Rather than dousing yourself with assorted powerful chemicals, use natural means to keep bugs where they should be — off of your flesh. Plenty of organic and natural commercial insect repellents exist, as well as those you can make yourself or find in your medicine cabinet. Let’s check a few out, shall we?
Lavender Essential Oil
Ah, lavender. Is there anything it can’t do? It functions as an effective bug repellent among its dozens of other uses, and is one of the few essential oils you can apply directly to skin. Dab it here and there to keep mosquitoes and other unpleasantness away — it also soothes and heals existing bites.
Garlic
While consuming a whole lot of fresh garlic won’t do you any favors in the breath department, it does promote optimal health. Besides, mosquitoes can’t stand it, so if your blood smells all garlic-y, they’ll stay away from you.
Catnip
Not only does catnip function as crack for cats, but it’s also an effective bug repellent among other things. Plant it around your home to keep mosquitoes and various creepy-crawlies at bay.
Diatomaceous Earth
Harmless to humans and animals, diatomaceous earth spells doom for insects. The natural, fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae, diatomaceous earth cuts into insect exoskeletons and kills them. It’s effective against fleas, ants, ticks, beetles, bedbugs, silverfish, earwigs, house flies, roaches, mites . . . the list goes on. Simply sprinkle the stuff where insects appear, and let it work its magic. You may also sprinkle it around the perimeter of your home.
Black Pepper
Black pepper is repulsive to fleas, and most other insects aren’t too fond of it either. Dust windowsills and baseboards with the stuff to control insect populations.
These are just some of the many, many natural insect repellents out there! It also helps to attract beneficial insects as well as birds to your property, as they consume unwanted pests.
Do you have a favorite repellent? Share what worked for you in the comments section!