Homemade Mosquito Repellent
If you’re plagued by mosquitoes and have an area you want to protect, this homemade mosquito repellent may be your answer. This repellent will work best in areas of moderate size (back patios), but can be adjusted for various sized areas.
Find yourself some 5 gal. containers. You want to fill the buckets about 2/3 full of water. Keep the water low enough so birds won’t mistake it as a birdbath. Add household dish soap to the water. Also add some WD-40 to the homemade deterrent. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. (You can read more about the mosquito lifespan later if you’d like). When the mosquito lands on the water it will get stuck. The WD-40 in the water acts to break up the surface tension, impeding the mosquito from flying away. The dish soap will kill any larvae that due happen to hatch from the eggs. If you’d like, decorate the buckets to blend in with your landscape and strategically place them around your property. If you have cats or dogs, be sure to place the homemade repellent out of reach. You’re target is the mosquito, and you’d hate to see your pet drinking it. The homemade mosquito repellent wouldn’t hurt your dog, but it might give him/her a nasty case of diarrhea.
Periodically check the buckets and refill them as needed. You’ll be surprised how many mosquitoes you’ll catch this way.
July 19th, 2006 at 10:09 am
[…] The first two stages occur in the water. (You can use a homemade mosquito repellent to kill them when they enter this stage.) Larvae hatch from the eggs. During this stage, they use a siphon to breathe above water, but spend their time molting and swimming underneath the surface. Pupae form after the larva molts four times. The pupae float on top of the water, breathing through tubes called trumpets. At the end of this stage, the pupae form into adults. They form wings and can fly. […]