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All Natural Mosquito Repellent Mythbusters

Time to come clean about all natural mosquito repellent. You’ve undoubtedly heard the rumors and old wives’ tales about how to protect yourself from mosquito bites.

But like rumors about who’s dating who in Hollywood, not all rumors about all natural mosquito repellent are true.

Read on to learn the truth about 3 myths of all natural mosquito repellent.

• Myth #1: Essential Oils Are Not Effective For Repelling Mosquitoes
• Myth #2: Repellent is the Only Way to Protect Against Mosquitoes
• Myth #3: Ingesting Certain Foods Will Repel Mosquitoes

Myth #1: Essential Oils Are Not Effective For Repelling Mosquitoes

Many manufacturers of chemical repellents would have you believe DEET is the only effective substance to keep mosquitoes at bay. But plenty of studies support the use of essential oils as the main ingredients in all natural mosquito repellent.

One particular study published in the Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research tested the effect of essential oils on mosquitoes. The tests were done in India, a country that is historically plagued by disease-carrying mosquitoes.

After extensive testing, results determined that essential oils (like those in all natural mosquito repellent) were in fact useful for repelling mosquitoes.

While DEET is helpful for keeping mosquitoes away for long periods, there are always risks when you spray chemicals on your body or in the air your breath. Avoid these risks and use all natural insect repellent with essential oils instead. The repel mosquitoes, keep you safe from chemicals and smell great.

Myth #2: Repellent is the Only Way to Protect Against Mosquitoes

All natural mosquito repellent is vital for protection from mosquito bites. But there are ways to supplement that protection and make it even stronger.

While scientists still do not understand fully how mosquitoes find their hosts, there are certain factors that may make you more attractive. Luckily, there are ways to downplay this attractiveness.

Mosquitoes use visual, thermal and olfactory stimuli to locate their prey. During the day, mosquitoes rely heavily on visual stimuli to locate human hosts.

One of the best ways to make yourself visually unattractive to mosquitoes? Avoid dark clothing. Studies show mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors on humans.

So by spraying all natural mosquito repellent and wearing lighter colors, you are extra protected when venturing into territory.

However, mosquitoes also rely heavily on their sense of smell once they are nearer to a meal. Certain smells known to attract mosquitoes are floral fragrances from perfumes, lotions, soaps and hair products.

If you know you’re going to be outside, avoid these products to also help protect you from mosquitoes.

Another study showed that drinking alcohol increases attractiveness to mosquitoes. Try to limit the number of beers and cocktails you have in mosquito-infested areas to decrease your appeal. Or at least apply plenty of all natural bug repellent to compensate.

Myth #3: Ingesting Certain Foods Will Repel Mosquitoes

Surely you’ve heard the phrase, “An apply a day keeps the doctor away.” And hopefully you realize that’s not entirely true. The same goes for the myth that says eating certain foods will attract or repel mosquitoes.

Old wives’ tales say that eating bananas will attract mosquitoes, while eating garlic will repel the pests. But studies show there is no merit to these arguments.

Even though your pores do emit scents, studies have not found that emitting scents from garlic or bananas protects people from mosquito bites.

Others suggest taking Vitamin B-1 to prevent mosquito bites, but again, no studies can say this for certain.

Again, your best bet is to use all natural mosquito repellent and maintain a healthy dose of skepticism whenever you hear outlandish remarks about how repel mosquitoes.

Rumors can be true, but most likely false. It’s up to you to do your research and decide whether what you hear about all natural mosquito repellent is credible.