Repel mosquitoes »These home remedies really help

the essentials in brief

• Strong smelling home remedies are the best way to get rid of mosquitoes. Homemade candles are just as effective as flowers or fragrance lamps.
• Fragrances are helpful in the garden. Effective methods are fragrant herbs in the pot or smoking leaves and coffee. Electrical devices have proven ineffective.
• To prevent the spread of mosquitoes, water deposits should be removed or treated with bacteria and detergent. Electronic music disturbs the orientation of the insects.

Repel mosquitoes: room

Mosquitoes enter the apartment, kitchen and bedroom through open windows and doors. You can find them wherever people live. The annoying insects do not spare the children's room or bathroom, because they follow the human body odor and are attracted to exhaled carbon dioxide. The insects perceive these substances over several kilometers. The safest way to keep mosquitoes away is with fly screens.

Plant flowers and herbs

Fragrant herbs keep mosquitoes away

Many plants not only scare away annoying insects, but can also be used in the kitchen. These include basil, rosemary, and lemon balm. Garlic is an ideal pest controller. Both the spice bulb and the herb offer ideal protection against mosquitoes in the apartment. If you don't like the smell of the intense herbs, you can use lemongrass, Marigold and plant lemon pelargonium.

Make mosquito-stop candles yourself

Citronella candles are fragrant for humans and ensure that mosquitoes run away. You need old candle scraps or beeswax, a cube of coconut oil, used screw jars and cotton thread. Vegetable oils with citronella, lavender or sage scent provide the repellent effect.

Manufacturing:

1. Melt three parts coconut oil and one part wax in a saucepan
2. Add up to ten drops of essential oil per 100 grams of candle mass
3. carefully pour into the glasses
4. Insert the candle wicks up to the bottom of the glass
5. Secure the wicks with a toothpick placed across the glass

Light aroma lamps

Essential oils spread optimally in the room air when they are evaporated. This is done using a pot on the stove that you fill with water and a few drops of essential oils. About four drops of tea tree, mint or eucalyptus oil are sufficient for a twenty square meter room. Fragrance lamps are a more convenient solution and can be placed in the bedroom and children's room.

Repel mosquitoes with home remedies

Place bowls with different fragrances in the apartment. It is important that the substances are renewed regularly. They work as a repellent until the fragrances have evaporated. A glass of apple cider vinegar, bay or neem oil, and lemon essence can prevent mosquitoes from entering the bedroom.

Repel mosquitoes: in the garden

The summer months not only bring mild nights but often mosquito plagues. In order to avoid annoying mosquito bites in the garden, on the balcony and on the terrace, a few rules of conduct have proven to be helpful:

• shower after physical activity
• do not use strongly perfumed shower gels
• wear long clothes in bright colors

Digression

Mosquito repulsion in other cultures

Keep away with plants

Mosquitoes can't stand the smell of tomatoes

Like many insects, mosquitoes find the flavors of various plants off-putting. Intensely fragrant herbs from the Mediterranean region, aromatic plants and vegetables with strongly smelling parts of the plant act as a natural deterrent. To build up an effective shield against mosquitoes, you can smoke leaves of sage, cedarwood or eucalyptus in a fire-proof bowl.

Plants against mosquitoes:

• vegetables: Tomatoes
• Herbs: Lavender, mint
• Aromatic plants: Anise

Give off intense smells

The fragrance effect of plants that carry essential oils is often not strong enough outside. To increase the deterrent effect, you can help yourself with home remedies. Sprinkle ground coffee on an ovenproof surface and ignite the dry powder.

Electric insect repellent

Mosquito plugs for the socket should protect against the mosquito plague both indoors and outdoors. However, according to the 7/2019 edition of the consumer magazine Öko-Test, none of the nine devices tested from different areas are recommended. Most of the models have no effect or are questionable from a health and species protection perspective.

Prevent mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are bound to bodies of water because the females prefer to lay their eggs in standing puddles filled with water Rain barrels(€ 3.59 at Amazon *) or ponds. Even the smallest amounts of water in tree hollows are sufficient for laying eggs. To prevent mosquitoes from spreading, you should remove any accumulated water from the garden or ensure that the water is continuously circulated.

Ideal egg-laying places:

• water-bearing bird baths
• filled watering cans
• Coasters of flower pots with residual water
• Paddling pool with puddles

Treat rainwater

Standing water is ideal for mosquitoes to lay eggs

There are special tablets that you can pour in the water Rain barrel can mix. They contain the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, which produces Bt toxins and acts as a natural pest control. The toxins are poisonous for species of the genus Culex, which includes the native mosquitoes. Since they are completely harmless to humans, plants and vertebrates, the water from the rain barrel can be used in the garden.

Disadvantage:

• Bacterium also acts on non-biting mosquitoes
• Dragonfly larvae have to resort to other food
• Amphibian larvae are increasingly being preyed on by dragonfly larvae

Use detergent

A biodegradable detergent is suitable as a home remedy for combating mosquitoes in the garden. A few splashes in the rain barrel are enough to reduce the surface tension of the water. Mosquitoes on the approach to landing sink when they hit the surface of the water and drown.

Electronic music

Researchers at Mahidol University in Thailand have found that female mosquitoes are infected with If you hear electronic music, you have less interest in blood and less willingness to mate demonstrate. They suspect that the Johnston organ is disturbed by the strong vibrations. This organ is important for mating and enables fine control of the flight.

frequently asked Questions

How can you get rid of mosquitoes?

You can also make mosquito spray yourself

The stinging insects orient themselves primarily with their sense of smell. You can use this perception to keep mosquitoes out of the garden and the apartment. Various fragrances that exude intense aromas help against mosquitoes. These include essential oils that are vaporized in fragrance lamps, as well as coffee powder and herbs on the windowsill.

What are mosquitoes attracted to?

Mosquitoes are not attracted to light sources. They are active at different times of the day. Mosquitoes orient themselves with their sense of smell. They are mainly attracted by human body odors and exhaled carbon dioxide. The insects can perceive these substances for several kilometers and can get through open windows and doors even when the lights are switched off. They prefer to buzz around the head because the concentration of carbon dioxide is particularly high here.

What mosquitoes like:

• The smell of butyric acid, lactic acid and ammonia on the skin
• increased perspiration during physical exertion
• increased body temperature

Are Mosquitos Useful?

The stinging insects play an important role in the food chain. They are rich in protein and therefore an indispensable part of the food web of birds and amphibians. Domestic bats eat up to 30 percent of their body weight every night. A pipebat can eat between 600 and 700 mosquitoes per night. That corresponds to a number of 140,000 mosquitoes in seven months. Many living things would starve to death without mosquitoes.

Which mosquitoes live in Germany?

There are around 50 types of mosquito in Central Europe. Most of these species are harmless and do not target human blood. The common mosquito and the house mosquito are significant pests that become a nuisance to humans. Five species introduced from other countries are considered invasive. These include the Asian tiger mosquito and the Japanese bush mosquito.

Are spices in food effective against mosquitoes?

It is said to make the blood unattractive to mosquitoes if you have eaten garlic or hot spices or ingested vitamin tablets. However, researchers found that eating habits did not affect the mosquito's biting behavior. Participants who have eaten garlic are stung just as often as other people.