How to Make Homemade Repellents for Outdoor Cooking

An outdoor barbecue can really bring on the bugs particularly at night. Between the heat of the fire, the grease and the smell of the cooking food, outdoor cooking can attract mosquitos, no-see-ems, moths, flies and a variety of other pests. Although no insect repellent will keep all of these bugs away, a combination of homemade concoctions and careful preparation can help you to minimize the impact of bugs on your summer parties.

Things You'll Need

• Marigolds
• Mothballs
• Water
• Mint soap
• Witch hazel
• Rubbing alcohol
• Essential oils

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Instructions

• 1

  Plant marigolds in your yard. Many insects do not like the smell of marigolds, so just having them around will discourage pests.

• 2

  Spread mothballs around the yard. Put them in a ring around the barbecue area on the ground. Don't use this approach if you have pets or small children who might eat the mothballs.

• 3

  Prepare the table to keep ants away. Mix 2 to 3 tbsp. of a mint soap, such as Dr. Bronners, with a gallon of water. Wash the table where you are going to be eating with the concoction, and spray some on the ground nearby.

• 4

  Make a personal mosquito spray. Put witch hazel or rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Add bug repellent essential oils to the mix. Tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, cedar oil, mint oil, vanilla extract and germanium oil all have natural insect repellant properties, so add any of them you have around. Add enough so that the mixture has a strong but not overpowering scent.

• 5

  Spray the mosquito repellent behind your ears, on your shirt and pants, and on the back of your neck. Reapply whenever you finding yourself being bitten.