Looking for some simple mosquito tips to keep them far away from you and your family? You may find just what you’re looking for here!
Are the mosquitos coming out in droves where you live? They are over here after an unusually wet Spring. Kids need outdoor time, and often their experiences can be marred by pesky creatures. It can seriously be the worst.
Here are a few Mosquito Tips to help deter the bugs from feasting on you and your kids – or if your kids have gotten a bug bite, to get them relief so they are back to playing all the faster.
Don’t let the mosquitoes take a bite out of their outdoor playtime! There are things that you can do to battle them back to where they belong!
12 Mosquito Tips To Keep Them Far, Far Away
Make a Buggy Bracelet
Instead of spraying your whole child from head to toe with bug spray, consider making a bug-repelling bracelet. You can put essential oils to deter bugs, or even the chemical sprays, onto the bracelet. This way your child has less exposure while still being protected.
I have also heard of parents doing this with a bandana and then pinning the bandana to their child’s back if they were going to go out hiking or creek-walking.
Get a bat house
What fun! We had bats – a neighbor had a bat house growing up and I just loved getting to watch the bats come out at night. Bats are natural predators of mosquitos. You can encourage more bats in your area with a Bat Hotel. It’s a fun learning experience for your kids!
Go Garlic
Feed your kids more garlic in the summertime. When you eat garlic it seeps through your pores and bugs do not like the odor of garlic. You can even make a garlic-based Homemade Bug Repellant if you don’t want to eat the garlic or want extra protection.
Zap Them!
Our bug zapper was one of the best investments we have made – ever! We bought the bug zapper three summers ago and every summer we get a new lightbulb for it. We turn it on right after supper and turn it off before bed. Using the zapper even a couple of nights a week makes a big difference!
Make your own Bug Spray
These all-natural bug spray options are helpful if you are trying to limit the insecticides and chemicals on your kids. Spray them when they go out and it should deter bugs.
Break out the Fans
Bugs, not just mosquitos but also flies, prefer still air. When the wind is blowing you will generally have fewer bugs biting. Consider having fans around the area where your kids will be sitting outdoors, especially during picnics!
Grow a Garden
There are a number of plants that mosquitos detest. You can plant these around the edges of your yard, and even have them in planters near your doors to try to keep mosquitos out of the areas where your family likes to hang out. Lemongrass, citronella, horsemint, marigolds and even catnip are great suggestions of things to plant.
Look out for standing water around your home
This is a bit of a no-brainer, but there are other areas besides gutters and buckets where you can find pooling water. Some bushes can collect water in the leaves and branches – playground equipment can also be the culprit! After dumping any water try spraying your bushes with a home-remedy deterrent. You can either spray them with a mixture of garlic (see below) or even with the brown Listerine. The Listerine cleaning agents also make water inhabitable for buggers, while not harming your plants.
Cut your grass
Long grasses are a breeding ground for bugs and mosquitos aren’t the only ones – you can also find ticks in the long grass. Cut it often when it is wet out to deter bugs from calling your yard home.
Go Fishy
Is standing water unavoidable? Do you have a section of your yard that consistently floods or a cistern that you use to collect rainwater? Put a couple of goldfish from the store into your problem area. The fishes will eat the mosquito eggs when they lay them in the water. It is not a perfect solution but will help lessen the bugs.
Smoke them out
If you are having an outdoor cookout, some of these ideas might work. You can add some sage or even coffee grounds to your coals. The bugs don’t like the smoke of those as they burn. You can also make your own citronella candles to light around where you will be sitting.
Beer. Love and Hate.
Mosquitos love beer – it is irresistible to them. Use this to your advantage and make traps for the mosquitos. If you don’t have a beer, you can mix yeast with a small amount of flour and water to get a similar effect. Trap the bugs.
These Mosquito Tips can Work!
While they may not be foolproof, they can help to keep those bugs away! If you don’t like to get bit, they’re definitely worth a try!
Do you have any mosquito tips to share?
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