Getting Ready for Bug Season: Homemade Mosquito Trap and Deterrent

Getting ready for the Adirondack Bug Season? Try these homemade remedies!

Homemade Mosquito Deterrent*

ITEMS NEEDED:

Combine in a 16 oz bottle:
15 drops lavender oil 
3-4 Tbsp of vanilla extract
10 drops of citronella oil
1/4 Cup lemon juice.

HOW: 
Fill bottle with water.
Shake & it's ready to use.
Spray on yourself.

(Substitute 10 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil instead of citronella oil) 

*Do not apply without doing a skin test first. Children can be especially prone to rashes from essential oils)


HOMEMADE MOSQUITO TRAP:

ITEMS NEEDED
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 gram of yeast
2-liter plastic bottle

HOW:
1. Cut the plastic bottle in half.
2. Mix brown sugar with hot water. Let cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle.
3. Add the yeast. No need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes.
4. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle, taping them together if desired.
5. Wrap the bottle with something black, leaving the top uncovered, and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area. (Mosquitoes are also drawn to the color black.)

Change the solution every 2 weeks for continuous control.

© Diane Chase is the author of the Adirondack Family Activities™ guidebook series, Adirondack Family Time™, which is available online or bookstores/museums/sporting good stores. Diane is currently working on the third guidebook in the four-book series of Adirondack Family Activities™.

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