Despite the Covid19 pandemic, Springtime just gives away a vibe that we can come out and get a bit of sun or go a little outdoorsy.
Since most of the establishments and public parks are restricted by laws to contain the virus, our freedom seems just around the corner—like the warm and beautiful blossoms of the Spring season.
While we are out, we gotta consider the consequences and hopefully take extra care every time we set foot from the doorstep.
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Overwintering Pests are Out in Springtime
Although we are not totally ready to mingle and interact with everyone, common pests like rodents, mosquitoes, flies, spiders, gnats and many more are done with their winter hibernation or overwintering phase.
Hence pests are ready and primed to resurface this Spring season as well!
Whether you are out in the backyard, enjoying your springtime warmth and breeze, you have to mind the pests and insects that are out and ready to suck you or your pets and baby’s blood.
To avoid this, you can repel them from the sense that they are mostly sensitive off—their sense of smell.
By setting up and applying essential oil scents on your skin or around your house, you can drive away pests from biting or stinging you, from infesting your closet, your personal spaces in the house, or even in your backyard.
Instead of spraying strong and powerful insect repellents that can be hazardous to your health, here are the following natural essential oils that help you drive away pests:
List of 5 Oils that will Repel Common Spring Pests
1. Citronella oil
Considered as a common ingredient to repel mosquitos, Citronella grass is effective in repelling other flying insects if and only if it is extracted from the grass.
Once the oil is being then you can use it on a home humidifier, apply on skin, or use it in your room’s oil burner. Don’t mistake their cousin, lemon grass, they just belong in the same genus.
To be accurate, it doesn’t kill the insects but drives them away mostly. To be more scientific, citronella helps block the lactic acid and carbon dioxide scents that make our blood to be visible and delicious to mosquitoes.
2. Lavender Oil Extract
As it is soothing to and relaxing to humans, the flies, fleas, gnats, mosquitoes, and moths will have to agree to disagree on this one. Although unlike most of them, bees also love lavender.
You can hang the dried lavender or extract an oil from it. You may also have the store bought ones. You may strategically place them inside your closet to protect your stuff or clothes.
Also, it helps to place the lavenders beside your window sills or doors. Not only doesn’t add to the charm but repels the unwanted visitors this springtime!
3. Peppermint
Not only can you spare from the strong and overpowering scent of pesticides or over-the-counter sprays, you may also have a heavenly scent of Peppermint instead and drive away pests like:
- Fleas
- Ants
- Beetles
- Spiders
- Mosquitoes
- Rodents
As rodents and ants are very attracted to scavenging your food in the kitchen, it greatly helps to put a candle with an oil burner on your kitchen counter or even in your room to drive away mosquitoes and keep it fresh.
4. Basil
Not only is it easy to grow basil in your backyard or your indoor garden, it can also grow very easily and multiply. Now, aside from making your favourite pesto paste, you can also utilize your abundant basil plant into extracting oil from it.
The basil oil extract can then be a great repellent for moths, flies, and other flying insects that are mostly common this Springtime.
Not only is it handy to use for kitchen purposes, basil truly belongs with food because all it takes is a basil in a pot or creeping from your garden to repel flies, mosquitos, moths, and other flying insects.
Infact, since it can grow generously at home, you can make more use of it by making an insect repellant out of it.
Below are the steps on how you can make Basil insect repellent:
- Pour a cup of basil leaves and stems to four ounces of water.
- Steep the basil and water for several hours.
- Strain the basil leaves and stems and you got yourself a green solution.
- Mix 4 ounces of the basil solution on in any cheap bottle of vodka you can get
- Place it in an atomizer and spray it on the skin or the room to repel insects
5. Tea Tree Oil
Now only is it revered for its medicinal benefits such as being an antibiotic, antifungal, antiseptic, expectorant, and antiviral, Tea tree oil never ceases to satisfy as it can also be used to kill insects!
By dousing tea tree oil on cotton balls and placing it in areas throughout your house or closets, or even putting it in an atomizer and applying it on your skin, you can avoid biting insects coming around you.
The tea tree oil has antiparasitic properties that can defeat and destroy the growth of parasites like:
- Leeches
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Lice
It repels:
- Ants
- Mosquitoes
- Spiders
- Flies
- Bed bugs
You may also keep the flies from your garbage cans as well! How? You may apply the tea tree oil on a sponge and rub it on the lid of the garbage cans then viola! The flies will not be feisty enough to bug your waste at all.
Tea Tree Oil Fights Bed Bugs!
Here’s another amazing fact: tea tree oil repels bed bugs. In order to make this effective, you can just apply 20 drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle, mix it with water based on your consistency preference. You may spray it on the bed, clothes, lamps, or furniture affected.
Please note that this is only very helpful if the infestation is revivable. Wash your sheets and linens right away with a hot cycle of water to kill the bed bugs.
Fresh and Pest-free
Not only are these natural essential oils insect-repellent but they can also both be fragrant and add freshness instead of chemical scent that pesticides expel.
Aside from hiring a pest control professional, they can greatly help control the bug population in your yard, kitchen, closets, and inside the home without having to worry about toxic chemical effects that pesticides can cause you. After all, it’s a win-win to freshen up and protect your loved ones from spring pests.