How to deal with mosquitoes on your outdoor adventures
Camping trips are the best thing you can do during the warm months, especially if you love spending time in the outdoors. There is nothing better than a sunset walk through your favorite forest and enjoying the stunning surroundings of waterfalls, streams, canyons, or mountain ridges. But there is always a possibility that your dream trip gets spoiled by the annoying creatures called mosquitoes. As soon as the temperatures rise, they are all over the place. Mosquitoes are one of the main factors why people’s camping trips get destroyed and everybody ends up cranky and with a lack of sleep. Here are some suggestions how to keep mosquitoes away from your tent, your food, and away from your campsite in general.
Wear pants and long sleeves
The best protection from mosquito bites is to cover your skin and don’t give them a chance to bite you. However, wearing long sleeves and pants is not always possible when you go on a summer camping trip. Try to cover your body at least during the night.
Mosquito nets
Nets can help a lot when it comes to mosquito bite protection. No matter if you’re just chilling in a hammock or sleeping in a tent, the mosquito net will keep all the bugs away from your skin.
Bug-repelling herb bundles
Herb bundles are a super effective way to fight mosquitoes on your camping trip. All you need to do is collect mosquito-repelling herbs like sage, lavender, basil or mint, tie them with a string and throw them in your campfire. When heated, these plants release a strong smell that will kick out the bugs far from your idyllic campsite.
Candles
Citronella candles from a store can work but only if they’re the real deal. Read the labels carefully, if the label on the candle says citronella scented that might mean that the citronella smell is synthetical and there are no actual essential oils added to the candle. You need the essential oils because they are the ones who do the work.
DIY bug spray
If you’re going to be on the go for a while and you don’t like using chemical bug repellents, then you need to make one on your own. Combine distilled water with essential oils like rosemary, thyme, mint, cedar, lavender, catnip, citronella, tea tree, and lemongrass. Spray your body and your clothes every couple hours and all the mosquitoes should leave you alone.
Add garlic to your diet
Some foods can be an effective mosquito repellent (human repellent as well). Garlic is a very-well known antibacterial food that besides protecting you from viruses it also protects you from mosquitoes. If you add garlic to your everyday diet then your body will release a “weird” scent that mosquitoes don’t like. There is a big chance you also repeal the fellow campers but convince them all to add few cloves of fresh garlic to the dinner and there’ll be fewer mosquitoes around you all. Plus, when everybody eats garlic, nobody cares about the smell.
Don’t let the boring insects ruin your long-wanted camping trip and find a creative way to fight against them. These tips are super useful for people who don’t like to use chemical products, but if you don’t care, you can always buy DEET based products that will keep away bugs for sure. The point of camping is being in nature and avoid all artificial products we use in our everyday life, therefore, try to use a DIY repellent and make sure you wear long pants and sleeves. Camping can be awesome if you prepare yourself properly. Good luck!
If you have any comments then please drop us a message on our Outdoor Revival Facebook page
If you have a good story to tell or blog let us know about it on our FB page, we’re also happy for article or review submissions, we’d love to hear from you.
We live in a beautiful world, get out there and enjoy it. Outdoor Revival – Reconnecting us all with the Outdoors.