Summer is the perfect time to open your doors and embrace indoor-outdoor living, whether it’s a morning coffee in the sun or entertaining friends in the garden. But with warm weather and open doors comes an all-too-familiar nuisance: mosquitoes.
Mosquito repellent can wreak havoc on your skin, and it also smells so strong you can often choke on the fumes if you spray too much indoors. So, to help Brits enjoy the summer breeze without being bothered by bites inside the house, experts at Express Bi-Folding Doors have revealed an ultimate mosquito-repelling hack that is all-natural, just 80p, and it’s probably already in your kitchen cupboard.
This hack uses lemon and essential oils to create a natural mosquito-repelling floating candle. It takes less than a minute to put together, and it can also double as a table centrepiece for summer evenings.
To make the candle, place slices of lemon or lime in a clear jar or glass bowl, followed by sprigs of rosemary, mint, or lavender. Fill the jar with water and place a floating tealight candle on top.
Once lit, the warmth from the candle helps release the natural scents of the citrus and herbs which naturally repel the biting insects, without any strong chemical sprays.
To really double down on the flying insects, you could consider growing herbs and plants like rosemary, basil, and mint near your patio doors or garden seating areas.
These plants not only thrive in summer but are also known to repel mosquitoes thanks to their strong scent. Lavender, in particular, is both attractive and effective and can double up as a decorative table addition.
Some people also swear by putting used coffee grounds in the garden to repel insects, due to the strong smell.