During the summer months I can’t leave my air conditioned home for 10 minutes without becoming a scratching fool. For whatever reason, I attract mosquitoes and get munched fast. In fact, I get laughed at because I have a supply of “Off” in my car, bike pouch, and in all of the kid’s strollers.
Stopping mosquitoes entirely isn’t possible but you can surely decrease how many are buzzing around your house and backyard. Here are a handful of tips from a couple of DLM friends, TipNut and Thrifty Mommy. There are several more on each of their sites.
- Plant mosquito deterring plants around your yard such as citronella, marigolds, basil, lavender, and catnip.
- Make sure roof gutters, bird baths, sandboxes, and old tires drain properly to prevent standing water.
- Vanilla Extract: A few different recommendations for this one, each contradicting the other. Some say to dab Vanilla Extract on your pulse points, others say to rub it all over your skin & dab your clothes. Some say the cheap stuff is what you have to use, others say the real, pure Vanilla is the only thing that will work. Some say to apply it full strength, others say you can dilute it with water and spray it on. Play around with Vanilla to see what gives you best results–there are plenty of believers for this one as a mosquito deterrent so I think there’s something to it.
Sources: 10 Thrifty Ways to Deal with Mosquitoes and How to Prevent Mosquito Bites.