlic oil acts almost like a barrier between your skin and the mosquitoes.
- Neem Oil: Neem oil is a natural insecticide from India used on plants to keep harmful insects away, and it works the same way on humans. Apply neem oil to the skin and keep mosquitoes away. According to a study by the US National Research Council, neem oil is more effective than DEET.
- Organic soy oil—Research has found that repellents made of soybean oil are just as effective as DEET-containing repellents. Soy oil is inexpensive and easy to find, making it an excellent choice. Plus, it is an excellent body moisturizer.
- Attract Bats: Bats can eat 1,000 mosquitoes per night. Attracting bats to your garden can help to significantly reduce the number of mosquitoes and reduce your chances of being bitten.
- Get Rid Of Standing Water: Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water. Getting rid of standing water will cut down the number of mosquitoes in the immediate vicinity. This even includes pet water bowls!
