The Clever Trick You Need To Keep Mosquitoes Away Naturally

Few things can spoil a summer afternoon in your yard as quickly as some pesky mosquitoes buzzing around and leaving you with itchy bites. No matter how careful you are with your landscaping, it's easy to make mistakes that attract mosquitoes to your yard. Mosquitoes are also known to spread a variety of debilitating diseases, including malaria, West Nile virus, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever, so there's good reason to want to keep them away. Many people aren't fans of using chemical insect repellents, though, so you may prefer a more natural approach. Some household staples can help repel mosquitoes, but bergamot essential oil is also proven to repel various types of mosquitoes — and it sure smells a heck of a lot better! 

While bergamot can effectively keep these pests away, it is extremely concentrated and can be very irritating if applied directly to the skin. Children and other people with sensitive skin are particularly vulnerable. Bergamot essential oil is phototoxic, which means it reacts with exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays, causing irritation, inflammation and reddening of the skin similar to a sunburn. To avoid a possible skin reaction, dilute the essential oil for use as a mosquito repellent spray and consider your application method carefully.

If you've tried other DIY mosquito traps and repellents before, you may be skeptical that bergamot oil can actually get the job done, but there are several reasons why it can keep these pests away. Like all essential oils, bergamot contains terpenes, natural compounds that give the oil its strong aroma. Terpenes have insect-repelling properties, which allow bergamot oil to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Mosquitoes have a highly sensitive sense of smell that allows them to detect the scents of the carbon dioxide we exhale, our body odor, and the other natural scents we give off, making them very effective at finding people to bite. Bergamot oil's strong, citrusy aroma can block the smell of our carbon dioxide and other scents, so the pests are more likely to stay away. In some cases, its aroma is so strong that it overwhelms the mosquitoes' olfactory system, disorienting them and leaving them unable to bite you.

To use bergamot oil as a mosquito repellent, dilute it in distilled water or a carrier oil, such as witch hazel or rubbing alcohol. For every 8 tablespoons of liquid, add 6 to 8 drops of bergamot oil, depending on how potent you want the scent to be. You can mix in a few drops of other essential oils if you like, and then place the mixture in a spray bottle. Be sure to shake it well before misting it into the air where you want to keep mosquitoes away.