This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn some money if you click on one. Don't worry, there is no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
I am a mosquito magnet, I always have been. It is really annoying.
I used to swell up a lot when I was bitten by mosquitoes too. It does not happen any more, since I learned how to get relief from mosquito bites using homeopathy.
I do think prevention is better than treating mosquito bites because mosquitoes can carry disease. (Some say Lyme disease can even be spread by mosquitoes, which is really not cool. )
Since mosquitoes love me so much, I am the perfect candidate to test out various mosquito repellents. (Lucky Me). So far I have not found anything that has worked 100 percent of the time, but I have not given up trying.
Here are some natural mosquito repellents I have tried, one I might try, and one I probably won’t try.
Badger Bug Balm
This is the first natural mosquito repellent I tried. When I was pregnant with Lily, my husband and I traveled to Vietnam. I was a little nervous about traveling there in the summer because of the mosquitoes. I was also nervous about using bug spray that contained DEET (N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide) because I was pregnant and I was concerned about toxicity. I read through a lot of reviews on iHerb, my “go to” for ordering all things natural when I lived in South Korea.
Badger Bug Balm received the best reviews on iHerb, so that is what I used. I can honestly say I did not get any mosquito bites while I was there, in Vietnam, in the middle of summer.
However the only time we were in a rural area during “prime mosquito time” was when we were in Halong Bay, (and we were on a boat).
I will say I put it on pretty thick, and when I read the reviews people said the bug balm works well, but you have to apply often and distribute the balm evenly over your skin.
I repurchased this product to use on the 4th of July. (I knew from experience the bugs would be bad that night. That night the mosquitoes swarmed around us, friends even got bit through clothing.
I tried the Badger spray first and it did not seem to work, so I covered our skin with the greasy Badger bug balm. It DID seem to work. I think the ingredients are the same as the spray, so perhaps the balm has better coverage OR it is harder for the mosquitoes to get through it. I am not sure. But it really did seem to work for us and some of our friends who used it. (I only had 3 mosquito bites that night and I am pretty sure I got them before I put on the balm.
(To be effective, you really need good coverage. Apply liberally.
The active ingredients are 10% *ricinus communis (castor) oil and essential oils of 5% *cymbopogon nardus (citronella), 2% *cedrus deodarata (cedar), 2% *cymbopogon schoenanthus (lemongrass), 1% *rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), & 1% *pelargonium graveolens (geranium).
You can find it here
Badger Bug Spray
Oddly enough, this spray does not work as well as the bug balm did for me. I am not the only one, the reviews on iherb we a bit lackluster as well. It is strange, considering the ingredients are similar to the bug balm. (Which makes me think the application and perhaps the thickness of the balm makes it harder for mosquitoes to bite you. I really don’t know, it is kind of odd).
But I tested this bug spray out a few times this year, (a camping trip and a fireworks show). On both occasions the mosquitoes were bad and we did get quite a few bites.
It smells really nice, and there are no toxic ingredients, so that is a plus. I am not sure about using it on small babies, that is a question I see come up a lot. Though essential oils are generally safe, there are restrictions as to which ones can be used on infants.
(Honestly, with young babies I think a physical barrier is the best/safest. A mosquito net, stroller cover, etc).
Active Ingredients – 23% *glycine soja (soybean) oil, 10% *ricinus communis (castor) oil and essential oils of 4% *cymbopogon nardus (citronella), 2% *cedrus deodara (cedar), 2% *cymbopogon schoenanthus (lemongrass), 1.5% *rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), 1% *pelargonium graveolens (geranium), and 1% *mentha piperita (peppermint).
Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (PMD)
This option is very interesting to me. I have read that Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, when properly applied, can be as effective as DEET. I have made my own bug spray in the past that contains Lemon Eucalyptus Oil, and the results were just O.K. But I discovered that in nature, the main component of Lemon Eucalyptus Oil is is citronellal , which slowly turns into p-menthane-diol (PMD) as it ages. (Most of the essential oils on the market are not aged, so they will not contain enough PMD).
It is the PMD which is effective at repelling mosquitoes.
I need to research this more, because I REALLY like the idea of making my own homemade bug spray, but I am not sure that is the best option if I want something really EFFECTIVE.
This study showed p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) did have long lasting effects and provided protection from mosquito-borne diseases https://academic.oup.com/jinsectscience/article/15/1/140/2583458
This study concluded that bug repellents with N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) and p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) were more effective than repellents with different ingredients.
Murphy’s Naturals Lemon Eucalyptus Oil only has two ingredients on the label, the Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus and water – https://amzn.to/2KHX5es
I did go to Murphy’s website to make sure this one has the PMD. It says their Lemon Eucalyptus Oil is made with citradiol. I had to look that up and it is a product that is made by rapidly aging the citronellal to PMD.
So far, the Murphy’s Naturals Lemon Eucalyptus Oil seems to be natural. This is how it is made https://www.citrefine.com/generalfaqs#general-faq1. The citradiol is made by accelerating the natural aging process of the oil.
This product is interesting, and I will have to research this a little more before I am comfortable using it with my family. I do like the fact that it has scientific research to back up claims of efficacy.
(As I was typing this I just squished another mosquito, lol. Definitely need to find out more about citradiol.
Mosquito Net – Physical Barrier
I have used a mosquito body net while gardening. My husband bought it for me one day when I was complaining about the mosquitoes at the community garden. Sometimes they get REALLY bad. I look kind of silly wearing it, but it gets the job done.
I have also slept under a mosquito net while staying at a cabin up North. (Not my idea of a good time. I did this when pregnant, and I had to carefully get out of the net to go pee in the middle of the night. There is always that ONE mosquito that gets in and keeps you up most of the night).
Still, better than nothing.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
There is anecdotal evidence that supplementing with B1 vitamins can help repel mosquitoes. I experimented with this last summer but it did not seem to help me. I was still a mosquito magnet. It is possible I did not supplement long enough. I have heard it can take a few months before it can help.
But I have not found any scientific evidence that shows supplementing with vitamin B1 is effective for protecting from mosquito bites. In fact studies show the opposite …
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16033124
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4389912
Staphysagria 6c
This is a homeopathic remedy that can be used to make someone less “attractive to mosquitoes”. It works on the energetic level and the effect is only temporary. I have only tried Staphysagria 6c a few times in conjunction with a natural bug repellent. It seemed to help but I really can’t say for sure, as it was not a controlled experiment.
Homeopathic medicine is very individualized, and in classical homeopathy, one is only supposed to treat based on symptoms. (So using homeopathic remedies to prevent mosquito bites is not classical homeopathy).
Citronella Candle
It was dissappointing to read that the Citronella candle had no effect in one of the studies. Source
I have the citronella oil and the materials to make candles, and I was hoping to make homemade candles this summer. Maybe I still will, they smell pretty even if they don’t work well.
Garlic
This remedy suggestion is just for giggles, I don’t recommend this. When I lived in the Florida Keys, I met a man who knew a woman who never got bit by mosquitoes. He said she consumed so much garlic that it permeated from her pores. (She smelled like garlic all the time)
It probably worked, but if you eat that much garlic, you will probably repel more than mosquitoes, 😉
What natural remedies have you used to keep mosquitoes away?
No Comments