Prevention | Disadvantages Of Surroundings | How To Get Rid Of Mosquitos | Lemon And Cloves | Citronella | Alcohol | Garlic | Camphor and Tulsi | Fan | Soap Water | Plants | Other Remedies | FAQs
Of all the insects people encounter in their day-to-day life, mosquitos are the most annoying ones. The bumps they make on your skin are so irritating, that it itches for hours and sometimes mosquito bites even get fatal.
In tropical countries, you will hardly find any home that is free of mosquitos. If not a serious infestation, these flies enter your house daily and mostly during the evenings. Mosquito infestation is a serious issue that is keeping humans disturbed for a long time and people are always looking for ways how to get rid of mosquitos.
How To Control Mosquito Entry Into The House?
Mosquitos mostly breed outside your house in the surroundings wherever they find a stagnant water body or a heap of waste. They tend to then enter your house through little openings, cracks, doors, and windows. You should take measures to control their entry.
- Do not leave doors or windows wide open for a long time. Also, it is advised to pay attention to this as evening sets in because this is the time of the day when mosquitoes enter the house in search of humans.
- If you notice any cracks in the window screen of your house or little openings and gaps in doors and windows, you should get them repaired at the earliest.
- Use preventive measures (home remedies) that keep mosquitoes away. Try placing them near the entry points to eradicate these creatures.
- When the mosquito infestation is serious and getting bigger, you can get an indoor fogger. This will keep mosquitoes at bay.
How Are Your Surroundings Responsible For Mosquito Breeding?
If you are looking for ways how to get rid of mosquitoes, you should first pay heed to your surroundings. Breeding always starts outside the house, and then the mosquitoes raid your house in search of food.
Watch out for water bodies
Pools, birdbaths, ponds, etc are all home to mosquitoes as they lay eggs in stagnant water. Make sure there are no such water bodies near your house and if any, it should be treated properly to avoid infestation of any kind.
Waste management
If you have a pile of waste outside your house, it is sure to make way for stagnant water as water can easily get collected in cans, containers, bottles etc and this, in turn, will attract mosquitoes for breeding.
Dirty gutters
Open and dirty gutters have stagnant water all the time and with the kind of mess in there, these places ought to have mosquito infestation.
How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes: Home Remedies
There are several chemicals and other products available in the market that help keep this insect away, but here we will tell you about some home remedies. These remedies will help you, but before that, we will tell you something else about these pesky flies.
1. Cloves And Lemon
The smell of lemon and cloves combined is something that mosquitoes hate, and they do not come near you if you have this remedy at hand. For this, all you need to do is take a few lemons and slice them into halves. Then insert a few pieces of clove and keep them by your bedside or anywhere you want to sit and enjoy a mosquito-free time.
2. Citronella Candles
Citronella is a well-known mosquito repeller, and the smell of citronella keeps mosquitoes away. The citronella candles available in the market make your ambience amazing and it also keeps these flies away. Just light a few candles and make sure to keep them at short distances to ensure better protection from mosquitoes.
3. Alcohol
One of the easiest remedies to keep mosquitoes away is alcohol. For this remedy, you can either use beer or rubbing alcohol, and both these components help flee them away. The mere smell of alcohol repels mosquitoes, and they stay away from it. If mosquitoes enter your house through windows, you should fill a plate with alcohol or beer and keep it near the window. This will ensure that there’s no entry of these flies from the windows.
4. Garlic Remedy
These flies run away when they sniff garlic in the air. This simple remedy does not require any labour as all you need is a few garlic cloves and water. Simply crush the garlic to extract its juice and mix it with water. Fill this in a spray bottle and spray the liquid on curtains and a few spritzes in the air.
5. Camphor And Tulsi Oil
Essential oils work great to keep several kinds of pests away. Any oil that has camphor or tulsi extracts is a boon for people who are particularly attacked by mosquitoes now and then. These oils do not make your home mosquito-free, but they will prevent you from getting itchy red bumps that these flies make on the skin.
This remedy is perfect when you go camping or in areas where mosquito infestation is high.
6. High-Speed Fan
Mosquitoes do not settle in one place, and they keep flying constantly. They find it comfortable when the space in which they fly is calm and composed. Very high-speed air or wind hinders their flight, and they avoid staying in such places. If you are tired of mosquitoes roaming around you, you can turn on the fan at high speed, and they will all escape in no time.
7. A Dish with Soap Water
Take a wide dish and fill it up with soap water but make sure the water is soapy enough to have a good amount of lather and bubbles. This technique is simple but great as mosquitoes love thriving in water and they get attracted to the dish seeing stored water in it. As soon as they land on the dish, the lather and bubbles keep them trapped for some time, and they ultimately end up dying.
This technique works amazingly good, and you don’t have to chase the mosquitoes to kill them one by one.
8. Plants
Several plant species repel mosquitoes and most of them are easy to grow at home. You just need to pot these plants and let them grow. Mosquitoes tend to hate the smell of these plants, and they are sure to stay away from your space.
Growing plants also add to the scenic beauty of your house and you will love it when your space would be mosquito free. A few of these plants are catnip, lemongrass, citronella, marigold etc. The tulsi plant is also believed to keep mosquitoes at bay and it is a commonly found plant in most Indian households.
9. Other Remedies
Apart from these remedies, you can also use the mosquito kill sprays, plug-in devices and lotions as well as creams available in the market. These are sure shot and effective remedies to keep these irritating flies away but people mostly prefer natural homemade remedies. For a quick and instant relief remedy, these are amazing choices.
All the remedies listed above are tried and tested but not all work equally well. The effectiveness of any remedy depends on the kind of infestation you have. If the problem is on a larger scale, we recommend seeking professional help.
Pest control services are very common these days and the professionals help you in every way possible. Getting a pest control service done in the surroundings can help several houses together as it works on the mosquito breeding stations outside the house.
Also, it is rightly said that ‘prevention is better than cure’; instead of thinking about ways to get rid of mosquitoes you should first think about ways to stop them from entering the house. Once this is achieved, you need to worry about mosquito infestation inside the house and you will have a good night’s sleep too.
FAQs
What should you do if you want to get rid of mosquitoes quickly?
Home remedies are helpful but not always. If you need instant and quick results, go for the store-bought sprays, creams and lotions. These give you an amazing result too quickly.
What is the main cause of mosquito breeding?
Mosquitoes look for stored water and if there’s any form of water stored in and around your house, chances of breeding are high. Make sure that you do not leave unattended stored water anywhere and also keep windows and doors closed during the evenings.
Can dirty surroundings be responsible for mosquito infestation in your house?
Yes, you should always be aware of your surroundings. Any stagnant water body near your house like a pond or lake can be home to mosquitoes which will eventually enter your house through doors and windows. Take extra precautions in this case and make sure the water body gets treated from time to time.
Are mosquitoes a threat to humans?
Absolutely! Mosquitoes not only irritate humans by the buzzing sound they make but they also carry several diseases that spread easily when your skin comes in contact with them. A few of those diseases like dengue and malaria are life-threatening.
How to keep kids safe from mosquito bites?
Keeping your house mosquito free should be your prime focus but you should pay special attention to kids. Use home remedies like essential oils. You can also opt for mosquito repellent sprays and lotions for babies available in the market.