Making your own natural mosquito repellent at home can be a great way to avoid using harsh chemicals on your skin. While commercial bug sprays often contain DEET or other synthetic ingredients, homemade repellents rely on natural oils and other safe compounds to drive mosquitoes away.
One popular homemade mosquito spray recipe involves three common household items: beer, mouthwash, and Epsom salts. The idea is that combining these ingredients creates a solution that mosquitoes find unpleasant and want to avoid.
While natural mosquito repellents may not be as strong as commercial chemical options, they can provide adequate protection without exposing you to potentially harmful substances. And making your own repellent allows you to control exactly what goes onto your body.
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What Makes This Mosquito Spray Work?
So how exactly does a mix of beer, mouthwash, and Epsom salts manage to repel mosquitoes? Let’s break down what each of these ingredients brings to the table:
Beer: The yeast and fermentation byproducts in beer create a scent that mosquitoes dislike. Specifically, they contain compounds like lactic acid, octenol, and diacetyl that mosquitoes find unappealing. A number of commercial mosquito traps and repellents actually use octenol to attract and trap the insects.
Mouthwash: Many brands of mouthwash contain eucalyptol, menthol, thymol, and other plant-derived oils that have insect-repelling properties. The strong scents and volatile compounds overwhelm mosquitoes’ sense of smell so they have a hard time zoning in on their human targets.
Epsom Salts: Magnesium sulfate, better known as Epsom salts, doesn’t have insect-repelling abilities itself. However, when mixed with the other liquid ingredients, it helps absorb and disperse the repellent scents so they’re released effectively from your skin.
Step-by-Step Instructions
If you want to whip up your own mosquito repellent from items in your pantry, here are step-by-step instructions:
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces cheap beer, any variety
- 4 ounces cheap minty mouthwash
- 4 tablespoons Epsom salts
Directions:
- Pour the beer and mouthwash into a spray bottle and swirl to mix.
- Add the Epsom salts and shake vigorously until they dissolve.
- Let the mix sit for 20-30 minutes so the salts and oils can saturate.
- Shake well before each use.
- Spray over exposed skin before going outdoors.
- Reapply every few hours as needed.
The spray works best if applied liberally over areas like arms, legs, neck, and ankles. Be sure to shake the bottle before each use to disperse the oils and revive the scent. Store any leftover spray in the fridge and make a fresh batch weekly for best results.
Precautions When Using This Mosquito Spray
While this mosquito repellent contains common household products, there are still some precautions to take:
– Avoid spraying near eyes, nostrils, or lips. The menthol and other compounds can be irritating.
– Don’t apply to cuts, wounds, or irritated skin. Stick to spraying over intact skin.
– Keep out of reach of children. Supervise use on young kids.
– Test on a small patch of skin first to check for allergic reactions or sensitivities.
– Avoid using on infants less than 2 months old. Check with a doctor first if needed for babies and toddlers.
You’ll also want to adjust the repellent strength up or down. For example, use less mouthwash or more beer if the scent is too strong for you. Adding more Epsom salts can help the repellent stick to your skin longer.
How Effective Is This Homemade Mosquito Spray?
When used properly, the beer-mouthwash-salt spray can provide moderate mosquito protection for 2-4 hours per application. The exact effectiveness depends on:
– The relative concentrations of each ingredient. More mouthwash adds more insect-repelling oils.
– How liberally you apply it. Enough repellent must reach the skin surface and air around you.
– Environmental factors like temperature, wind, and humidity. Mosquitoes are more abundant and aggressive in certain conditions.
– How attractively mosquitoes respond to you. We all give off different scents and exhalations that mosquitoes detect.
While not as powerful as 100% DEET formulas, this natural repellent can reduce mosquito landings by roughly half compared to no protection, studies suggest. It’s a reasonably effective option for lower-risk scenarios like backyard cookouts.
For severe mosquito environments like wetlands or dense woods, the spray may not be enough on its own. You can combine it with protective clothing, avoiding dawn/dusk activity, mosquito traps, fans, and other deterrents.
Other Natural Mosquito Repellent Options
If you don’t have beer, mouthwash, and Epsom salts on hand, there are a few other homemade mosquito repellent options to try:
– Citronella oil – This leaf oil has a lemon-like scent that confuses mosquitoes’ senses. Mix with a carrier oil and apply topically.
– Lemon eucalyptus oil – Applied to skin, this essential oil masks human scent chemicals that attract mosquitoes.
– Catnip oil – Studies show nepetalactone in catnip repels certain mosquito species 10x more effectively than DEET.
– Garlic juice – The sulfur compounds released when crushing fresh garlic can help repel mosquitoes.
– Apple cider vinegar – Wiping skin with diluted vinegar alters its pH, making you less appealing to the insects.
– Smoke – Burning natural materials like leaves, wood, or incense generates repellent smoke.
As with the beer spray, be sure to take precautions and test natural repellents first before widespread use. While these options are bug-repelling, they may irritate skin if misused.
Conclusion
Mosquito protection doesn’t necessarily mean resorting to harsh synthetic chemicals and DEET. Whipping up a homemade repellent spray using common household items like beer, mouthwash, and Epsom salt is an easy way to harness natural mosquito-deterring compounds.
Just be sure to adjust the recipe to your personal tolerance and take care when spraying it on your skin. While not as powerful as commercial bug sprays, this inexpensive DIY repellent can provide moderate relief from mosquitoes for short periods. Pair it with protective clothing and other deterrents when mosquito populations are high.
And remember – preventing mosquito breeding grounds around your home is just as important as using repellent. Eliminate any standing water sources, trim vegetation, install screens, and use traps to reduce the mosquito pressure. An integrated pest management approach will best protect you from irritating bites in a safe, effective way.