With the onset of summer, the question usually arises of how to escape from the ubiquitous mosquitoes and other flying and crawling insects. Adults and children in the country, in the forest, in nature need effective protection. There are various types of chemical repellents available in stores, but these may also be unsafe for humans.
The solution can be found in the use of proven folk remedies. For example, in practice, a combination of lemon and cloves has long been used as protection against mosquitoes, midges and flies. This product will not only allow you to calmly enjoy your summer holiday without annoying squeaks over your ear, but will also repel more dangerous insects - ticks.
How does the product work?
Clove oil, obtained from tree buds, has a tart and burning smell, which blood-sucking parasites do not like at all. It contains substances such as:
- Eugenol – 70%.
- Vanillin.
- Furfural.
- Methyl salicylate.
- Heptanol.
- Caryophyllene.
- Methyl benzoate.
- Benzyl alcohol.
The smell of cloves and lemon desensitizes the nerve endings of mosquitoes and ticks, completely discouraging the desire to attack.
In addition, clove oil can help quickly eliminate pain and irritation after bites. It relieves pain, relieves inflammation and heals wounds.
Aromatic compounds that repel mosquitoes and midges are also found in ordinary lemon. Manufacturers of various creams and sprays against mosquitoes and ticks also include citronella oil in their composition. At home you can replace it with lemon.
By using lemon and cloves to protect against mosquitoes, you can be sure that mosquitoes will leave you alone for a long time. After all, they are attracted by the smell of our sweat, and if instead they receive a sharp, repulsive smell of natural components, they will definitely fly to look for a victim elsewhere.
To protect yourself not only from mosquitoes, but also from ticks, you can add eucalyptus oil to the composition. Many people are interested in how effective this protection is and whether eucalyptus oil helps against ticks.
The smell of eucalyptus has the ability to make ticks feel dangerous and want to leave the area as soon as possible.
As users note, it is enough to dilute 30 drops of eucalyptus oil in 1.5 liters of water and spray the area to forget about ticks for a week. Then the procedure must be repeated.
Why don't mosquitoes like this scent?
Store-bought products are a set of chemicals that repel not only mosquitoes, but also harm the human respiratory system. Therefore, it is better to use resourcefulness and remember effective folk remedies.
The simplest and most effective remedy is lemon and cloves, which you almost always have on hand.
Mosquitoes smell the scent of a victim several tens of meters away and fly to their target.
Therefore, the main task is to eliminate body odor and make it repulsive to flying parasites.
A natural repellent, citrus contains an aromatic compound similar to citronella oil. It is used by manufacturers of anti-mosquito creams or sprays in their production. And it is this smell that is the main deterrent factor.
Recipes
Creating an anti-mosquito agent is quite simple. There are several recipes for making mosquito repellent based on cloves and lemon.
For this you will need:
- 2-3 lemons.
- 1-2 bags of whole clove buds.
The lemon is cut in half, and 7 to 10 clove buds are stuck into each half. To enhance the effect, you can drop a few drops of clove and lemon essential oils onto the cut – the aroma will be even stronger.
You need to place lemon halves closer to your sleeping areas at night. However, you should first make sure that there is no allergic reaction to odors.
When going to the country or to the forest, you can dilute 5-10 drops of clove oil in 50 ml of cologne. This composition can be used to treat exposed areas of the body and clothing.
In its pure form, cloves cannot be applied to the skin, but such “perfume” is suitable as protection against mosquitoes.
If you don’t have cologne on hand, you can take alcohol and water in a ratio of 1:10, mix them and add clove ether.
There are a lot of means available to combat annoying insects. But what to do if parasites appear in the body? Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem too. One of the traditional medicines is trichatka - a composition of tansy, wormwood and cloves against parasites. You can prepare it yourself or purchase it at a pharmacy.
Simple recipes for mosquitoes
Recipe with clove essential oil
Clove essential oil is obtained by processing the buds of the flower. To prepare the product you will need:
- 50 ml of medical alcohol;
- 25 ml flower essential oil;
- 50 ml citrus juice;
- storage container.
Mix lemon and cloves together, add alcohol and shake. It is better to pour the mixture into a glass bottle. This way it will be stored longer. You can spray the walls of the room with this liquid or soak cotton wool or a bandage and place it in different parts of the room before going to bed. If you plan to spend a long time outside, then apply it to your clothes.
Placing a napkin soaked in this mixture next to the bed will create a kind of veil that will protect a restful sleep from annoying mosquitoes.
Use clove oil separately, only adding it to a cream or balm to avoid allergic reactions.
Recipe using dried cloves
Protective agent is easy to make
This recipe uses the following ingredients:
- carnation stars;
- half a lemon;
- stand (saucer).
Making a protective product will not take much time. Cut the lemon in half. It is desirable that it be juicy and fresh. Stick buds (15-20 pieces) or, as they are called, stars into its pulp. If the flower does not grow at home, then the stars are sold in stores as a seasoning.
Place the ingredients on a saucer or prepared stand so that the cut part faces up. Otherwise, juice will leak out and stain the surface.
Recipe with essential lemon oil
Often citrus essential oil is simply sprinkled around the room. But such actions can cause asthma attacks, especially for allergy sufferers.
Therefore, it is better to use the following recipe:
- 50 ml of vodka or alcohol;
- 1 liter of water;
- 50 ml citrus essential oil.
Heat the water until warm. Mix vodka with essential oil, shake well and pour into water. Stir and spray.
This concentration will not have a harmful effect on the respiratory tract. It will add freshness to the room and scare away unwanted “guests”.
Be sure to spray on the curtains near the window. This will create an effective invisible barrier. The night will pass peacefully, the skin will remain without bites.
Lemon and clove spray is often used to disinfect the skin for cuts or other minor injuries.
Aroma lamp
It is effective to use an aroma lamp indoors. In order for the insects to fly away, you need to drip 10 drops of clove essential oil and 15 drops of lemon into it.
It is good to use an aroma lamp in a child's room, placing it next to the child's crib. Especially if it also has a built-in night light. The heat from the lamp will slightly warm the oil mixture and enhance the effect.
Aroma candles
These candles are easy to make with your own hands. When making a regular candle, add a few drops of aromatic oils. And light it as needed in the evening in an open space or in a room.
You can take a regular candle and drop a few drops of oils on top of it, next to the wick. The wick will melt the wax or paraffin and the oils will begin to evaporate, releasing a repellent aroma into the air.
Safety bracelet
This repellent bracelet is especially useful for children. To make it, take wooden beads and string them on a ribbon or wide braid. Place oil on top of the beads or spray with a solution consisting of water and an oil mixture.
Tie the bracelet on your wrist.
Cosmetics
Mix essential extracts with your favorite cream. But it is better to use a cream that has a weak aroma or no scent at all.
Apply cream to body. This product will not only repel mosquitoes, but will also moisturize the skin.
Additional Ingredients
You can enhance the effect of cloves with lemon against mosquitoes with the help of other herbs and plants.
Mosquitoes do not like needles: cedar, pine, juniper and cypress.
Natural vanilla makes the kitchen unattractive. If you dilute a packet of vanillin in water and place such a saucer on the windowsill near an open window, then flying “predators” will not enter the room.
Mint and lemon balm can be brewed and this decoction can be used instead of water to create a repellent spray, in combination with aromatic oils.
Use Cases
A few drops of clove and lemon oil can be applied to a paper or cloth napkin and placed in your pocket, bag or backpack. If you have to sleep in a tent, the fabric soaked in the composition is placed near the entrance.
You can also drop clove oil into a fire lit in the forest. Mosquitoes and ticks will smell an unpleasant odor and leave tourists alone. With the same success, oils can be used at home in an aroma lamp.
A repellent cream based on base oil also helps. Its composition could be, for example, like this:
- Almond oil – 10 ml.
- Clove essential oil – 4 drops.
- Lavender essential oil – 5 drops.
- Lemon essential oil – 5 drops.
All components are mixed and stored in a tightly closed container in a dark place for no more than six months.
A spray based on clove oil is suitable for protection against ticks. You will need to take:
- Alcohol – 100 ml.
- Clove oil – 2 teaspoons.
- Eucalyptus and lemon esters – 5 drops each.
All ingredients are diluted in a glass of water and sprayed on clothes and pets from a spray bottle.
Anti-tick cream is prepared using 2 tablespoons of almond oil and 25 drops of clove oil. For greater effect, add a few drops of eucalyptus.
How to cook
To create a repellent with your own hands at home, you will need:
- 1 lemon;
- 10–15 clove inflorescences;
- knife and cutting board.
The lemon is cut in half and spices are stuck into the citrus pulp of each half in a chaotic manner. The resulting repeller is placed in places where people most often find themselves or rest:
- on the kitchen table;
- in the bedroom near the bed (you need to make sure that the room is ventilated, otherwise the strong aroma will cause a severe headache in a person);
- on window sills;
- on a shelf in the children's room;
- not far from the bedding of a pet (cats and dogs, as a rule, do not risk tasting such a strong-smelling object).
You can enhance the effect of the repellent by additionally dropping 3-4 drops of essential oil onto the lemon pulp:
- anise;
- cinnamon;
- eucalyptus;
- lemongrass;
- citronella;
- peppermint.
Instead of lemon, you can use orange or lime. To save money, it is also recommended to use slices up to 50–60 mm wide rather than halves of citrus fruits.
Rules for using the product for children
In its pure form, clove oil should not be used by children under 12 years of age, as their skin is more sensitive to irritants.
To protect children from mosquitoes, it is better to make a cream based on any basic fatty vegetable oil and cloves with lemon. In this case, you need to be careful, and the dosage of clove oil should be minimal. Alcohol is also not recommended.
For 10 ml of base, 3 drops of ether are enough. The composition is applied to the skin very carefully, without rubbing, but applying a thin layer. Do not allow the cream to get into your eyes or mucous membranes. It's even better to apply mosquito repellent to your child's clothes.
If you need to protect babies sleeping outdoors from mosquitoes, wipe the edges of the stroller with a mixture of clove oil or drip a little near the crib in the house. First you need to make sure that your child is not allergic to cloves or consult a pediatrician.
How does lemon work?
The principle of action of lemons against mosquitoes is similar to cloves. Scientists have discovered that all citrus fruits have this effect, but lemon has the most pronounced odor among them. The advantage of this fruit is also its low cost compared to other representatives of this genus.
On a note!
The lemon smell repels insects. When approaching a victim near which there is a citrus scent, the mosquito simply loses track. The combination of cloves and lemon against mosquitoes only enhances the effect of the method.
Contraindications
Despite all the naturalness of plant-based mosquito and tick repellents, they also have a number of contraindications. First of all, this is an individual intolerance and allergy to the components of the composition: lemon, cloves, eucalyptus or other oils. Do not use protective creams and sprays:
- During pregnancy.
- Hypertensive patients.
- People with increased excitability of the nervous system.
In order to achieve a quick effect, you should not increase the dose of oils. Before use, you need to conduct a standard test for an allergic reaction by dropping a couple of drops of the product on the elbow.
How to fight mosquitoes with cloves
The market, shops, and the Internet are filled with products of technical and chemical progress. All kinds of repellents and fumigators are designed to save people from mosquitoes and other blood-sucking parasites. And everything would be fine, but again, there is a group of people for whom even an ordinary mosquito repellent cream or spray is more dangerous than the insects themselves. A remedy that is familiar and harmless to us can cause skin reactions or other allergy symptoms in young children and allergy sufferers themselves. In this case, look for a recipe for a folk remedy for mosquitoes and prepare it yourself.
Over hundreds of years, people have learned to identify herbs and oils that flying and jumping blood-sucking insects do not like. Among them are wormwood, juniper twigs, catnip, elderberry, and tomato leaves. Used:
- camphor;
- tobacco smoke;
- blooming bird cherry;
- basil;
- clove essential oil;
- anise;
- eucalyptus;
- tea tree and many others.
Now we will talk specifically about clove oil and dry cloves. This spice is famous for its rich set of vitamins, minerals and beneficial essential oils in its composition. It is used not only in cooking, but also to treat headaches and toothaches, problems with the digestive system, regulates acidity, and affects mental clarity. Clove oil has antiseptic and bactericidal, wound healing and tonic properties. It can be used for adults and children, and the spice itself should be regularly added to dishes.
Anise essential oil can also be used against mosquitoes
Clove oil as a mosquito repellent
To drive mosquitoes away from your body, it is not necessary to buy a ready-made chemical product. It is easy to prepare it yourself, with your own hands. There is more than one recipe and they are all banal simple.
Ten drops of oil are evenly applied to clothing. The fleur around you will not allow mosquitoes to fly close to your body.
Essential clove oil (20 drops) is added to 50 ml of ethyl or camphor alcohol. The finished repellent can be applied to open areas of the body, or a napkin can be soaked in it and left by the bedside table, on the windowsill, or near the workplace.
For children, expectant mothers and people with sensitive skin, a milder product is prepared. The recipe is simple: 30 drops of tea tree essential oil, 7 clove oil and 50 ml of regular olive or sunflower oil are mixed. Apply to the places where the vein beats.
You can also treat clothes or smear the skin with another oil product: two tablespoons of oil from the kitchen, 10 drops of clove, one spoon of aloe gel or pure juice of this plant. Citronella oil is often added to the recipe.
Clove essential oil against mosquitoes can be used to protect the entire room. To do this, it is added to the aroma lamp. If you drop oil into a fire, your outdoor recreation will take place without slapping your body or annoying squeaking in your ear.
Another remedy to protect your children's sleep is spice and lemon. Cut the citrus in half and stick two dozen cloves into the pulp. The recipe is effective and safe. If you don't have fresh lemon, you can use essential oils.
Rarely, clove oil can cause allergies, redness of the skin, dizziness, and nausea. To find out if this product is right for you, apply 2 drops to the inside of your wrist and wait 20 minutes. If there is no negative reaction, feel free to use the mosquito repellent recipe.
For long-lasting protection, carry ready-made repellent with you and lubricate your skin/clothing with oil every 5 hours.
If you know another effective recipe, please share with us.
Reviews
Most people who have used lemon and cloves to repel ticks and mosquitoes respond positively to this remedy. Some people use the composition as a replacement for chemicals when camping, on vacation in the forest, or when working in their summer cottage. There is a lasting effect and ease of use of the formulations against ticks and mosquitoes.
Although there are people for whom cloves and lemon did not help or who developed allergies. This is especially true for children. But this once again proves that in everything you need to observe moderation and strictly follow recipes for production and rules of use.
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Properties of cloves
The spicy fruits of the tropical tree have become popular due to their unique properties. This applies not only to dried seasoning, but also to the use of the product in folk medicine. The plant has a peculiar pungent odor. Cloves are mostly composed of eugenol and methyl salicylates. They give the fruits a unique aroma that repels insects. Terpenes and aldehydes contained in the spice affect the olfactory organs of bloodsuckers, forcing them to stay away from the pungent odor.
The beneficial properties of clove buds are not limited to repelling mosquitoes. The fruits cope well with the bites of bloodsuckers due to their disinfectant effect. After treatment with clove-based products, the itching will disappear, the wound will heal quickly, because... the plant has antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. In folk medicine, the spice is considered one of the safest, most effective remedies against mosquitoes, midges, and ticks.
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How do lemon and cloves affect cockroaches?
House parasites eat some toxic substances and then die. Other poisonous drugs penetrate the shell, then bring the pest to paralysis. Lemon, cloves, and other aromatic agents act through the respiratory tract.
Inhaling pungent odors, arthropods go into spasm and it becomes difficult to breathe. The spasm is not as strong as when using toxic substances. But the parasite feels the adverse effect and tries to leave this territory.
Lyudmila, Verkhoyansk:
“I get rid of all insects with fragrant grass. I rub the wormwood with my hands, mosquitoes don’t fly to me. In the summer I keep tansy on the window - you don’t have to put nets on the windows, the flies will fly around. I used cloves to remove cockroaches from my sons' dormitory. Nobody believed that it would work. I placed gauze bags with cloves wherever possible. I placed jar lids with cloves on the shelves. Our students call and say that the cockroaches have left them, and the neighbors are urgently buying cloves.”
Chemical-free insect removal
To get rid of cockroaches and other insects, you just need to keep cloves in the room and plant a lemon. Now there are a large number of chemicals to get rid of ants and bedbugs, but you can deal with them in the simplest way. Chemicals are not always appropriate, as they are so toxic that they quickly pollute the environment and negatively affect human health.
Reviews and recommendations
If you use only lemon with dry cloves, then, according to reviews, the product saves only in a closed room in close proximity to people. In addition, the more such repellents you prepare, the more noticeable the effect will be.
The children sleep in a room with screens on the windows. Rarely, very rarely, one will break through, but I don’t want to use chemistry. I tried lemon with cloves out of interest. The product is safe. While they were doing it, the children’s joy knew no bounds. I placed it next to the cribs. There were no bites. Enough for two to three days. Natalya, 25 years old
I tried using lemon with cloves for mosquitoes. To be honest, I didn’t like it: either you have to carry it with you, or do it at night so that you don’t get bitten in your sleep. Because where this miracle remedy is, there are no mosquitoes, and beyond that is their legal territory. Tatyana, 51 years old
A large group went to the river. Stocked up on everything. They also took lemons and cloves. The gazebo was elegant, but there was no strong effect, after all, there was a river nearby. But lemon oil with cloves helps. Just be sure to dilute it with vegetable oil or baby cream to avoid burns. I usually mix 1 part essential oil to 10 parts base. Victoria, 51 years old
Whether you try it or not is up to you. It is important to remember that lemon and cloves are an absolutely natural repellent. If the product does not seem effective enough for you, you can enhance it with essential oils.
Repellent
Uses of clove oil
Undiluted clove oil against mosquitoes can be used in an aroma lamp. If you apply a few drops on your clothes, mosquitoes will also not be able to get close, and the product will not burn your skin. If there are bracelets made of absorbent materials: wood, fabric, liquid is applied to them. Such accessories are in no way inferior in effectiveness to industrial mosquito repellent bracelets. Any available items that will be near the person are suitable. The product can also be applied to clothing. The advantage of essential oils is that they either leave no traces at all, or they are very weak and are not noticeable on colored materials. The smell of the concentrated product repels mosquitoes well, but if it is necessary to eliminate irritation from mosquito bites, it is necessary to use diluted clove oil.
You can use clove oil to protect your home from mosquitoes. For large areas, it is rational to use mixtures of cheap substances with ethereal compounds. The mixture is sprayed onto mosquito nets.
Important!
Regular vegetable oils dry out and create a thick sticky film on surfaces. This film does not dissolve with detergents and can only be removed with a sharp object. But you cannot use a knife on a mosquito net. To protect windows, it is better to use an aqueous suspension or place a cotton wool soaked in cloves on the windowsill.
Reviews of clove oil are often positive, except for complaints of headaches caused by too strong a smell. Not everyone has a headache, but we must take into account individual intolerance to strong odors. Sometimes eucalyptus, lavender and geranium are added to cloves to soften the pungent odor. The effect of such a mixture on insects is stronger than a pure product, and the smell becomes softer.
Insect behavior
In order to correctly and competently remove insects from your apartment or house, you need to understand how they live and reproduce. The main concern of such insects is usually to find food, and they love sweet food. Usually, each type of insect easily finds each other using the pheromone that remains in its tracks. And ants usually transmit this smell through their antennae.
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Thus, as soon as an ant finds food, it immediately sends an olfactory signal to other insects so that they can follow its route and find food. Therefore, you can often observe how an entire colony of ants attacks a house or room. Modern industry offers chemicals in the form of a spray or an electric vaporizer, which are easy to use, but negative for the environment and people.
Such preparations, as has already been proven, contain pollen, which can cause allergies in both adults and children. And inhaling toxic substances found in such insect repellent chemicals can cause enormous health problems.
Characteristics and composition
Clove essential oil is traditionally considered one of the most effective natural remedies for repelling mosquitoes, flies, midges, ticks and other insects. Obtained from the flower buds of the clove tree, it is a yellowish oily liquid that turns reddish-brown over time.
The smell of the product is woody, tart and “burning”. It simultaneously smells of burnt wood with fruity, spicy and vinegary notes. This spicy-spicy aroma is completely intolerable and avoided by insects that haunt the summer, which is why clove oil has become famous as a reliable and safe natural repellent.
About 70% of the composition of clove oil extract is eugenol. The rest of it consists of substances such as ylangene, caryophyllene, vanillin, methyl salicylate, furfural, heptanol, benzyl alcohol, methyl benzoate, etc.
Clove essential oil is also notable for the fact that its aroma does not disappear for quite a long time and lingers on the skin or clothing.
Operating principle
Reference. Mosquitoes find their target by human body odor.
There are also odors that bloodsuckers simply cannot tolerate. Lemon and cloves, which contain special essential oils, have such odors. More detailed properties of these funds are given below:
- Lemon. All citrus fruits are effective in controlling insects due to their persistent aromatic compounds.
- Carnation. Clove essential oil also has a repellent effect.
- The most effective is a combination of lemon and cloves , since both smells repel mosquitoes, and when used together, an impressive result is obtained.
Cooking methods
With clove oil
If you want to get rid of mosquitoes indoors, you will need:
- 50 ml lemon juice;
- 50 ml alcohol;
- 25 drops (or 25 ml) of clove essential oil.
- Mix the juice and oil, add alcohol and shake well.
- The resulting mixture can be sprayed on the walls of the room, curtains on the windows, or soaked in cotton wool and placed in different places in the room, for example, before going to bed.
- If you are going to spend time outside, then this mixture should be applied to your clothes.
Clove oil can also be used in the following ways:
- Drop a few drops of essential oil onto your skin or clothing and skin, which will create a lasting repellent effect for mosquitoes within a radius of about a meter.
- Mix the oil with some cream, for example, regular baby cream, and rub the resulting ointment into the skin, which will also give a noticeable result.
With citrus oil
For the most effective results, diffuse lemon essential oil indoors. However, this method is fraught with the fact that the strong aroma of citrus fruits can cause an allergic reaction, so it is advisable to prepare a special tincture:
- Take 50 ml of alcohol (can be replaced with plain vodka), add 20 drops of lemon essential oil to it.
- Dilute the resulting mixture in 1 liter of water at room temperature.
- Spray the room with the prepared infusion using a spray bottle, especially treating the walls where mosquitoes like to land and then look for prey at night, and the curtains to immediately prevent insects flying from open windows.
Using seasoning
If you don’t have essential oils on hand, you can use a simpler, but no less effective recipe. You will need ripe lemon and cloves, namely dried buds, which are used as a spice.
- You need to cut the lemon in half and then stick about 15 cloves into the pulp.
- Place lemon halves stuffed with cloves where you want to repel mosquitoes.
What else can you add?
To enhance the effect, you can drop tea tree essential oil, vanilla extract, mint extract, pine extract onto a cut half of a lemon, and you can also add a pinch of ground cinnamon.