This concoction was relayed to me by a cousin. She knows that I am pestered by mosquitoes since we were young, that I am a magnet for mosquitoes. Anyway, this homemade concoction can be sprayed anywhere and there’s no risk with the pets. That’s the main concern, we have dogs inside The House that’s why we cannot use the aerosol insecticide. We can only spray when we are going on a road trip with the dogs. Here is the simple recipe – equal parts of olive oil, vinegar, shampoo. Any kind of oil will also do, any kind of vinegar and any kind of shampoo. Mix it and put in a sprayer. I have tried this before posting and the result is very encouraging.
Wow, it is very easy to prepare. I would try this homemade insect repellent. It is very affordable and the ingredients are procurable. I am going to try this at home and see for myself if it is effective. Nowadays, mosquitoes are starting to populate in our humble home. And it is indeed necessary that I have to make one of this for we don't use any mosquito net.
That is an easy recipe and most people probably have all the ingredients laying around the house. I have not seen this version though. I have seen mixtures that use peppermint oil and some other ingredients. I have not tried any of them as of yet though. I am glad that this version works for you. I also am a magnet for mosquitoes and if I am around then other people usually do not get bit up as much as me.
Thanks for the simple and so economical alternative to chemical sprays. But I just have a question here, don't the shampoo and oil settles on to things later and stain stuff in your home?
I think the lemon is being used in many places. Like say cleaning the dishes and other tasks. I have found that it can be used for cleaning stuff. Also the lemon is being used to keep the certain type of the mosquitoes. I think for those who want to have clean water nearby they usually drop lemon juice to get rid of those specific insects and germs.
Hi, Alexandoy, this seems to be very interesting, but if you spray with that oil...don't you risk to make stains on your walls or things you have in the room? I'm saying this because I had painted my rooms and I don't want to stain my walls. Anyway, your recipe is very cheap and if it is working we can save a lot of money, I spent around 30 dollars for mosquitoes spray.
I have found that peppermint essence or tea tree oil are good for discouraging flies but we don't really get mosquitoes in the UK as our climate is not suitable for them. I don't know if this would work for them. I had a dog which had a stomach disorder so would foul in the garden frequently and I used these together to discourage blue bottles. It didn't drive them away completely but it helped and the problem got less.
Wow. Thanks for the recipe @Alexandoy. This looks pretty simple and since we have dogs and cats in our home we never use chemical sprays for any insect infestation. We too have a lot of mosquito problem and I will definitely try this out because it is natural and simple too. Thanks a lot.
@wallet That is a good question. I was also wary when I first used that concoction. What I did was to test spray it on the wall. The paint is old anyway. And when there was no mark whatsoever, I declared it safe. I even spray it now on the upholstery of the furniture. The only downside is the smell of vinegar although it vanishes after a day. But the effect to mosquitoes is more than 2 days based on my observation.
This sounds like a good concoction @Alexandoy. I use Listermint! I spray it around the floor and door frames and window frames. It stops the mossies coming anywhere near. Even when I am outside, I can spray the ground and they stay away.
Thanks for the recipe. I've been learning that vinegar can be used for so many things around the house. I think you could probably use a different oil instead of olive oil to make this cheaper (olive oil is expensive here). I guess you'd have to try another type to see if it works as well. The vinegar can be purchased cheaply though. You can buy it by the gallon to save money. I think it's still less than $2.00 a gallon at Walmart, if you buy the store brand. I've seen small bottles in grocery stores that cost nearly as much, so it's a good deal. You might even be able to find it for less somewhere else or catch it on sale.
I can't wait to try this. My husband is a target for mosquitos. We have tried all of the name brand products, none being very successful.
Rather than making sprays, another alternative is to just grow some of the plants in and around your house that are useful for repelling insects. The upside is that many of these plants can be harvest from time to time and used in the kitchen. Some really easy ones to grow that have been shown to repeal mosquitos are Basil and Oregano and basically any of the major herbs used in cooking work also but may be harder to grow. Things like Thyme, Rosemary, chives, lavender all will make your house smell better and at the same time repeal mosquitos. The same plants can be used outside of the house but will require more attention. Lemon grass is another very popular outdoor plant that keeps mosquitos away. If you have any type of pond or other standing water outside, it is always a good idea to plant lemon grass at some spots around the water. The plants work the same way as the sprays.. the smell deters the insects.
