Mosquitoes, gnats, flies, no-see-ums, and other pesky bugs, you are annoyed with these insects around you, whether the house or go outdoors. They actually are trouble makers. Take comfort in knowing that one of the ways to repel them away from you. And here are 16 candidates we want to share in the article today. These ways are safe, effective, and inexpensive. Check them out with us.
With these plants, instead of having to buy a sticky spray and engaging in chemicals to fight back against them, you can grow them in your house or garden, or anywhere you want to. In addition to keeping your growing areas as insect free, it is as possible will help your vegetable garden stay productive and your ornamental beds attractive. It is a great eco-friendly way, so let’s save them and grow some around your house right now.
#1 Basil
Using fresh basil to make an insect repellent spray like flies and mosquitoes. To do this, pouring 4 ounces of boiling water into a container holding 4 to 6 ounces of clean, fresh basil leaves, letting the leaves steep for several hours, removing the leaves, and squeezing all of the leaves’ moisture into the mixture. Then thoroughly mix 4 ounces of vodka with the basil-water mixture. Store in the refrigerator and apply as a spray when going outdoors. Be sure to keep the spray away from your eyes, nose, and mouth.
#2 Lavender
Repels moths, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes. Plant the lavender in sunny areas of the garden or near entryways to your house to help keep those areas pest-free. You can also use oil extracted from the flowers as a mosquito repellent you can apply to exposed skin when going into the garden or patio.
#3 Lemongrass
Repels mosquitoes. Citronella is a natural oil found in lemongrass, an ornamental that can grow up to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide in one season.
#4 Lemon thyme
Repels mosquitoes. The plant itself will not repel pesky mosquitoes. To release its chemicals, you must first bruise the leaves. To do this, simply cut off a few stems and rub them between your hands.
#5 Mint
The plant’s aromatic oils can be extracted and combined with apple cider vinegar and vodka (or witch hazel) to make a mosquito repellent.
#6 Rosemary
Repels mosquitoes and a variety of insects harmful to vegetable plants. The plant itself and its cuttings are effective repellents. You can make a simple repellent spray by boiling 1 quart of dried rosemary in a quart of water for 20 to 30 minutes and then straining the liquid into a container at least a half-gallon in size that contains a quart of cool water. Put a cap on the combined liquid and store it in the refrigerator. Add the repellent to small squirt bottles as needed when going outdoors.
#7 Sage
If you’re camping or making s’mores in the backyard, toss a little sage or rosemary into the fire. The scented smoke helps keep away unwanted insects. You can make a bug repellant spray using sage, too.
#8 Catnip
Catnip attracts cats but repels insects such as mosquitos, flies, deer ticks and cockroaches. Essential oils from catnip can be used to make a DIY natural insect repellent spray.
#9 Alliums
Plants in the Allium family are regarded as a broad-spectrum natural insecticide. They repel numerous insects that plague vegetable gardens, including slugs, aphids, carrot flies, and cabbage worms.
#10 Chrysanthemums
Repel roaches, ants, Japanese beetles, ticks, silverfish, lice, fleas, bedbugs, spider mites, harlequin bugs, and root-knot nematodes. The ingredient in chrysanthemums that makes them so effective as an insect-repelling companion plant is a pyrethrum. Although chrysanthemum flowers can be used to make insecticidal spray, pyrethrum can be carcinogenic to humans and care should be taken in using them in this form.