5 More Easy, Natural Ways To Keep Bugs Away Outdoors
Warm evenings are just made for outdoor living. Your patio is the perfect space to relax with friends. It's one of the most comfortable places in your home.
But then again, there's the bugs.
Biting bugs can put a damper on your patio fun. Mosquitoes, gnats, and flies are called pests for a good reason. So what's your strategy to keep bugs away outdoors?
Our last post showed off 4 natural ways to repel bugs. But there are quite a few more methods you can use.
Here are 5 more easy, natural ways to banish bugs – without smelly chemicals.
- Spray with Hydrogen Peroxide
Fill a spray bottle with 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts water. Shake it up until it's well-mixed. Then, spray your patio, the furniture, and around the edges with a fine mist.
For best effect, lay it on thick where you'll be sitting later on. You'll never smell it – but those pests will hate it.
- Use Dryer Sheets
Dryer fabric softener sheets are a known midge repellent. We're not quite sure what they hate about the smell, but the fact that they do is enough for us.
Just rub a sheet or two on the patio furniture where you're sitting. If you have a ton of midges around, you might even want to rub it on your arms and legs to keep the nasty little critters from biting.
- Spray Repellent Oils
Essential oils have many uses. We love their smell, so when we learned that they're a bug repellent, we signed right up. Here's one formula:
- Pour 4-5 ounces of witch hazel into a mister bottle
- Add 4-5 drops each of:
- Citronella
- Eucalyptus
- Lavender
- Shake softly to mix
Now you're ready to spray the mixture on yourself or around your patio to keep mosquitoes and other pests away. Just remember not to spray it on your food. They have tasty names, but some undiluted essential oils are too harsh to ingest.
For a change of pace, you might consider anise oil. Just fill a spray bottle with water and add a few drops of anise oil (natural, not the artificial version).
Anise is a potent oil, so be careful to only add a few drops. Then, spray the mixture all over your patio furniture and surfaces.
- Change Your Outdoor Lighting
White lights are a huge attraction to bugs. They're like teenagers when a new rollercoaster opens up. Or am I dating myself? Maybe they're like teens when a new social app comes out. But I digress.
To keep your lights from attracting pesky attention, replace them with yellow or sodium vapor lights. They're not as prone to draw bugs.
Another idea is to use LED lighting, which is also less likely to attract insects.
- Run a Fan
Mosquitoes aren’t strong fliers. In fact, they're weaklings. That's in our favor. If you set up a strong fan at one end of your patio, your itch-inducing pests won't be able to stay in one spot long enough to bite.
For insurance, you can even set up fans at two sides of your patio and create a crosswind.
There's a side benefit, as well. Fans disperse the carbon dioxide you exhale. And that's what attracts mosquitoes to you in the first place.
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Pesky bugs can make summer evenings less inviting. And you don't have to put up with them any longer.
By using a few of these natural bug repellants, you'll be able to relax on your patio comfortably – all summer long.
If you're looking for more ways you can enhance your outdoor space, come on into The Great Backyard. We'd love to help!