April 26, 2023 • 41 mins
It's that time again! Spring has sprung. Are you ready for sunshine, gardening, afternoons in the park, and mosquitoes?
Yep! I didn't stutter. I said mosquitoes. They are inevitable, especially this time of year in the US. So if you have not prepared for their daunting march, I've got you covered. Listen in all you can do to help deter, prevent, and avoid (as much as humanly possible) these thirsty bloodsuckers that love to crush our outdoor fun.
For a more in-depth look at surviving mosquito season without harmful chemicals, check out my blog post at https://ecocratesofamerica.com/natural-solutions-to-mosquito-control/.
And don't forget to hit subscribe, or you might miss our next episode. How sad would that be?
https://www.ecocratesofamerica.com
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Thank you for listening to the Eco Mama podcast. Please note that this podcast's information is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is based on personal experiences and opinions. We are not licensed healthcare providers; the content should not be considered professional medical advice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jaime Snell (00:00):
Welcome back to the ECO Mama podcast.
My name is Jaime Snell and I'llbe your ECO mama guide.
Today, this podcast, I want totalk about something that we all
experience.
And I don't know anyone in theworld that likes it, and it's
something that is usuallyseasonal depending on where you
live.
And that's mosquitoes.
(00:21):
Ugh.
I hate mosquito season.
I think that's part of thereason that I left Florida was
because of all the darnmosquitoes everywhere.
It seemed like year round, andour last house was on a marsh,
so that certainly did not helpthe situation.
But in particular, I wanna talkabout some natural ways that we
can help deter mosquitoes fromentering our house and being
(00:45):
around our yard and eating upour, our precious little babies.
I know I don't like them, but mychildren as they've grown over
the years, especially my son hasjust.
Welted when he gets bitten andit's almost like he had an
allergic reaction to it.
So doing everything I could toavoid the mosquito bites to
(01:05):
begin with was great.
But it took me a lot of trialand error to find things that
actually worked that were notharmful to his health.
You've probably heard of somemosquito deterrents such as
deet.
Those are, it's an ingredientthat's in a lot of the
traditional.
Mosquito sprays that you mightput on your skin, but it's not
(01:26):
good for you.
It is not safe.
So looking for alternatives wasimportant to me when my kids
were younger and now it's just away of life for us.
But I also do what I can in myyard to minimize what we have
outside around our home, as wellas what I have near my doors.
Sorry that the mosquitoes don'tcome inside because.
I don't know about you, butthere's nothing worse than
(01:48):
trying to go to bed at night andyou're at home and it's safe and
sound, and you're secure andyou're under your covers, and
all of a sudden you hear thatlittle, that kind of sounds more
like a fly, but you know what Imean?
Like the buzz of the mosquitoand you can't find him.
But he's there and he's justhovering.
It's like he's taunting you,waiting for you to fall asleep
so that he can suck all theblood out of you.
(02:10):
Yeah.
Not my favorite time of theyear.
So let's get down to it and chatabout some healthy natural ways
we can keep these mosquitoesaway from us when it's their
time of year to thrive.
All right.
So as I mentioned you can easilyget bitten if you are not
(02:32):
protected.
And some of us really do likebreak up in almost like hives,
just like these huge welts thatare on our body and they are
miserable.
You know, you wanna itch it, butthe more you scratch it, the
more it itches reasons that youwant to avoid being bitten by
mosquitoes.
Aside from the fact that.
Yeah.
(02:52):
Ouch.
They hurt and yikes.
They are so annoying and itchlike crazy.
But they also can transferviruses and that is not good
because you can easily get sickif a mosquito has taken blood
from another recipient andtransferred into your body
through the process of eatingwhen they sting you.
(03:14):
So there are quite a few dangersassociated with mosquito bites.
I remember the Zika virus thatwas freaking pregnant women out
because they were havingmiscarriages and other
complications in theirpregnancies with mosquito bites.
And they were advised to stayinside, like not to go outside
to stay away from mosquitoes asmuch as possible.
(03:34):
Arm yourself up with clothingand you know, just extra gear.
And I think at that time, mamaswere even turning to anything
with DEET in it because eventhough there were complications
with deet, I think there wereless at the time than getting
the Zeer virus.
So, you know, sometimes we haveto pick our poison and I don't
like being in thosepredicaments.
So I do what I can to avoidthem.
(03:55):
But to talk about some of thedangers other than The Zebra
virus, the transmission ofdisease is very easily done with
the mosquito bites.
And examples of that would be ifyou get a mosquito-borne
illness.
So the things such as West Nilevirus, Zika virus I mentioned,
(04:16):
and even malaria, can betransferred through mosquito
bites.
Any of these will cause a rangefrom mild fever to body aches
and then even s severeconditions such as brain
swelling or congenitaldisabilities.
So it's important for all of us,of course, to be protected, but
especially our children who aredeveloping.
The last thing you want is forthem to be exposed to a virus
(04:37):
that could affect brain swellingand that could affect long-term
development of brain andcognitive skills.
So doing your best to protectyour children at a young age is
something that I advocate forat.
All times you can even behospitalized.
All right, so we know why weneed to avoid it.
Not just the annoying thing, butalso for long-term health.
(04:59):
Factors.
Now there are many methods forcontrolling mosquitoes.
Like I mentioned.
There's the things that you canspray on your skin that you so
many different brands carry itand DEET is an ingredients you
want to avoid.
But there are other ways that alot of people have turned to in
controlling mosquitoes.
And I remember when I was in myteens, I lived off of this dirt
(05:19):
road and at the back was a watertreatment facility down off the
dirt road.
Now, Quite often this truckwould come by and just spray
this cloud of stuff up and downthe road, probably twice a week,
once or twice a week, and Inever really understood what it
was.
I just knew it smelled reallybad and I didn't wanna be around
when that truck came by.
(05:40):
Well, sure enough, over time Ilearned that.
That was mosquito treatment.
They were spraying a mosquitolike chemical in the air to help
deter mosquitoes that mightgravitate towards the water
treatment center because therewas standing water and active
water and you know, all thesethings going on with the water,
and they wanted to avoid itbeing a mosquito breeding
(06:02):
ground.
So I'm thankful that they weretrying to avoid that.
However, what I've learned aboutthese chemicals that companies
will spray to help.
Like mitigate the population formosquitoes in our environment.
Also does harm to othercreatures.
And it's harmful for us.
It's harmful for us to breathein for the particles to be in
(06:24):
the air around where we are.
It can soak into our skin ifit's sprayed near us, and it can
soak into our feet if it's stilllike residual on the ground, if
it hasn't been completely washedaway with a rain or some good
watering of the ground.
But even then, those chemicalswill.
Wash off the grass and run downinto the sewer system and then
get back into our water system.
And even though there's a watertreatment facilities, as I've
(06:46):
covered in previousdocumentation, there's no
guarantee those water treatmentfacilitations are going or
facilities are going to be ableto get.
Every single chemical out of ourwater.
So I think as consciousconsumers and just for citizens
and residents of the earth, itis truly our individual
responsibility to help protectour natural resources.
(07:09):
And that includes minimizing thechemicals that we use and the
chemicals that get into ourwater systems.
So let me tell you a little bitmore about deet.
DEET is a common activeingredient in insect repellants.
It repels mosquitoeseffectively.
It can also be toxic if it'singested or absorbed through the
skin.
In rare cases, deep can causeskin irritation, eye irritation,
(07:31):
and even seizures.
Another chemical that is oftenassociated with mosquito
deterrent is called permethrin.
I hope I'm pronouncing thatcorrectly.
But permethrin is a chemical,often used to treat our clothing
and outdoor gear that repelsmosquitoes.
So I think I have shared in thepast that.
Certain garments or Even beddingcan have fire retardant, flame
(07:54):
retardant.
It's can be sprayed withformaldehyde so that it is
wrinkle resistant.
But some things that are madefor outdoor use specifically are
being treated with thispermethrin so that the
mosquitoes have no desire toland on you, get near your
clothing or what have you.
So while it's generallyconsidered safer humans, it can
(08:15):
be very.
Toxic for aquatic life andshould not be used anywhere
around water.
So if you're a hiker, I couldsee using it unless you're gonna
hike up to a natural resourcethat has springs or a lake and
then you wanna go swimmingbecause even though you don't,
might not swim in that shirt,those chemicals are still on
your skin and they're gonna washoff.
(08:36):
In that natural resource.
So if this is something that youprefer to buy clothing that's
treated with this chemical,please make sure you are
responsible and not to wear itwhen you're gonna be in natural
resources for water.
Also, be mindful that when youwash it in your washing machine,
these chemicals are gonna bleedoff and they're going to get
onto your other clothes and it'sgoing to wash down the drain
(08:59):
once it drains out.
So, If you must wear them, Isuggest washing them separately
from anything else and thendoing a really good rinse on
your washing machine withvinegar and nothing else in it
to make sure that thosechemicals have been cleansed
from your washing machine andthey don't carry onto your other
clothing.
Okay.
The next chemical I wanna talkabout that is not good for us.
(09:19):
It's been used to, or, or theenvironment that is used to been
treat mosquitoes is, and again,forgive me for the
pronunciation, but it'sparethoids.
It's a class of syntheticinsecticides, commonly used for
mosquito control whileeffectively killing mosquitoes.
They can harm bees, fish.
And other non-target organisms.
So as I mentioned with thatlittle story in the beginning,
(09:41):
down that dirt road yeah, sothat's one of the chemicals that
they were spraying off of thattruck.
It's also one of theinsecticides that they spray in
our neighborhoods.
So if you have neighbors thatcall Mosquito Joe, that's a
popular company here, payattention to what's in the
ingredients of that because.
(10:02):
I understand you don't wantmosquitoes, and I understand you
wanna avoid'em from your kids,but you have to pick your poison
and decide what is gonna be, isthere, is there a safer
alternative that is viable foryou than paying someone to come
and poison the air around you?
All right.
The last one I wanna mention ismalathion.
Malathion is a highly toxicinsecticide, often used for
(10:25):
mosquito control as well.
It can cause high doses of skinirritation, id irritation,
nausea, vomiting, and evenseizures.
So I say, no thank you.
I don't want that anywhere nearme or my children, or my house,
or my grass, or my yard.
The potential health hazards ofthese chemical sprays, as I
mentioned, they the.
Skin irritation, eye irritation,respiratory problems,
(10:47):
neurological effects.
In some cases, they can have anegative environmental impact in
our waterways, as I mentioned,but also to other beneficial
insects and pollinators.
All right, so let's talk about afew proactive measures.
When you're ready to take on thegreat outdoors this summer,
there's a good chance that thosemosquitoes are going to be
(11:07):
waiting for you.
You're gonna have a partyoutside, or the barbecue in the
pool.
Guess who is gonna show up thatwas not invited.
Mr.
Mosquito and his group and hisgang, the mosquito gang.
So with these proactivemeasures, you can keep the
mosquitoes at bay and stillenjoy your outdoor activities
without that constant buzz inyour ear.
(11:28):
So let's dive into these allnatural and effective ways to
maintain a mosquito freeenvironment and say goodbye to
itchy bites and irritatingbuzzes for good.
All right.
First and foremost, on proactivemeasures, eliminate Standing
Water.
You might have heard that poolsof standing water, even as I
mentioned before at the Watertreatment center are kind of a
(11:49):
mosquito breeding ground.
So if it's, there is a chancethat mosquitoes are going to
absolutely.
Gravitate towards that.
Lay their eggs on the surface,and then voila, you have a
mosquito village.
So if you have a bucket in youryard that you forgot to turn
upside down before the last rainor a rain barrel, it's not
sealed properly.
That's really, really aninvitation for a mosquito
(12:11):
breeding ground there.
Or even an old tire in the yard.
Or gosh, kids toys that youdidn't realize were in the very
back of your yard.
Cans, I mentioned buckets.
Wheelbarrow we're guiltysometimes for leaving our wheel
bottle outside.
If you have garbage cans, alwayskeep a lid on them.
If you have recycle bins and itdoesn't have a hole in the
bottom and you keep it outside,turn it upside down when it's
(12:34):
not in use, or keep it in yourgarage to collect your recycle
while.
Well it rains because it willcollect that water and
especially outta sight outtamind.
You will forget about it and thenext thing you know, you go out
to to dump it and it's full ofmosquito larvae.
And then little mamas anddaddies like tending to their
mosquito larvae and, ugh.
(12:55):
No fun.
Nobody wants that.
There's also a chance that youcould have standing water and
puddles that are in yourbackyard after a heavy rain.
So check the drainage in youryard and your driveway and any
of your pavers and make surethat it's draining properly.
I know we have two drain areasin our yard that I have to go
out and clean periodicallybecause just gravity and dirt.
(13:17):
Leaves, et cetera, it'll clogthe top of the drain.
So I, if I don't clear itregularly, then the water has a
difficult time draining downinto the drainage system and it
just pulls up and it'll sitthere for a day or two unless
the sun is super bright or it's.
Super warm outside, so just bemindful of any standing water
that you have.
(13:37):
Eliminate all of as possible.
Oh, flower pots is another greatexample.
If you don't have properdrainage in your flower pots
throughout your yard or in yourgarden and it rains a lot, it
can collect that water or evenyour sprinkler systems.
So make sure there's properdrainage in all pots that you
have outside or turn them upsidedown if they're not in use, or
better yet, store them in thegarage.
(13:59):
Another thing that.
I would like to think goeswithout mention, but sometimes I
am guilty of it too, is like ifyou're doing some yard work and
you're collecting some thingsaround the yard and you wanna
get rid of it and you createthis little.
I don't know, Sanford and sunjunk pile, I should say debris
such as that are great formosquitoes because they love to
hide and clutter.
(14:20):
So think of mosquitoes.
You don't wanna give them a hideand seek spot, like that ideal.
So just like a kid hiding undera pile of toys, mosquitoes love
to hide and clutter in, so keepyour yard clean and tidy.
Which means fewer places forthose pesky mosquitoes to hide
and breed.
So if you ever like scan youryard and you see something that
could definitely be a shot fromSanford and Son.
(14:43):
And if you're not familiar withSanford and Son, I'm so sorry.
Sanford and Son is a popular TVshow decades ago.
That was I think it was a fatherson business.
It was junkyard.
And then they would bring thingsin and repurpose and sell and,
but there was just cluttereverywhere in their yard and
probably in part parts of theirhouse too.
(15:03):
So that's just kind of areference I'd give that comes to
mind for me.
But you wanna keep your, youryard.
Clean and tidy and you don'twanna leave any debris out.
That could be a good heightenedspot for the mosquitoes or
their, their breeding spaces.
Another thing about keeping aclean and tidy yard is that you
eliminate the possibility forstanding water to collect in any
(15:24):
junk that you might have leftout there.
Tools, buckets, wheelbarrows.
Yeah.
So those are some ways to.
Avoid having mosquitoes around,right?
So you don't want them breedingin your yard, you don't want
them breeding by your frontdoor, anywhere near your grass,
window, sills, pots, et cetera.
Let's say mosquitoes still findtheir way into your yard because
that's gonna happen.
(15:45):
They're, they're, they liveoutside.
They live in the outdoors.
If you live anywhere near trees,they're going to still be
around, even if you're notinviting them by leaving.
The standing water aroundstanding water is just kind of a
guarantee that you're gonna getthem in your yard.
So there are some essential oilsand plants that mosquitoes just
hate.
They absolutely abor and theywant nothing to do with them,
(16:05):
and they, it's almost like a Arepellent.
It's their kryptonite.
So take some notes here, but I'malso gonna link a blog post that
I have put out on thisinformation.
So if you're driving right now,obviously don't write any of
this down.
Just click back to this podcastlater and you can click that
link to the blog post and itwill show you all of the, this
(16:27):
information I'm about to giveyou.
So you don't have to write itall down right now or memorize
it, so you can always referenceback to it.
But so essential oils and plantsthat will help.
The mosquitoes stay away fromyou and your yard.
All right.
Essential oils like citronella,lavender, and peppermint, they
smell heavenly to us, but theyare totally that kryptonite for
mosquitoes.
Like I mentioned, these nationalscents repel mosquitoes and keep
(16:51):
them from biting you.
So it's like wearing a perfumethat the mosquitoes don't like
em.
You can use essential oils and adiffuser.
You can mix them in a carrieroil, which is if you ever use an
essential oil on your skin, youdon't wanna use the pure oil
because it will irritate yourskin because it's so
concentrated.
Think of putting a hot, openingup a hot pepper and putting the
(17:13):
seeds on your skin, like youdon't wanna do that.
They're safe, but it willirritate your skin because it's
so concentrated.
Essential oils are this.
Same.
So you wanna use a carrier oil,and the example of that would be
olive oil, coconut oil, avocadooil.
Something that will kind of helpdilute it, but also help it
absorb into your skin withoutirritating it.
(17:33):
So if you're going to put on anessential oil directly onto your
skin, make sure you mix it witha carrier oil.
You can apply it to yourclothing.
If you don't wanna put it onyour skin, you can put it in a
little sprayer and spritz yourclothes.
You can put it on your hair.
Like you can just let it lingerin your hair and it'll kind of
permeate that natural scent willpermeate off of you and they
will not want it.
(17:53):
I've even put it on my shoesbefore, like if I'm out for a
long walk and I wanna protect myankles, I'll spray it on my
shoes, the tops of my shoes, andthat really helps.
All right.
The best part is that you'llsmell amazing.
Yeah.
Not some mosquitoes thankfully,but like, I just love the way it
smells for myself.
I stopped wearing perfume forothers.
And I just wear it because itmakes me feel good.
(18:13):
I like the way these naturaloils that I've been blending,
smell.
All right.
Plants.
Plants are, are friends.
And if you have spent some timewith me, you'll know that I
absolutely love plants.
All right, so onto these plants,some of our leafy friends like
marigolds, catnip, and lemonbalm.
Contain natural compounds thatmosquitoes can't stand.
(18:36):
So planting these in your yardor garden can help deter
mosquitoes from coming near you.
In addition, they add naturalbeauty to your outdoor space and
attract friendly pollinatorslike Bees and butterflies.
I'm gonna take that one stepfurther and encourage these to
be part of any planters that youmight have by your front door or
your side door or your backporch, because it's nice to
(19:00):
have, number one.
It's beautiful.
It'll look at, but some of uswill put a pretty flower pot or
something by our front door aswe walk in.
Now if you have, if it's filledwith citronella, lemon bomb.
And marigolds, like they'regoing to not want anything.
Mosquitoes are not gonna wantanything to do with it, and
they're going to avoid yourfront door.
Like, if I could figure out away to make a garland of these
(19:21):
things at my front door, kind oflike a garland of garlic deter
vampires, then I would do it.
And actually, it's probably a,that'd be a fun project to try
this summer with my kids.
But yeah, think of it like that,like you're protecting your door
from vampires to come insideyou.
And that's exactly what.
These little creatures are,they're like miniature vampires
that just sneak in through thecrevices.
(19:42):
So by putting these in yourwindowsills, if you like to keep
your windows open and you don'thave great screens or by your
front doors, so I would just putsome of these in your planters
as well as your garden and youryard, essential oils and plants.
May not always eradicatemosquitoes from your life, but
they definitely will help reducetheir activity.
(20:05):
Okay.
They're natural and non-toxic,so you can use them anywhere
without worries.
I just highly encourage to havesome of these ingredients on
hand, whether it's the plant ora couple of the oils.
All right.
Examples of effective essential.
Oils make a natural mosquitorepellent at home.
(20:27):
So some of us are total DIYs.
I have been there.
I'm there with certain thingsstill, and there's other things.
I look forward to experimentingas time allows in my life, and I
go through the different phases.
I will share these ideas withyou, but do not think you have
to do it yourself.
I'm also going to share somenatural brands, some trusted
(20:47):
brands that have effectiveproducts that are safe for you.
And your children.
But for those of us that like toput it together ourselves, it's
not always more cost effectivebecause buying all of the
ingredients to do it the rightway can actually add up.
That's more of a hobby than itis a cost saver.
But it's fun to be able to do itourselves and to always have the
(21:08):
ingredients on hand if we liketo mix up these things so that
if you run out, you can alwayswhip up a new batch.
So to make a natural mosquitorepellent makes 10 to 20 drops
of the essential oils of yourchoice, such as citronella,
lavender, or peppermint with twotablespoons of a carrier oil,
such as coconut or Jehovah Oil,and a spray bottle.
(21:29):
So coconut oil you can get atyour grocery store.
Costco has it.
Now Jehovah Oil, you might notbe familiar with it.
It's J O J O B A.
That is something, I've actuallygot like three bottles in my
house.
Trader Joe's has had it in thepast, and it's a quality oil.
I love it.
So it's like two or$3 for alittle jar of the Jehovah Oil,
(21:50):
and it lasts me a long time.
So that's what that oil is.
So then fill your bottle.
I prefer a glass spray bottle.
If you have one available,whether it's small or larger,
but fill your bottle with waterand then shake it and fill your
bottle with water, the oil, andthe citronella, or the lavender
and the peppermint oil, andshake well before spraying it on
(22:10):
your skin or clothing.
Okay, here we go.
This is what I was mentioningbefore.
Add essential oils to youroutdoor candles.
You can drop a few drops ofessential oils such as lemon
eucalyptus.
Mm.
That smells so good.
I just wanna like inhale itright now, or geranium to your
outdoor candles.
Lighting them will release theessential oils into the air and
(22:31):
it will help repel mosquitoes.
Create an essential oil diffuserblend.
Mix a few drops of essentialoil, such as lemon grass, thyme,
and basil, and an essential oildiffuser.
This diffuser will release thescent into the air, helping to
deter mosquitoes and create apleasant aroma in your home.
This is also a really cool blendto take with you if you're
(22:52):
camping, because you can putthis in a diffuser, a battery
operated diffuser, and have itjust spurred out at the.
Camping table where you aretrying, where you like to eat
your meals and stuff.
Or you can have it at your sidetable where your drinks are by
the fire and definitely have onein your tent where you sleep.
And you might be one of thehardcore people out there that
(23:13):
don't even have a tent.
I personally am a glamp and ifthere's not electricity and
water, I'm not really going tobe your best friend camping cuz
I will probably be grumpy.
I just like my creaturecomforts.
Okay.
And then another one that youcan do with these essential oils
if you have pets andparticularly dogs because, well,
no no living creature with bloodin its system is safe.
(23:36):
From mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes love.
All kinds.
So for your dogs, they can getbit and they don't really know
how to tell you.
They just scratch more.
And then you think they'reirritated by something, but you
don't know how to help them.
So if you wanna deter mosquitoesfrom them, you can add these
essential oils to their dogcollars.
Okay.
Be very careful.
Know your homework before youput any essential oils on any
(24:00):
pets.
Some are toxic, just like someplants are toxic for animals,
but some that are safe would becedarwood or lavender.
Again, mix it with a little bitof a carrier oil, and then if
you have a leather collar, thisis perfect because it's almost
like creating its own littleperfume ring around the neck.
So put that on there and then itwill deter them.
(24:20):
Avoid certain oils, as Imentioned, such as.
Tea tree because those are toxicfor both cats and dogs, so don't
use that.
Even though it's on their collarand they're not ingesting it, it
will still soak into their skinand it is not safe for them.
So I suggest Cedar, wood, orlavender.
If you're gonna experiment withother essential oils, please do
your research first just to makesure that they are safe.
(24:43):
And if you're gonna usecedarwood or lavender, make sure
that it is a pure gradeessential oil, not a blend.
Because some of these blendsmight have ingredients such as
fragrance blend and you don'tknow exactly what's in it.
So the last thing you want is afragrance blend to ha have
something inside that could harmyour pet.
All right.
Lastly is on the do yourselfersis we have a mosquito repellent
(25:07):
bracelet that you can create.
So you mix one tablespoon ofcarrier oil, such as sweet
almond or grape seed oil, andthen 10 drops of your favorite
essential oil.
Such as citronella or lemon.
You could lip, and I say yourfavorite, but you want it to be
in these categories of what ismosquito deterrent, not just any
essential oil will work.
So if you prefer citronella overto lemon, you could lip this,
(25:28):
then that would be yourfavorite, whichever one you
chose.
So soca fabric or a ribbon inthe mixture, and then let it
dry.
Then tie that fabric around yourwrist or ankle or even your
neck.
So think of like you could do abandana.
Or you could do, if you have anold flannel that got holes in it
and or you were, gosh, climbinga tree with your kids and you,
(25:51):
you know, it got ripped and youdidn't wanna throw it out.
That flannel is a great thing toabsorb it because you just tear
a strip off and then soak it inthere and then tie it around
your arm or your wrist or yourankle, or as I said, around your
neck as a the Indiana.
So that's just another way toapply the essential oils in a
DIY self.
Okay.
Let's talk a little bit morespecifically about the plants.
(26:13):
I mentioned catnip and MaryGolds before, and I'll give you
some more details about each ofthese catnip.
It's an herb that's not justused for feline friends.
It is also for repellingmosquitoes.
Studies have shown that catnipcan be 10 times more effective
than deet at repellingmosquitoes.
Hello.
I am sure the makers of deetdon't want you to know this, but
(26:35):
I am telling you, so you'rewelcome.
Marigolds.
I love marigolds because I putthem in my vegetable and fruit
gardens.
It's a natural compound calledperram that it's used in
insecticides, but it's allnatural.
So it's safe for you.
It's safe for your garden, it'ssafe for the environment.
It's citronella I mentioned, andif you had not smelled
citronella before, it's divine.
(26:57):
I love the smell of citronella.
It's right up there with likefresh cut grass and summer
fires, like it's just so I.
Serene in a sense, and it justbrings that.
Feel of home.
Back to me like that.
Home.
Good feel.
All right.
So citronella is a fragrantgrass.
It's commonly used in candlesand torches that will re repel
(27:19):
mosquitoes.
It has a very robust lemonyscent that masks the odors, that
a, that masks the odors thatattract mosquitoes.
So it mosquitoes love the smellof your blood and your sweat.
They also love garlic, so ifyou're going hiking or you're
gonna be spending some timeoutside, Avoid the garlic
because I don't know how wellthat citronella is going to mask
(27:42):
the garlic, but mosquitoes lovethe smell of garlic.
That's weird because they arekind of vampire ish and vampires
don't like garlic.
All right, I digress.
So they don't like the smell ofthat lemony scent and it repels
the mosquitoes.
I mentioned I would talk aboutsome brands that were good.
So one of my favorites isMurphy's Naturals.
(28:03):
They make a great citronellainfused candle that works like a
charm.
But if you already have like anunscented or fragrance free
candle that you like to use, youcould always add.
A little bit of essential oil toit as it's burning.
Not too much.
You do not want to catch fire.
Essential oils can be highlyflammable depending on what
(28:23):
their base is.
Some of them will use an alcoholbase, and you do not want to
catch fire, so just a littledrop or two as the candle is
burning so that it kind of sitsin that pool of the candle, the
wax that's there on top, andthen it helps put off that
scent.
But do not put too much becausethat would be hazardous.
In fact I would.
(28:44):
Say, do a quick Google search tofind out like how many drops to
put in.
I've done one or two, but thelast thing I wanna do is cause a
fire on your back porch.
I would not do this insideeither.
If you want essential oilsinside, I wouldn't add it to
your candle just to be on thesafe side.
I would use a diffuser.
Okay, the next one we come to,this herb is.
(29:06):
Amazing for sleep, but it's alsorepels mosquitoes, and that's
lavender.
Okay?
The natural oils in lavenderwith its calming aroma will not
only help you relax, but it'llchill the mosquitoes that blank
out because they don't wantnothing to do with it.
They're like, oh, see ya.
We're outta here.
So, Lavender oils are reallygreat.
(29:28):
Lemon balm.
Okay, we talked about lemon balmbefore.
I love it.
Some people even just take thisnatural herb and put it in their
iced teas.
So lemon balm.
You can do some fresh mint andlemon balm, but you could create
your own little herb garden andput a pot outside by your door
or by your regular garden andhave lemon bomb in there cuz
it's a member of the mintfamily.
(29:48):
It emits a robust lemony scent.
Mosquitoes cancel.
Stand.
It's easy to grow in your gardenor a pot on your patio.
Now, mental note, anything of amint family.
While it is awesome andbeautiful when it grows, it is
also invasive.
So do not plant it.
With other things in the samepot, put it in its own pot.
(30:12):
I, when I first started mygarden out back here in this new
house, I say new house, we'vebeen here five years, but when I
started my mint out there, wehad an old tire that I I had
spray painted.
With the non v o C paint and putout there just as a place for
the mint to grow, that it wouldnot grow into the other things
(30:32):
of the garden.
And it worked well.
But over time, you know, it, thespray paint faded, it just, it
got to look a little likeSanford and Suns.
So I have since gotten rid ofthat.
I've taken it back to the dumpwhere I got it from because I
was all about repurposing and orreusing and recycling what I
could.
And now I have a pretty.
Brick circle that goes down deepinto the ground a bit.
(30:55):
And I have replanted my mint inthere so that as it grows and
fills that space in this season,it does not spill over into my
other vegetables in the gardenor the marigold.
I mean, it'll take over.
It's kind of like when if youever have wild strawberries in
your garden and they.
They're just a vine that justkeep multiplying and growing and
then it'll get into your grass.
(31:16):
Then the next thing you know,it's eaten up everything else
that you love.
So if you plant lemon balm, makesure that you put it in its own
container or in a veryrestricted area, that it will
not blend with other plants andeat them up.
Peppermint.
This is a refreshing herb with astrong scent that also repels
mosquitoes and other pests.
(31:36):
You can crush these leaves andrub them on your skin so you
don't even have to like go buythe oil.
You just take the peppermintleaves and crush it up, put it
on your skin, rub it around, oryou can get the essential oil
and mix it with a carrier oil,and that is another natural
mosquito repellent.
Okay.
This is the fun part for me.
So this is talking about naturalpredators.
(31:59):
We talked about not wantingpesticides to harm, to use
pesticides to kill themosquitoes because it also harms
other beneficial creatures outthere.
And every little creature servesa purpose other than mosquitoes.
I really don't know the purposeother than they're part of the
food chain, and that's whatthese little creatures eat.
(32:20):
But gosh, I would rather findsomething else for them to eat.
This can't be their only diet,but I, so I wish we didn't have
mosquitoes, but we do.
So here's how we tolerate them.
If you live in a wooded area,build a bat house, a little
teeny square bat house high in atree to attract bats to sleep in
your yard at night.
During the day, I mean, they're,they're nocturnal sleep in your
(32:42):
yard during the day.
They love mosquitoes.
Baths are one of the bestmosquito eating animals out
there with some species able toconsume over, get this 1000
mosquitoes in just one hour.
Can you imagine that?
Yeah.
I really do want a bad house inmy backyard.
I just haven't done it yet.
And I think we do have some myonly concern is I've read that
(33:04):
when you do do a bad house, ifit's not far enough away from
your house, they might actuallycome to your house and find.
Crevice to go into any of spacesthat you might have any gaps
like in your eaves.
So be very careful.
Make sure it's far and away fromyour house that they're not
gonna explore your area.
It just depends on like how bigyour lot might be.
And of course if you live in aneighborhood, you wanna make
(33:24):
sure that it's okay, that it'sallowed.
But bats are great for it.
So if you do find bats andthey're in your house, don't
kill'em.
Just try and relocate themfurther away from your home so
that they can still like save usfrom mosquitoes.
All right, next up we havedragon flies.
Dragon flies are Absolutelybeautiful.
I love watching them in nature.
(33:46):
I've learned a little bit morein life to slow down.
Not completely.
I'm daring to do a better job,but I love watching them in
their natural habitat.
So dragon fries are beautifulinsects, and they are great at
controlling the mosquitopopulation.
They eat mosquitoes at all lifestages, so not just in the
mature stage, but they'll eatthe larva too.
So that is good to know anddragonflies are great to have
(34:08):
around.
And the last thing we want is tohave any insecticides or
pesticides in our yard that isgoing to harm these dragonflies,
cuz we need them.
We need them to get rid of thesemosquitoes for us.
All right, here's a bird I'm nottoo familiar with but.
I've read good things about itfor being mosquito deterrent,
and it's called a Purple Martin.
(34:30):
These birds are famous forbackyard birdhouses and are
known for their voraciousappetite for mosquitoes and
other flying insects, so it willhelp control the population of,
of several flying insects.
Like, think of nats and flies,like they're, they're just good
to have around if they are localfor your area.
Ladybugs.
All right.
I love ladybugs.
(34:51):
They are so precious.
Ladybugs, I've heard, and thiscould just be a superstitious
thing, I don't know, but if theyland on you, it's considered
good luck.
So I have never, I don't thinkI've ever, I.
I hope I've never afflicted ladybug off if I saw that on me.
I knew when I was younger I usedto get a little bit scared of
it.
And my middle child, my gosh,she almost had a panic attack
(35:14):
when a, a lady bug landsanywhere near her.
I still don't understand it.
I just tried to help her off theledge and then we calmly, safely
move the lady bug to, you know,a safe place where she's not
gonna get squished by mydaughter who's freaked out by
it.
But lady bugs love to eatmosquitoes.
They're cute, they're colorful,and they eat aphids and other
(35:35):
plant pests.
So lady books are justbeneficial to have all around.
They will even eat the larvaejust like the dragon flies do.
So if you ever have a ladybugland on, you remember, help him
to safely transition or just lethim fly away on his own.
Okay.
There's a couple more animalshere, a couple more insects that
(35:58):
will eat mosquitoes.
And I'm grateful for them, eventhough I'm not always happy to
have them around.
But I'm grateful they do exist.
Spiders, I.
So spiders are something that Iused to kill every time I saw
one inside.
I no longer do that.
If it is a scary looking spider,I'll try and relocate it
outside.
If it's a small little spider inthe corner in the bathroom and
(36:19):
you come to my house and, andyou see him ask me his name
because I've probably named himbecause I don't mind a couple
little house spiders in here aslong as they are not dangerous
to us, and they're not likecompletely invasive.
They eat mosquitoes.
And if a mosquito flies into myhouse, I want it to get stuck in
that spiderweb and I wanna feedthat spider.
I do not want mosquitoes in myhome, so I don't really do my
(36:43):
best to eradicate spiders.
Now, roaches, my God, I will doeverything in my life to get rid
of'em.
I don't like to use pesticidesprays, but if I see a roach, I
definitely am not pet-friendlywhen it comes to that.
I just flat out squish him andget him outside.
All right, so spiders.
So I know not everybody likesspiders, but like I said,
they're very beneficial incontrolling mosquitoes.
(37:05):
They catch mosquitoes and otherinsects in their webs, and they
eat them for a tasty snack.
So if you ever have ants orflies, like they're really good
about getting those too.
Here's one, you might have heardof the Praying Mantis.
These fascinating insects areknown for their unique
appearance and predatorybehavior and can help control
mosquito populations as well.
(37:28):
And they're really funky lookinglike if you've ever seen one up
close, it's hard.
You have to like do a doubletake.
Is it a blade of grass or isthey're preying mans?
It's really neat to see them.
So by encouraging the presenceof these beneficial insects and
mosquito eating animals in youroutdoor space, you can help
control mosquito populationswithout using harmful chemicals.
(37:48):
You'll also enjoy nature'sbeauty and diversity in your own
backyard.
All right.
I'm gonna try to start wrappingit up here for you guys, because
I know I've talked so much abouta lot of different ways to go
about this, but there's a coupleother things that you can do to
help prevent or minimize.
One is wearing protectiveclothing.
I highly suggest against theclothing that is treated with
(38:09):
chemicals.
I'd prefer.
To mix up my own essential oilblends or purchase something
like Murphy's Oil mosquitocontrol spray.
They have a mosquito deterrentthat you can actually spray on
your skin or on your clothingthat is safe for your body is
deep free.
And I prefer to use that than tobuy mosquito controlled
clothing.
But again, To each their own.
(38:30):
I'm here to encourage not, notshame.
So you can wear protectiveclothing if you're going out for
a hike in a mosquito season,even if it's hot outside.
They do make clothing now thatis lightweight, but is still
long sleeves.
So if you're gonna be working inyour garden and, and the
mosquitoes are out, wear longpants and shoes with socks and
try to keep as much skin coveredas possible.
(38:56):
The natural repellants that Imentioned.
Things that you can makeyourself, things that you can
buy, and then be aware of themosquito activity time.
They are most active at dusk anddawn, so early morning as the
sun is coming up and late in theafternoon as the sun is going
down, these are two prime timesthat mosquitoes are active.
(39:19):
So if you can avoid beingoutdoors during those times,
especially in an area where youknow, in mosquitoes can be
invasive, then avoid it.
There are mosquito nettingmaterials that you can put over
your bed if you're camping, oryou can create an outdoor
indoor, an outdoor indoor patio,if that makes sense.
So if you're camping, you canget like a canopy that has a
mosquito netting that you canput around the edges that will
(39:42):
help keep the bugs out.
So it's almost like a Indooroutdoor screen porch is what I
was saying.
The mosquito repellent.
I prefer using the mosquitorepellent on my kids as much as
possible.
When it's bad, just becausethey'll take the bracelet off,
they'll take the necklace off,they'll, I.
Put their hair up.
I mean, there's different thingsthat I've tried to do, so I'll
(40:03):
either spray it on theirclothing or I'll put it on their
skin.
And Murphy's, as I mentioned, Iknow I keep talking about them,
but they're just such a greatbrand.
They have a spray now that issimilar to the sunscreen spray,
where it's just like a aerosol.
And that works wonders.
I actually didn't even know thatthey had it.
I had a customer ask mespecifically like, Ooh, can you
(40:25):
get me this style of spray madewithout harmful chemicals?
And I'm like, it's gotta exist.
And thank God it did.
So I was able to get her thatbecause her son wouldn't.
Do regular creams.
When it came to sunscreen and hedidn't like the spritzer kind,
he didn't wanna rub it in, hejust wanted to spray it and go.
So when that, that's how hewould do sunscreen.
(40:45):
But he refused to do some of theregular spritz sea sprays on the
mosquito repellent.
And so she had asked for thatspecifically.
And there you go.
All right, so there you have it.
Like there's the skinny onmosquito control.
Why you should avoid thechemicals that are traditional
(41:07):
in our society today to controlthem, whether it's a spray with
DE or a chemicals that sprayedinto the yard because you want
to avoid harming any otherbeneficial insects as well as
yourself.
My friends, your health is yournumber.
I'm gonna say it is your numbertwo asset.
Your time is your first and mostvaluable asset, but your health
(41:27):
is number two.
And what good is your time lefton this earth without optimal
health?
So I think it's important thatwe take care of our bodies.
All right, so there you have it.
Ways to take care of mosquitoesnaturally.
I am Jaime Snell, your ECO Mamaguide.
And thank you so much forjoining me today on the ECO Mama
Podcast.
Welcome back to the ECO Mama podcast.
My name is Jaime Snell and I'llbe your ECO mama guide.
Today, this podcast, I want totalk about something that we all
experience.
And I don't know anyone in theworld that likes it, and it's
something that is usuallyseasonal depending on where you
live.
And that's mosquitoes.
(00:21):
Ugh.
I hate mosquito season.
I think that's part of thereason that I left Florida was
because of all the darnmosquitoes everywhere.
It seemed like year round, andour last house was on a marsh,
so that certainly did not helpthe situation.
But in particular, I wanna talkabout some natural ways that we
can help deter mosquitoes fromentering our house and being
(00:45):
around our yard and eating upour, our precious little babies.
I know I don't like them, but mychildren as they've grown over
the years, especially my son hasjust.
Welted when he gets bitten andit's almost like he had an
allergic reaction to it.
So doing everything I could toavoid the mosquito bites to
(01:05):
begin with was great.
But it took me a lot of trialand error to find things that
actually worked that were notharmful to his health.
You've probably heard of somemosquito deterrents such as
deet.
Those are, it's an ingredientthat's in a lot of the
traditional.
Mosquito sprays that you mightput on your skin, but it's not
(01:26):
good for you.
It is not safe.
So looking for alternatives wasimportant to me when my kids
were younger and now it's just away of life for us.
But I also do what I can in myyard to minimize what we have
outside around our home, as wellas what I have near my doors.
Sorry that the mosquitoes don'tcome inside because.
I don't know about you, butthere's nothing worse than
(01:48):
trying to go to bed at night andyou're at home and it's safe and
sound, and you're secure andyou're under your covers, and
all of a sudden you hear thatlittle, that kind of sounds more
like a fly, but you know what Imean?
Like the buzz of the mosquitoand you can't find him.
But he's there and he's justhovering.
It's like he's taunting you,waiting for you to fall asleep
so that he can suck all theblood out of you.
(02:10):
Yeah.
Not my favorite time of theyear.
So let's get down to it and chatabout some healthy natural ways
we can keep these mosquitoesaway from us when it's their
time of year to thrive.
All right.
So as I mentioned you can easilyget bitten if you are not
(02:32):
protected.
And some of us really do likebreak up in almost like hives,
just like these huge welts thatare on our body and they are
miserable.
You know, you wanna itch it, butthe more you scratch it, the
more it itches reasons that youwant to avoid being bitten by
mosquitoes.
Aside from the fact that.
Yeah.
(02:52):
Ouch.
They hurt and yikes.
They are so annoying and itchlike crazy.
But they also can transferviruses and that is not good
because you can easily get sickif a mosquito has taken blood
from another recipient andtransferred into your body
through the process of eatingwhen they sting you.
(03:14):
So there are quite a few dangersassociated with mosquito bites.
I remember the Zika virus thatwas freaking pregnant women out
because they were havingmiscarriages and other
complications in theirpregnancies with mosquito bites.
And they were advised to stayinside, like not to go outside
to stay away from mosquitoes asmuch as possible.
(03:34):
Arm yourself up with clothingand you know, just extra gear.
And I think at that time, mamaswere even turning to anything
with DEET in it because eventhough there were complications
with deet, I think there wereless at the time than getting
the Zeer virus.
So, you know, sometimes we haveto pick our poison and I don't
like being in thosepredicaments.
So I do what I can to avoidthem.
(03:55):
But to talk about some of thedangers other than The Zebra
virus, the transmission ofdisease is very easily done with
the mosquito bites.
And examples of that would be ifyou get a mosquito-borne
illness.
So the things such as West Nilevirus, Zika virus I mentioned,
(04:16):
and even malaria, can betransferred through mosquito
bites.
Any of these will cause a rangefrom mild fever to body aches
and then even s severeconditions such as brain
swelling or congenitaldisabilities.
So it's important for all of us,of course, to be protected, but
especially our children who aredeveloping.
The last thing you want is forthem to be exposed to a virus
(04:37):
that could affect brain swellingand that could affect long-term
development of brain andcognitive skills.
So doing your best to protectyour children at a young age is
something that I advocate forat.
All times you can even behospitalized.
All right, so we know why weneed to avoid it.
Not just the annoying thing, butalso for long-term health.
(04:59):
Factors.
Now there are many methods forcontrolling mosquitoes.
Like I mentioned.
There's the things that you canspray on your skin that you so
many different brands carry itand DEET is an ingredients you
want to avoid.
But there are other ways that alot of people have turned to in
controlling mosquitoes.
And I remember when I was in myteens, I lived off of this dirt
(05:19):
road and at the back was a watertreatment facility down off the
dirt road.
Now, Quite often this truckwould come by and just spray
this cloud of stuff up and downthe road, probably twice a week,
once or twice a week, and Inever really understood what it
was.
I just knew it smelled reallybad and I didn't wanna be around
when that truck came by.
(05:40):
Well, sure enough, over time Ilearned that.
That was mosquito treatment.
They were spraying a mosquitolike chemical in the air to help
deter mosquitoes that mightgravitate towards the water
treatment center because therewas standing water and active
water and you know, all thesethings going on with the water,
and they wanted to avoid itbeing a mosquito breeding
(06:02):
ground.
So I'm thankful that they weretrying to avoid that.
However, what I've learned aboutthese chemicals that companies
will spray to help.
Like mitigate the population formosquitoes in our environment.
Also does harm to othercreatures.
And it's harmful for us.
It's harmful for us to breathein for the particles to be in
(06:24):
the air around where we are.
It can soak into our skin ifit's sprayed near us, and it can
soak into our feet if it's stilllike residual on the ground, if
it hasn't been completely washedaway with a rain or some good
watering of the ground.
But even then, those chemicalswill.
Wash off the grass and run downinto the sewer system and then
get back into our water system.
And even though there's a watertreatment facilities, as I've
(06:46):
covered in previousdocumentation, there's no
guarantee those water treatmentfacilitations are going or
facilities are going to be ableto get.
Every single chemical out of ourwater.
So I think as consciousconsumers and just for citizens
and residents of the earth, itis truly our individual
responsibility to help protectour natural resources.
(07:09):
And that includes minimizing thechemicals that we use and the
chemicals that get into ourwater systems.
So let me tell you a little bitmore about deet.
DEET is a common activeingredient in insect repellants.
It repels mosquitoeseffectively.
It can also be toxic if it'singested or absorbed through the
skin.
In rare cases, deep can causeskin irritation, eye irritation,
(07:31):
and even seizures.
Another chemical that is oftenassociated with mosquito
deterrent is called permethrin.
I hope I'm pronouncing thatcorrectly.
But permethrin is a chemical,often used to treat our clothing
and outdoor gear that repelsmosquitoes.
So I think I have shared in thepast that.
Certain garments or Even beddingcan have fire retardant, flame
(07:54):
retardant.
It's can be sprayed withformaldehyde so that it is
wrinkle resistant.
But some things that are madefor outdoor use specifically are
being treated with thispermethrin so that the
mosquitoes have no desire toland on you, get near your
clothing or what have you.
So while it's generallyconsidered safer humans, it can
(08:15):
be very.
Toxic for aquatic life andshould not be used anywhere
around water.
So if you're a hiker, I couldsee using it unless you're gonna
hike up to a natural resourcethat has springs or a lake and
then you wanna go swimmingbecause even though you don't,
might not swim in that shirt,those chemicals are still on
your skin and they're gonna washoff.
(08:36):
In that natural resource.
So if this is something that youprefer to buy clothing that's
treated with this chemical,please make sure you are
responsible and not to wear itwhen you're gonna be in natural
resources for water.
Also, be mindful that when youwash it in your washing machine,
these chemicals are gonna bleedoff and they're going to get
onto your other clothes and it'sgoing to wash down the drain
(08:59):
once it drains out.
So, If you must wear them, Isuggest washing them separately
from anything else and thendoing a really good rinse on
your washing machine withvinegar and nothing else in it
to make sure that thosechemicals have been cleansed
from your washing machine andthey don't carry onto your other
clothing.
Okay.
The next chemical I wanna talkabout that is not good for us.
(09:19):
It's been used to, or, or theenvironment that is used to been
treat mosquitoes is, and again,forgive me for the
pronunciation, but it'sparethoids.
It's a class of syntheticinsecticides, commonly used for
mosquito control whileeffectively killing mosquitoes.
They can harm bees, fish.
And other non-target organisms.
So as I mentioned with thatlittle story in the beginning,
(09:41):
down that dirt road yeah, sothat's one of the chemicals that
they were spraying off of thattruck.
It's also one of theinsecticides that they spray in
our neighborhoods.
So if you have neighbors thatcall Mosquito Joe, that's a
popular company here, payattention to what's in the
ingredients of that because.
(10:02):
I understand you don't wantmosquitoes, and I understand you
wanna avoid'em from your kids,but you have to pick your poison
and decide what is gonna be, isthere, is there a safer
alternative that is viable foryou than paying someone to come
and poison the air around you?
All right.
The last one I wanna mention ismalathion.
Malathion is a highly toxicinsecticide, often used for
(10:25):
mosquito control as well.
It can cause high doses of skinirritation, id irritation,
nausea, vomiting, and evenseizures.
So I say, no thank you.
I don't want that anywhere nearme or my children, or my house,
or my grass, or my yard.
The potential health hazards ofthese chemical sprays, as I
mentioned, they the.
Skin irritation, eye irritation,respiratory problems,
(10:47):
neurological effects.
In some cases, they can have anegative environmental impact in
our waterways, as I mentioned,but also to other beneficial
insects and pollinators.
All right, so let's talk about afew proactive measures.
When you're ready to take on thegreat outdoors this summer,
there's a good chance that thosemosquitoes are going to be
(11:07):
waiting for you.
You're gonna have a partyoutside, or the barbecue in the
pool.
Guess who is gonna show up thatwas not invited.
Mr.
Mosquito and his group and hisgang, the mosquito gang.
So with these proactivemeasures, you can keep the
mosquitoes at bay and stillenjoy your outdoor activities
without that constant buzz inyour ear.
(11:28):
So let's dive into these allnatural and effective ways to
maintain a mosquito freeenvironment and say goodbye to
itchy bites and irritatingbuzzes for good.
All right.
First and foremost, on proactivemeasures, eliminate Standing
Water.
You might have heard that poolsof standing water, even as I
mentioned before at the Watertreatment center are kind of a
(11:49):
mosquito breeding ground.
So if it's, there is a chancethat mosquitoes are going to
absolutely.
Gravitate towards that.
Lay their eggs on the surface,and then voila, you have a
mosquito village.
So if you have a bucket in youryard that you forgot to turn
upside down before the last rainor a rain barrel, it's not
sealed properly.
That's really, really aninvitation for a mosquito
(12:11):
breeding ground there.
Or even an old tire in the yard.
Or gosh, kids toys that youdidn't realize were in the very
back of your yard.
Cans, I mentioned buckets.
Wheelbarrow we're guiltysometimes for leaving our wheel
bottle outside.
If you have garbage cans, alwayskeep a lid on them.
If you have recycle bins and itdoesn't have a hole in the
bottom and you keep it outside,turn it upside down when it's
(12:34):
not in use, or keep it in yourgarage to collect your recycle
while.
Well it rains because it willcollect that water and
especially outta sight outtamind.
You will forget about it and thenext thing you know, you go out
to to dump it and it's full ofmosquito larvae.
And then little mamas anddaddies like tending to their
mosquito larvae and, ugh.
(12:55):
No fun.
Nobody wants that.
There's also a chance that youcould have standing water and
puddles that are in yourbackyard after a heavy rain.
So check the drainage in youryard and your driveway and any
of your pavers and make surethat it's draining properly.
I know we have two drain areasin our yard that I have to go
out and clean periodicallybecause just gravity and dirt.
(13:17):
Leaves, et cetera, it'll clogthe top of the drain.
So I, if I don't clear itregularly, then the water has a
difficult time draining downinto the drainage system and it
just pulls up and it'll sitthere for a day or two unless
the sun is super bright or it's.
Super warm outside, so just bemindful of any standing water
that you have.
(13:37):
Eliminate all of as possible.
Oh, flower pots is another greatexample.
If you don't have properdrainage in your flower pots
throughout your yard or in yourgarden and it rains a lot, it
can collect that water or evenyour sprinkler systems.
So make sure there's properdrainage in all pots that you
have outside or turn them upsidedown if they're not in use, or
better yet, store them in thegarage.
(13:59):
Another thing that.
I would like to think goeswithout mention, but sometimes I
am guilty of it too, is like ifyou're doing some yard work and
you're collecting some thingsaround the yard and you wanna
get rid of it and you createthis little.
I don't know, Sanford and sunjunk pile, I should say debris
such as that are great formosquitoes because they love to
hide and clutter.
(14:20):
So think of mosquitoes.
You don't wanna give them a hideand seek spot, like that ideal.
So just like a kid hiding undera pile of toys, mosquitoes love
to hide and clutter in, so keepyour yard clean and tidy.
Which means fewer places forthose pesky mosquitoes to hide
and breed.
So if you ever like scan youryard and you see something that
could definitely be a shot fromSanford and Son.
(14:43):
And if you're not familiar withSanford and Son, I'm so sorry.
Sanford and Son is a popular TVshow decades ago.
That was I think it was a fatherson business.
It was junkyard.
And then they would bring thingsin and repurpose and sell and,
but there was just cluttereverywhere in their yard and
probably in part parts of theirhouse too.
(15:03):
So that's just kind of areference I'd give that comes to
mind for me.
But you wanna keep your, youryard.
Clean and tidy and you don'twanna leave any debris out.
That could be a good heightenedspot for the mosquitoes or
their, their breeding spaces.
Another thing about keeping aclean and tidy yard is that you
eliminate the possibility forstanding water to collect in any
(15:24):
junk that you might have leftout there.
Tools, buckets, wheelbarrows.
Yeah.
So those are some ways to.
Avoid having mosquitoes around,right?
So you don't want them breedingin your yard, you don't want
them breeding by your frontdoor, anywhere near your grass,
window, sills, pots, et cetera.
Let's say mosquitoes still findtheir way into your yard because
that's gonna happen.
(15:45):
They're, they're, they liveoutside.
They live in the outdoors.
If you live anywhere near trees,they're going to still be
around, even if you're notinviting them by leaving.
The standing water aroundstanding water is just kind of a
guarantee that you're gonna getthem in your yard.
So there are some essential oilsand plants that mosquitoes just
hate.
They absolutely abor and theywant nothing to do with them,
(16:05):
and they, it's almost like a Arepellent.
It's their kryptonite.
So take some notes here, but I'malso gonna link a blog post that
I have put out on thisinformation.
So if you're driving right now,obviously don't write any of
this down.
Just click back to this podcastlater and you can click that
link to the blog post and itwill show you all of the, this
(16:27):
information I'm about to giveyou.
So you don't have to write itall down right now or memorize
it, so you can always referenceback to it.
But so essential oils and plantsthat will help.
The mosquitoes stay away fromyou and your yard.
All right.
Essential oils like citronella,lavender, and peppermint, they
smell heavenly to us, but theyare totally that kryptonite for
mosquitoes.
Like I mentioned, these nationalscents repel mosquitoes and keep
(16:51):
them from biting you.
So it's like wearing a perfumethat the mosquitoes don't like
em.
You can use essential oils and adiffuser.
You can mix them in a carrieroil, which is if you ever use an
essential oil on your skin, youdon't wanna use the pure oil
because it will irritate yourskin because it's so
concentrated.
Think of putting a hot, openingup a hot pepper and putting the
(17:13):
seeds on your skin, like youdon't wanna do that.
They're safe, but it willirritate your skin because it's
so concentrated.
Essential oils are this.
Same.
So you wanna use a carrier oil,and the example of that would be
olive oil, coconut oil, avocadooil.
Something that will kind of helpdilute it, but also help it
absorb into your skin withoutirritating it.
(17:33):
So if you're going to put on anessential oil directly onto your
skin, make sure you mix it witha carrier oil.
You can apply it to yourclothing.
If you don't wanna put it onyour skin, you can put it in a
little sprayer and spritz yourclothes.
You can put it on your hair.
Like you can just let it lingerin your hair and it'll kind of
permeate that natural scent willpermeate off of you and they
will not want it.
(17:53):
I've even put it on my shoesbefore, like if I'm out for a
long walk and I wanna protect myankles, I'll spray it on my
shoes, the tops of my shoes, andthat really helps.
All right.
The best part is that you'llsmell amazing.
Yeah.
Not some mosquitoes thankfully,but like, I just love the way it
smells for myself.
I stopped wearing perfume forothers.
And I just wear it because itmakes me feel good.
(18:13):
I like the way these naturaloils that I've been blending,
smell.
All right.
Plants.
Plants are, are friends.
And if you have spent some timewith me, you'll know that I
absolutely love plants.
All right, so onto these plants,some of our leafy friends like
marigolds, catnip, and lemonbalm.
Contain natural compounds thatmosquitoes can't stand.
(18:36):
So planting these in your yardor garden can help deter
mosquitoes from coming near you.
In addition, they add naturalbeauty to your outdoor space and
attract friendly pollinatorslike Bees and butterflies.
I'm gonna take that one stepfurther and encourage these to
be part of any planters that youmight have by your front door or
your side door or your backporch, because it's nice to
(19:00):
have, number one.
It's beautiful.
It'll look at, but some of uswill put a pretty flower pot or
something by our front door aswe walk in.
Now if you have, if it's filledwith citronella, lemon bomb.
And marigolds, like they'regoing to not want anything.
Mosquitoes are not gonna wantanything to do with it, and
they're going to avoid yourfront door.
Like, if I could figure out away to make a garland of these
(19:21):
things at my front door, kind oflike a garland of garlic deter
vampires, then I would do it.
And actually, it's probably a,that'd be a fun project to try
this summer with my kids.
But yeah, think of it like that,like you're protecting your door
from vampires to come insideyou.
And that's exactly what.
These little creatures are,they're like miniature vampires
that just sneak in through thecrevices.
(19:42):
So by putting these in yourwindowsills, if you like to keep
your windows open and you don'thave great screens or by your
front doors, so I would just putsome of these in your planters
as well as your garden and youryard, essential oils and plants.
May not always eradicatemosquitoes from your life, but
they definitely will help reducetheir activity.
(20:05):
Okay.
They're natural and non-toxic,so you can use them anywhere
without worries.
I just highly encourage to havesome of these ingredients on
hand, whether it's the plant ora couple of the oils.
All right.
Examples of effective essential.
Oils make a natural mosquitorepellent at home.
(20:27):
So some of us are total DIYs.
I have been there.
I'm there with certain thingsstill, and there's other things.
I look forward to experimentingas time allows in my life, and I
go through the different phases.
I will share these ideas withyou, but do not think you have
to do it yourself.
I'm also going to share somenatural brands, some trusted
(20:47):
brands that have effectiveproducts that are safe for you.
And your children.
But for those of us that like toput it together ourselves, it's
not always more cost effectivebecause buying all of the
ingredients to do it the rightway can actually add up.
That's more of a hobby than itis a cost saver.
But it's fun to be able to do itourselves and to always have the
(21:08):
ingredients on hand if we liketo mix up these things so that
if you run out, you can alwayswhip up a new batch.
So to make a natural mosquitorepellent makes 10 to 20 drops
of the essential oils of yourchoice, such as citronella,
lavender, or peppermint with twotablespoons of a carrier oil,
such as coconut or Jehovah Oil,and a spray bottle.
(21:29):
So coconut oil you can get atyour grocery store.
Costco has it.
Now Jehovah Oil, you might notbe familiar with it.
It's J O J O B A.
That is something, I've actuallygot like three bottles in my
house.
Trader Joe's has had it in thepast, and it's a quality oil.
I love it.
So it's like two or$3 for alittle jar of the Jehovah Oil,
(21:50):
and it lasts me a long time.
So that's what that oil is.
So then fill your bottle.
I prefer a glass spray bottle.
If you have one available,whether it's small or larger,
but fill your bottle with waterand then shake it and fill your
bottle with water, the oil, andthe citronella, or the lavender
and the peppermint oil, andshake well before spraying it on
(22:10):
your skin or clothing.
Okay, here we go.
This is what I was mentioningbefore.
Add essential oils to youroutdoor candles.
You can drop a few drops ofessential oils such as lemon
eucalyptus.
Mm.
That smells so good.
I just wanna like inhale itright now, or geranium to your
outdoor candles.
Lighting them will release theessential oils into the air and
(22:31):
it will help repel mosquitoes.
Create an essential oil diffuserblend.
Mix a few drops of essentialoil, such as lemon grass, thyme,
and basil, and an essential oildiffuser.
This diffuser will release thescent into the air, helping to
deter mosquitoes and create apleasant aroma in your home.
This is also a really cool blendto take with you if you're
(22:52):
camping, because you can putthis in a diffuser, a battery
operated diffuser, and have itjust spurred out at the.
Camping table where you aretrying, where you like to eat
your meals and stuff.
Or you can have it at your sidetable where your drinks are by
the fire and definitely have onein your tent where you sleep.
And you might be one of thehardcore people out there that
(23:13):
don't even have a tent.
I personally am a glamp and ifthere's not electricity and
water, I'm not really going tobe your best friend camping cuz
I will probably be grumpy.
I just like my creaturecomforts.
Okay.
And then another one that youcan do with these essential oils
if you have pets andparticularly dogs because, well,
no no living creature with bloodin its system is safe.
(23:36):
From mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes love.
All kinds.
So for your dogs, they can getbit and they don't really know
how to tell you.
They just scratch more.
And then you think they'reirritated by something, but you
don't know how to help them.
So if you wanna deter mosquitoesfrom them, you can add these
essential oils to their dogcollars.
Okay.
Be very careful.
Know your homework before youput any essential oils on any
(24:00):
pets.
Some are toxic, just like someplants are toxic for animals,
but some that are safe would becedarwood or lavender.
Again, mix it with a little bitof a carrier oil, and then if
you have a leather collar, thisis perfect because it's almost
like creating its own littleperfume ring around the neck.
So put that on there and then itwill deter them.
(24:20):
Avoid certain oils, as Imentioned, such as.
Tea tree because those are toxicfor both cats and dogs, so don't
use that.
Even though it's on their collarand they're not ingesting it, it
will still soak into their skinand it is not safe for them.
So I suggest Cedar, wood, orlavender.
If you're gonna experiment withother essential oils, please do
your research first just to makesure that they are safe.
(24:43):
And if you're gonna usecedarwood or lavender, make sure
that it is a pure gradeessential oil, not a blend.
Because some of these blendsmight have ingredients such as
fragrance blend and you don'tknow exactly what's in it.
So the last thing you want is afragrance blend to ha have
something inside that could harmyour pet.
All right.
Lastly is on the do yourselfersis we have a mosquito repellent
(25:07):
bracelet that you can create.
So you mix one tablespoon ofcarrier oil, such as sweet
almond or grape seed oil, andthen 10 drops of your favorite
essential oil.
Such as citronella or lemon.
You could lip, and I say yourfavorite, but you want it to be
in these categories of what ismosquito deterrent, not just any
essential oil will work.
So if you prefer citronella overto lemon, you could lip this,
(25:28):
then that would be yourfavorite, whichever one you
chose.
So soca fabric or a ribbon inthe mixture, and then let it
dry.
Then tie that fabric around yourwrist or ankle or even your
neck.
So think of like you could do abandana.
Or you could do, if you have anold flannel that got holes in it
and or you were, gosh, climbinga tree with your kids and you,
(25:51):
you know, it got ripped and youdidn't wanna throw it out.
That flannel is a great thing toabsorb it because you just tear
a strip off and then soak it inthere and then tie it around
your arm or your wrist or yourankle, or as I said, around your
neck as a the Indiana.
So that's just another way toapply the essential oils in a
DIY self.
Okay.
Let's talk a little bit morespecifically about the plants.
(26:13):
I mentioned catnip and MaryGolds before, and I'll give you
some more details about each ofthese catnip.
It's an herb that's not justused for feline friends.
It is also for repellingmosquitoes.
Studies have shown that catnipcan be 10 times more effective
than deet at repellingmosquitoes.
Hello.
I am sure the makers of deetdon't want you to know this, but
(26:35):
I am telling you, so you'rewelcome.
Marigolds.
I love marigolds because I putthem in my vegetable and fruit
gardens.
It's a natural compound calledperram that it's used in
insecticides, but it's allnatural.
So it's safe for you.
It's safe for your garden, it'ssafe for the environment.
It's citronella I mentioned, andif you had not smelled
citronella before, it's divine.
(26:57):
I love the smell of citronella.
It's right up there with likefresh cut grass and summer
fires, like it's just so I.
Serene in a sense, and it justbrings that.
Feel of home.
Back to me like that.
Home.
Good feel.
All right.
So citronella is a fragrantgrass.
It's commonly used in candlesand torches that will re repel
(27:19):
mosquitoes.
It has a very robust lemonyscent that masks the odors, that
a, that masks the odors thatattract mosquitoes.
So it mosquitoes love the smellof your blood and your sweat.
They also love garlic, so ifyou're going hiking or you're
gonna be spending some timeoutside, Avoid the garlic
because I don't know how wellthat citronella is going to mask
(27:42):
the garlic, but mosquitoes lovethe smell of garlic.
That's weird because they arekind of vampire ish and vampires
don't like garlic.
All right, I digress.
So they don't like the smell ofthat lemony scent and it repels
the mosquitoes.
I mentioned I would talk aboutsome brands that were good.
So one of my favorites isMurphy's Naturals.
(28:03):
They make a great citronellainfused candle that works like a
charm.
But if you already have like anunscented or fragrance free
candle that you like to use, youcould always add.
A little bit of essential oil toit as it's burning.
Not too much.
You do not want to catch fire.
Essential oils can be highlyflammable depending on what
(28:23):
their base is.
Some of them will use an alcoholbase, and you do not want to
catch fire, so just a littledrop or two as the candle is
burning so that it kind of sitsin that pool of the candle, the
wax that's there on top, andthen it helps put off that
scent.
But do not put too much becausethat would be hazardous.
In fact I would.
(28:44):
Say, do a quick Google search tofind out like how many drops to
put in.
I've done one or two, but thelast thing I wanna do is cause a
fire on your back porch.
I would not do this insideeither.
If you want essential oilsinside, I wouldn't add it to
your candle just to be on thesafe side.
I would use a diffuser.
Okay, the next one we come to,this herb is.
(29:06):
Amazing for sleep, but it's alsorepels mosquitoes, and that's
lavender.
Okay?
The natural oils in lavenderwith its calming aroma will not
only help you relax, but it'llchill the mosquitoes that blank
out because they don't wantnothing to do with it.
They're like, oh, see ya.
We're outta here.
So, Lavender oils are reallygreat.
(29:28):
Lemon balm.
Okay, we talked about lemon balmbefore.
I love it.
Some people even just take thisnatural herb and put it in their
iced teas.
So lemon balm.
You can do some fresh mint andlemon balm, but you could create
your own little herb garden andput a pot outside by your door
or by your regular garden andhave lemon bomb in there cuz
it's a member of the mintfamily.
(29:48):
It emits a robust lemony scent.
Mosquitoes cancel.
Stand.
It's easy to grow in your gardenor a pot on your patio.
Now, mental note, anything of amint family.
While it is awesome andbeautiful when it grows, it is
also invasive.
So do not plant it.
With other things in the samepot, put it in its own pot.
(30:12):
I, when I first started mygarden out back here in this new
house, I say new house, we'vebeen here five years, but when I
started my mint out there, wehad an old tire that I I had
spray painted.
With the non v o C paint and putout there just as a place for
the mint to grow, that it wouldnot grow into the other things
(30:32):
of the garden.
And it worked well.
But over time, you know, it, thespray paint faded, it just, it
got to look a little likeSanford and Suns.
So I have since gotten rid ofthat.
I've taken it back to the dumpwhere I got it from because I
was all about repurposing and orreusing and recycling what I
could.
And now I have a pretty.
Brick circle that goes down deepinto the ground a bit.
(30:55):
And I have replanted my mint inthere so that as it grows and
fills that space in this season,it does not spill over into my
other vegetables in the gardenor the marigold.
I mean, it'll take over.
It's kind of like when if youever have wild strawberries in
your garden and they.
They're just a vine that justkeep multiplying and growing and
then it'll get into your grass.
(31:16):
Then the next thing you know,it's eaten up everything else
that you love.
So if you plant lemon balm, makesure that you put it in its own
container or in a veryrestricted area, that it will
not blend with other plants andeat them up.
Peppermint.
This is a refreshing herb with astrong scent that also repels
mosquitoes and other pests.
(31:36):
You can crush these leaves andrub them on your skin so you
don't even have to like go buythe oil.
You just take the peppermintleaves and crush it up, put it
on your skin, rub it around, oryou can get the essential oil
and mix it with a carrier oil,and that is another natural
mosquito repellent.
Okay.
This is the fun part for me.
So this is talking about naturalpredators.
(31:59):
We talked about not wantingpesticides to harm, to use
pesticides to kill themosquitoes because it also harms
other beneficial creatures outthere.
And every little creature servesa purpose other than mosquitoes.
I really don't know the purposeother than they're part of the
food chain, and that's whatthese little creatures eat.
(32:20):
But gosh, I would rather findsomething else for them to eat.
This can't be their only diet,but I, so I wish we didn't have
mosquitoes, but we do.
So here's how we tolerate them.
If you live in a wooded area,build a bat house, a little
teeny square bat house high in atree to attract bats to sleep in
your yard at night.
During the day, I mean, they're,they're nocturnal sleep in your
(32:42):
yard during the day.
They love mosquitoes.
Baths are one of the bestmosquito eating animals out
there with some species able toconsume over, get this 1000
mosquitoes in just one hour.
Can you imagine that?
Yeah.
I really do want a bad house inmy backyard.
I just haven't done it yet.
And I think we do have some myonly concern is I've read that
(33:04):
when you do do a bad house, ifit's not far enough away from
your house, they might actuallycome to your house and find.
Crevice to go into any of spacesthat you might have any gaps
like in your eaves.
So be very careful.
Make sure it's far and away fromyour house that they're not
gonna explore your area.
It just depends on like how bigyour lot might be.
And of course if you live in aneighborhood, you wanna make
(33:24):
sure that it's okay, that it'sallowed.
But bats are great for it.
So if you do find bats andthey're in your house, don't
kill'em.
Just try and relocate themfurther away from your home so
that they can still like save usfrom mosquitoes.
All right, next up we havedragon flies.
Dragon flies are Absolutelybeautiful.
I love watching them in nature.
(33:46):
I've learned a little bit morein life to slow down.
Not completely.
I'm daring to do a better job,but I love watching them in
their natural habitat.
So dragon fries are beautifulinsects, and they are great at
controlling the mosquitopopulation.
They eat mosquitoes at all lifestages, so not just in the
mature stage, but they'll eatthe larva too.
So that is good to know anddragonflies are great to have
(34:08):
around.
And the last thing we want is tohave any insecticides or
pesticides in our yard that isgoing to harm these dragonflies,
cuz we need them.
We need them to get rid of thesemosquitoes for us.
All right, here's a bird I'm nottoo familiar with but.
I've read good things about itfor being mosquito deterrent,
and it's called a Purple Martin.
(34:30):
These birds are famous forbackyard birdhouses and are
known for their voraciousappetite for mosquitoes and
other flying insects, so it willhelp control the population of,
of several flying insects.
Like, think of nats and flies,like they're, they're just good
to have around if they are localfor your area.
Ladybugs.
All right.
I love ladybugs.
(34:51):
They are so precious.
Ladybugs, I've heard, and thiscould just be a superstitious
thing, I don't know, but if theyland on you, it's considered
good luck.
So I have never, I don't thinkI've ever, I.
I hope I've never afflicted ladybug off if I saw that on me.
I knew when I was younger I usedto get a little bit scared of
it.
And my middle child, my gosh,she almost had a panic attack
(35:14):
when a, a lady bug landsanywhere near her.
I still don't understand it.
I just tried to help her off theledge and then we calmly, safely
move the lady bug to, you know,a safe place where she's not
gonna get squished by mydaughter who's freaked out by
it.
But lady bugs love to eatmosquitoes.
They're cute, they're colorful,and they eat aphids and other
(35:35):
plant pests.
So lady books are justbeneficial to have all around.
They will even eat the larvaejust like the dragon flies do.
So if you ever have a ladybugland on, you remember, help him
to safely transition or just lethim fly away on his own.
Okay.
There's a couple more animalshere, a couple more insects that
(35:58):
will eat mosquitoes.
And I'm grateful for them, eventhough I'm not always happy to
have them around.
But I'm grateful they do exist.
Spiders, I.
So spiders are something that Iused to kill every time I saw
one inside.
I no longer do that.
If it is a scary looking spider,I'll try and relocate it
outside.
If it's a small little spider inthe corner in the bathroom and
(36:19):
you come to my house and, andyou see him ask me his name
because I've probably named himbecause I don't mind a couple
little house spiders in here aslong as they are not dangerous
to us, and they're not likecompletely invasive.
They eat mosquitoes.
And if a mosquito flies into myhouse, I want it to get stuck in
that spiderweb and I wanna feedthat spider.
I do not want mosquitoes in myhome, so I don't really do my
(36:43):
best to eradicate spiders.
Now, roaches, my God, I will doeverything in my life to get rid
of'em.
I don't like to use pesticidesprays, but if I see a roach, I
definitely am not pet-friendlywhen it comes to that.
I just flat out squish him andget him outside.
All right, so spiders.
So I know not everybody likesspiders, but like I said,
they're very beneficial incontrolling mosquitoes.
(37:05):
They catch mosquitoes and otherinsects in their webs, and they
eat them for a tasty snack.
So if you ever have ants orflies, like they're really good
about getting those too.
Here's one, you might have heardof the Praying Mantis.
These fascinating insects areknown for their unique
appearance and predatorybehavior and can help control
mosquito populations as well.
(37:28):
And they're really funky lookinglike if you've ever seen one up
close, it's hard.
You have to like do a doubletake.
Is it a blade of grass or isthey're preying mans?
It's really neat to see them.
So by encouraging the presenceof these beneficial insects and
mosquito eating animals in youroutdoor space, you can help
control mosquito populationswithout using harmful chemicals.
(37:48):
You'll also enjoy nature'sbeauty and diversity in your own
backyard.
All right.
I'm gonna try to start wrappingit up here for you guys, because
I know I've talked so much abouta lot of different ways to go
about this, but there's a coupleother things that you can do to
help prevent or minimize.
One is wearing protectiveclothing.
I highly suggest against theclothing that is treated with
(38:09):
chemicals.
I'd prefer.
To mix up my own essential oilblends or purchase something
like Murphy's Oil mosquitocontrol spray.
They have a mosquito deterrentthat you can actually spray on
your skin or on your clothingthat is safe for your body is
deep free.
And I prefer to use that than tobuy mosquito controlled
clothing.
But again, To each their own.
(38:30):
I'm here to encourage not, notshame.
So you can wear protectiveclothing if you're going out for
a hike in a mosquito season,even if it's hot outside.
They do make clothing now thatis lightweight, but is still
long sleeves.
So if you're gonna be working inyour garden and, and the
mosquitoes are out, wear longpants and shoes with socks and
try to keep as much skin coveredas possible.
(38:56):
The natural repellants that Imentioned.
Things that you can makeyourself, things that you can
buy, and then be aware of themosquito activity time.
They are most active at dusk anddawn, so early morning as the
sun is coming up and late in theafternoon as the sun is going
down, these are two prime timesthat mosquitoes are active.
(39:19):
So if you can avoid beingoutdoors during those times,
especially in an area where youknow, in mosquitoes can be
invasive, then avoid it.
There are mosquito nettingmaterials that you can put over
your bed if you're camping, oryou can create an outdoor
indoor, an outdoor indoor patio,if that makes sense.
So if you're camping, you canget like a canopy that has a
mosquito netting that you canput around the edges that will
(39:42):
help keep the bugs out.
So it's almost like a Indooroutdoor screen porch is what I
was saying.
The mosquito repellent.
I prefer using the mosquitorepellent on my kids as much as
possible.
When it's bad, just becausethey'll take the bracelet off,
they'll take the necklace off,they'll, I.
Put their hair up.
I mean, there's different thingsthat I've tried to do, so I'll
(40:03):
either spray it on theirclothing or I'll put it on their
skin.
And Murphy's, as I mentioned, Iknow I keep talking about them,
but they're just such a greatbrand.
They have a spray now that issimilar to the sunscreen spray,
where it's just like a aerosol.
And that works wonders.
I actually didn't even know thatthey had it.
I had a customer ask mespecifically like, Ooh, can you
(40:25):
get me this style of spray madewithout harmful chemicals?
And I'm like, it's gotta exist.
And thank God it did.
So I was able to get her thatbecause her son wouldn't.
Do regular creams.
When it came to sunscreen and hedidn't like the spritzer kind,
he didn't wanna rub it in, hejust wanted to spray it and go.
So when that, that's how hewould do sunscreen.
(40:45):
But he refused to do some of theregular spritz sea sprays on the
mosquito repellent.
And so she had asked for thatspecifically.
And there you go.
All right, so there you have it.
Like there's the skinny onmosquito control.
Why you should avoid thechemicals that are traditional
(41:07):
in our society today to controlthem, whether it's a spray with
DE or a chemicals that sprayedinto the yard because you want
to avoid harming any otherbeneficial insects as well as
yourself.
My friends, your health is yournumber.
I'm gonna say it is your numbertwo asset.
Your time is your first and mostvaluable asset, but your health
(41:27):
is number two.
And what good is your time lefton this earth without optimal
health?
So I think it's important thatwe take care of our bodies.
All right, so there you have it.
Ways to take care of mosquitoesnaturally.
I am Jaime Snell, your ECO Mamaguide.
And thank you so much forjoining me today on the ECO Mama
Podcast.
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