Mosquitoes are vampires. They prey on helpless victims and suck blood. And while a typical vampire would have two large fangs, the buzzing pests have six needles that can effortlessly pierce your skin to fill up on your blood.
At best, the little bloodsuckers are annoying. At worst, they’re carriers of life-threatening diseases, harming humans all around the world, contributing to over one million deaths each year.
Needless to say, mosquitoes suck — literally. They are the bane of summer and the killjoys of outdoor fun. From a relentless wispy buzz in your ear to itchy red welts on your skin, if you’re anything like us, you could most certainly live without the little nuisances.
That being said, not all mosquitoes are terrible. In fact, it’s only the females who have an insatiable need for blood. But unlike fictional vampires, these buzzing pests don’t rely on blood to stay alive: they only need it for reproducing and laying eggs.
Yup, it’s true. While males are greatly misunderstood and enjoy nothing more than a nice drink of sweet sugary nectar from a nearby flower, female mosquitoes are basically tiny little vampires, sucking out your blood and sometimes leaving behind a high risk of illness or death.
However, unlike real vampires, mosquitoes won’t burn to death when sprayed with holy water. They also won’t sparkle in the sunlight or panic at the sight of a silver bullet. But what about garlic?
In this post, we’re exploring one of the world’s oldest natural mosquito repellents to discover if the rumors are true. Read on to learn everything you need to know about garlic and its effect on mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes vs. Garlic: The Ultimate Showdown
Everyone knows that garlic is a vampire’s kryptonite. It’s believed that the bloodsuckers have a heightened sense of smell, so things with especially strong odors ( like garlic) would naturally repel them. Makes sense, right?
With this in mind and seeing as mosquitoes enjoy drinking blood, too, many people are under the impression that garlic might also repel the buzzing insects, and by eating copious amounts of the vegetable, your skin will become unattractive to mosquitoes. So, does it work?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and this is one wives’ tale that can be put to rest. If you eat garlic, your breath might repel people, but sadly, your skin will be just as tasty to the hungry bloodsuckers.
While the notion that chowing down on garlic can protect against skeeter bites has been around for quite some time, the belief was recently debunked.
Researchers published a study that revealed that volunteers who consumed a whole lot of garlic before being exposed to the biting bugs were bitten just as often as they were on days when they consumed a placebo instead of garlic.
OK— What About Rubbing Garlic Directly Onto the Skin?
Eating a never-ending buffet of garlic won’t have any effect on the pesky insects, but what if you rub the vegetable directly onto your skin?
Believe it or not, while eating garlic may not have an effect on mosquitoes, rubbing it on your skin can repel them. Don’t get too excited just yet, though — it only works for 20 to 40 minutes, and of course, you’ll smell like garlic for the rest of the day.
Is There a Better Way To Repel Mosquitoes?
If you don’t want to smell like an Italian pizzeria, rubbing garlic all over your body is not the best way to go. You can do many things to help keep the pesky bugs at bay without using your favorite ingredients from the kitchen.
Here are just some of the handy ways to fight our winged enemies:
Bump Up the Wind
Mosquitoes are pretty terrible fliers, so electric fans strategically placed around your patio or deck can make it increasingly difficult for the biting bugs to reach you. Skeeters are also highly attracted to the CO2 humans expel, and a strong fan can help dissipate that, as well.
Call In the Pros
Birds and bats are the natural predators of mosquitoes. If you create a bat and bird-friendly environment, you encourage these critters to stick around and feast, which will naturally reduce your mosquito infestation.
Get Lit
Did you know that mosquitoes are attracted to the light from traditional white light bulbs? Swap your outdoor lighting for warm, yellow lights, which are less appealing to the bloodthirsty pests.
Death By Coffee
Coffee kills mosquito larva. So, if you have stagnant water around your property — which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes — sprinkle coffee grounds and watch as the skeeter population slowly starts to vanish.
Only spread coffee grounds in puddles, ditches, or marshy garden areas near your home and never in any wetlands where fish, birds, or other marine life thrive so that you don’t pollute their habitat.
Use BuzzPatch
There are many different ways that you can repel mosquitoes, and while many folks like to use good ol’ bug spray, the truth is that these products are commonly jam-packed with icky chemicals and questionable ingredients. Seeing as our skin tends to absorb 60 percent of what we put on it, it goes without saying that traditional bug spray can be a little worrisome.
Thankfully, there’s BuzzPatch.
Designed to confuse mosquitoes and hide your kids from their senses, BuzzPatch creates a virtual shield, almost camouflaging your kids from mosquitoes. Made using non-woven fabric patches that are infused with a combination of kid-safe essential oils, our safe and natural mosquito repellent patches are not only easy to apply but environment-friendly!
Created with you and your tiny tots in mind, BuzzPatch is non-toxic and DEET-free. Plus, it smells fantastic, and they’re fun and cute to apply. What’s not to love?
Mosquitos, Be Gone!
So, does garlic repel mosquitoes?
Although garlic proves to be effective in keeping vampires away, it’s not the best for preventing mosquito bites— eating copious amounts of the vegetable will surely keep people at bay, but your flesh will still look pretty appetizing to a hungry skeeter! Sure, you can always rub fresh garlic directly onto your skin, but it will only work for 20 to 40 minutes. And you’ll smell like, well… garlic.
Keep garlic in your kitchen and kick those pesky bugs to the curb with BuzzPatch: non-woven fabric patches made with all-natural, plant-based ingredients. Non-toxic and DEET-free, we use the most effective and safe essential oil combination to confuse mosquitoes and hide your kids from their senses.
And the best part? Our patches smell absolutely amazing — and not like garlic.
Natural, effective, and convenient, check us out today and see why parents (and kids!) love BuzzPatch tomorrow. Whether you’re spending the day in the great outdoors or simply in your backyard, let The Natural Patch Co. protect you and your loved ones from itchy mosquito bites.
Trust us; you’ll be glad you did!
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