9 Natural Ways To Keep Mosquitoes At Bay This Summer

Apparently, mosquitoes hate all of the scents we love.

1. Singe some coffee grounds with a lighter.

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Have some leftover coffee grounds? Pour them in a small bowl, let them dry out, place the bowl where those pests usually bother you, and singe some of the grounds with a lighter. That caffeine scent will keep 'em at bay.

2. Make an essential oil spray.

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Using oils like lavender, peppermint, and thyme, you can create your own concoction with a lovely scent that mosquitoes will hate because they're monsters. Check out how to make the spray here.

3. Put a dryer sheet in your pocket.

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Turns out, there's actually science behind this age-old myth. Dryer sheets contain two chemicals that keep gnats and mosquitoes away: linalool, which is toxic to some types of insects, and beta-citronellol, which is found in citronella, the ultimate mosquito repellent. So, yeah, keep one in your pocket, or if you're really committed, rub one on your arms and any other exposed skin.

4. Get some mosquito-repelling plants.

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Basil, lemon balm, catnip, citrosum, peppermint, rosemary, lavender, and sage are all plants you can count on to keep mosquitoes away with their beautiful scents.

5. Boil some garlic cloves and then spray the water in mosquito-heavy areas.

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All you have to do is peel and crush a few cloves of garlic, and then boil them for around 20 minutes, which will give you some pungent garlic water that mosquitoes will hate. Pour it into a spray bottle and squirt it wherever they like to hang out and bother you.

6. Spray some apple cider vinegar, too.

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So, mosquitoes aren't into apple cider vinegar, which, honestly, is really their loss. You can make your own repellent with it by adding witch hazel and citronella essential oils to it. Get the repellent recipe here.

7. Or, spray yourself with Avon’s Skin So Soft bath oil.

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Seriously, people swear by this hack: "We’ve had some mysterious mosquitos in the house lately and haven’t been able to figure out why. So in the meantime, we spray ourselves down with SSS every day. It is amazing at how much we don’t get bitten anymore! Plus it just feels so good on our skin! I got bigger bottles to refill the spray bottle because this bottle isn’t very big. But it’s great to take to the pool, on vacation, etc. We love it!" —Nicky

Get some from Avon for $6.99.

8. Burn some incense.

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Mosquitoes also aren't into smoke, particularly smelly smoke, so, again, their loss. Burn some incense sticks the next time you're outdoors and they'll steer clear of you. Go for ones that contain ingredients like citronella, eucalyptus, and cloves.

Get some from Amazon for $18.50.

9. And, if you have a fire pit, burn piñon wood in it.

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Just like incense, piñon wood produces super-fragrant smoke, so it's great at keeping mosquitoes away. Go ahead and let those embers smolder for a while to spread as much of the scent as possible.

Get some from Amazon for $28.51.

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• 14 Simple And Doable Ways To Create Less Waste This Summer

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