Do It Yourself: Mosquito Net Bed Canopy

Mosquito net bed canopies can give ordinary bedrooms a romantic touch. These non-functional canopies, which are often assembled on bamboo rings, are easy to put together and their neutral color goes with just about any decor. This pattern only requires some basic sewing skills. These canopies can help you avoid mosquito bites.

Set up a step stool next to the bed and measure with a tape measure the distance from the ceiling to the point where the canopy should hit. Some people prefer that the canopy hit the floor, while others are content to let it settle just below the top of the bed.

Measure and cut the mosquito net to the proper length, leaving an additional couple of inches on the bottom for a hem. Lay the material flat on the ground and bunch the top of it around the bamboo hoop to gauge whether it is too wide. The cloth should lay in folds when suspended, but it should also be able to be drawn back about halfway like curtains. Trim away some material from the width, if necessary.

Attach a 4-point light fixture chain to spots on the inside of the bamboo ring. Make sure the chains are spaced evenly to allow the canopy to hang straight from the ceiling.

Pin up and hem the top, bottom and sides of the net with a needle and thread. Draw the top edge up over the bamboo ring to the main chain suspended from the ring. Center the material's opening between 2 of the points on the light fixture chain, then gather the cloth into a point and secure the top edge of the material to the chain with a needle and thread. The canopy will look like a turret, with the material flowing from the pointed top down over the ring to the floor.

Screw a ceiling hook into the spot where the canopy will be suspended. The canopy would look great centered either over the mattress or over the headboard. Make sure there is ample space for the bamboo ring to hang straight from the ceiling.

Hang the bed canopy from the hook by the central chain. Fluff out the material, parting it in front.

Another mosquito prevention technique is by using natural repellents. The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & DEET-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Ways to Repel Mosquitoes Without a Spray

While sucking out blood, the mosquito injects its saliva, which is what causes those itchy small bumps. Mosquitoes can be very annoying pests, especially when you are trying to enjoy the outdoors. The chemicals in mosquito repellent sprays are not 100% safe, as they are chemicals that you spray directly onto your skin. But, you can keep mosquitoes away without using any sprays.

Set up mosquito netting in the area where you spend most of your time at night. The mosquito netting keeps the mosquitoes out and protects you from being bitten.

Plant any of the following plants in your yard: ageratum, basil, garlic,thyme, daisies, spearmint, peppermint, catnip, rosemary, marigolds, eucalyptus, horsemint, cedar, verbena, or lemon grass. The odors from these plants is repulsive to mosquitoes.

Wear long sleeves and long pants when outdoors. Mosquitoes cannot penetrate through materials, and thus cannot bite you.

Refrain from wearing any perfume or cologne or scented body lotion when outdoors. The sweet smell attracts mosquitoes.

Burn citronella candles when you are outside, as mosquitoes are repulsed by the scent. Try to surround yourself with citronella candles.

Refrain from exercising at night. Mosquitoes are highly attracted to sweat.

Rub lemon eucalyptus oil on yourself; the scent repels mosquitoes. Lemon eucalyptus can be bought at most health food stores.

Remove any stagnant water from the area. Mosquitoes thrive and reproduce in warm, humid, and dark areas. Having stagnant water around provides the perfect location for them to breed.
Another mosquito prevention technique is by using natural repellents. The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & DEET-free formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Managing a Mosquito-Free Yard

Even without the threat of West Nile Virus, mosquitoes are annoying and hard to deal with. In order to keep them out of your home and away from your yard, there's a series of steps you can take to get rid of them.

• Get rid of anything that holds water. Mosquitoes breed in warm, humid areas with even small amounts of water. Put mosquito rings containing BTI, a bacteria that kills mosquito larvae, in ponds, puddles, bird baths and water barrels. Change water in children's wading pools and bird baths once or twice a week. Empty gardening cans, tarps, garbage cans, buckets, tires, flower pots, toys, car and boat covers and wheelbarrows.
• Cut your grass short when mowing and remove all weeds. Trim shrubs and bushes, and clean out gutters. Smooth ruts and fill holes in your yard that can fill with water to form puddles. Rake leaves as they can hold enough water for mosquitoes to breed in.
• Plant a border around your yard of catnip, garlic, onions, lemon thyme, lemon grass, citronella grass, marigolds, rosemary and basil to repel mosquitoes. Hang planters with these plants around areas where you spend a lot of time. Crush the leaves to release the scents that irritate mosquitoes.
• Hang bat houses and bird feeders in your yard. Mosquitoes are attracted to the warm, moist houses and feeders, and bats and birds eat the mosquitoes.
• Add between 50 and 100 fish such as gambusia to your pond. They feed on mosquito larvae. Attract dragonflies that eat mosquito larvae and adults.

Aside from these ways, there is another way to repel mosquitoes, that is, by wearing a natural repellent bracelet. It is DEET free & safe for kids (wrists / ankles) and babies (attach to ankle or baby stroller). Wear it on your wrist, ankle or attach it to your backpack. It is easy to use and you won’t even notice it’s there. It holds 1 Repeller Band Refill (15 Days Of Protection Per Refill). It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

DIY Mosquito Garlic Barrier

Garlic is a natural repellent that is useful in discouraging insects from an outdoor area. Just as many insects including mosquitoes avoid naturally growing garlic, they will also avoid created garlic barriers. Homemade garlic sprays are made with garlic cloves and other ingredients to create a liquid that is applied around decks, patios and other areas to ward off mosquitoes that often carry potentially harmful diseases.

• Place 3 ounces of chopped and minced fresh garlic in a container. Add 2 tsp. of mineral oil to the garlic and seal the container. Allow the oil and garlic to set and mix for 24 hours. 
• Fill another container with 1 pint of water. Add 1/4 ounce of liquid soap to the water in the container. Cover the container and shake to mix the water and soap thoroughly. 
• Pour the soap and water mixture into the container with the oil and garlic. Slowly add the soapy water and stir with a spoon to mix with the oil and garlic. 
• Place a piece of an old nylon stocking over a container to use as a strainer. Pour the combined ingredients through the stocking to strain out the minced garlic pieces. 
• Measure 1 1/2 tbsp. of the garlic oil into a spray bottle with a measuring spoon. Add 1 pint of water to the oil in the bottle. Place the spray top on the bottle and shake to mix. Spray the oil and water mixture onto the landscape and lawn around an outdoor sitting area to ward off and control mosquitoes.

Also, a simple tip would be wearing a repellent bracelet such as the Repeller Bug Band.The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Keeping Mosquitoes Out of Rain Barrels

Rain barrels are used to collect rainwater from rooftops, which can be used for watering gardens, washing cars or flushing toilets. This method of harvesting rainwater cuts down the cost of water usage in the household and conserves water. However, rain barrels with standing water can also become rich breeding grounds for mosquitoes. There are ways you can keep mosquitoes out of rain barrels and help reduce mosquito breeding sites.

The things you'll need are minnows or goldfish, mosquito dunks, plastic mesh window screen, cheesecloth and mosquito larvicide.

Empty rain barrels every four to six days. Female mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water. It only takes seven to 14 days for the egg to emerge into an adult mosquito.

Add mosquito-eating fish into the rain barrels. Minnows or goldfish, for example, are known to eat mosquito larvae. Provide adequate ventilation for the fish inside the barrel, or they'll die.

Use small portions of mosquito dunks. Buy the product from most garden supply stores. Mosquito dunks are bacterial larvicide that kill mosquito larvae. These dunks slowly release an active ingredient, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), that kills mosquitoes for 30 days or more. They are safe for your plants and don't harm pets or people.

Cover the rain barrel with fine screening. Screens keep mosquitoes out and prevent them from laying eggs into the water. Secure plastic mesh window screening over your rain barrel's openings. Add cheesecloth on top of the screen as an additional filter.

Have an overflow hole on the rain barrel to keep the water level below the screen. Mosquitoes can breed in the water between the screen and the top of the water surface if the rain barrel is full to the top.

Aside from these, a good insect repellent band is also a good option. The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. Mosquitoes, including ticks, fleas, gnats, etc., will hate you for wearing this band. It has a formula that offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Treating Mosquito Bites on a Baby

Babies with exposed skin outdoors are at risk for mosquito bites. Mosquitoes frequently bite areas such as the neck, hands and ankles. The bites can cause uncomfortable itching and swelling, which can be difficult for a baby to deal with, especially a young infant who is unable to communicate. Remedies that work for adults may be unsafe to use on babies, so special precautions need to be taken when treating mosquito bites on an infant.

With just soap and water, cold washcloth, ice pack, baking soda paste, calamine lotion and nail clippers, you can protect your bundle of joy from mosquito bites.

Clean the area where the mosquito bit the baby with warm, soapy water. This will soothe the baby and remove any blood left by the biting mosquito.

Apply a cold washcloth to the bite to relieve itching and reduce swelling. An ice pack will also work to reduce discomfort, but wrap a towel or washcloth around the ice pack to prevent the ice from being too cold on the baby's skin.

Apply Calamine lotion to the bite to stop itching. Create a thick paste with baking soda and water if lotion is not available. Apply a small amount to the affected area only.

Cut the baby's fingernails to keep the child from scratching the bite open. Bloody, exposed mosquito bites are at greater risk for becoming infected. Scratching the bite could also cause bacteria from under the baby's nails to get into the mosquito bite. Clipping the baby's nails will also prevent the baby from getting a scar.

Monitor the bites for 24 hours, checking for excessive swelling or drainage. Continue to apply cold washcloths and lotion for as long as the baby appears to be uncomfortable. The bites may take weeks to disappear completely.

Also, a simple tip would be wearing a repellent bracelet such as the Repeller Bug Band.The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Keeping Hornets & Wasps Away

Wasps and hornets are bothersome, yet necessary, insects. But even if they are an important part of our ecosystem, nothing is quite as annoying as hornets and wasps flying around your yard while you’re trying to enjoy a day outside. In addition, these insects may pose a health risk—hornet and wasp stings can hurt quite badly, and some people are allergic to these stings. If you need to rid your garden of hornets and wasps, choose an eco-friendly method rather than using a commercial toxic insecticide.

Materials

• Empty spray bottle
• Duct tape
• ½ oz. citronella oil
• 1/8 oz. pennyroyal oil
• ¼ oz. lavender oil
• 1/8 oz. tea tree oil
• 1/8 oz. jojoba oil
• Empty 2-liter soda bottle
• Sharp knife
• Bait (beer, fruit juice or wine, for example)

Repellent Spray
Fill a clean, empty spray bottle with ½ oz. citronella oil, 1/8 oz. pennyroyal oil, ¼ oz. lavender oil, 1/8 oz. tea tree oil and 1/8 oz. jojoba oil. These essential oils can be purchased at most health food stores or pharmacies.

Shake the bottle well to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

Spray the mixture around the yard, on outdoor furniture, and even on clothing to deter hornets and wasps.


Hornet and Wasp Trap
Thoroughly rinse out an empty 2-liter soda bottle with plain water.

Cut the top off of the bottle. Use a sharp knife and make the cut carefully at the point where the sides of the bottle begin to even out with the width of the bottle. On most 2-liter soda bottles, this point is just above the label.

Place bait in the bottom of the bottle. Beer, sugary soda, fruit juice, and wine are some examples of good wasp and hornet bait. Place about 2 inches of bait into the bottom of the bottle.

Situate the top part of the bottle that you cut off upside down into the bottom part of the bottle (without the cap). Make sure the two pieces fit snugly with one another. Apply a few pieces of duct tape along the edges if the pieces are not snug.

Place the trap in places you’ve seen wasps. The idea is for the wasps and hornets to fly down into the funnel of the trap to get to the bait and drown before they can get out.

To prevent hornets and wasps, a good natural repellent product to use is the Repeller Bug Band. The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!

Marigolds are Mosquito Repellents

Mosquitoes. The name itself brings an itch to the skin and a frown to the face. Not only do they bite, and suck your blood, they leave an itchy welt and can even carry diseases like the Nile virus. Festive outdoor parties can be ruined by the presence of these pesky insects, but spraying chemicals on your friends and family isn’t the most pleasant thing to do either.Using plants like the marigold can not only help repel mosquitoes but provide bursts of colors throughout your yard or patio. It’s unpleasant smell helps deter those tiny skin-nibblers and is an easy and inexpensive alternative to poisonous chemicals. Many insect repellents use a compound called Pyrethrum, which is found in marigold. This is what makes the marigold plant so effective in naturally repelling these pests. Here’s how to go naturally mosquito-free with marigolds.


Using Marigolds to Keep Mosquitoes Away

Pot them up. Marigolds come in lots of big bright colors like orange and yellow, and come in a variety of bloom sizes, so mix them up by potting up five large pots for an average patio or large and medium sized pots for a vaster space. You can intersperse them amongst your other patio flowers to add variety.

Create a boundary-border. Use the smaller variety of marigolds like the French marigold and Queen Sophia to edge your flower or vegetable gardens. This will provide a boundary that will help discourage mosquitoes from coming around while you are weeding or simply walking to and from your home.


Place near windows and doorways. This is an important step. Fill your window boxes with Golden Gate marigolds and pot up a few larger varieties like the African marigold near the doorways to help keep the blood suckers from coming into your home and buzzing around you at night. Pot up a couple to put on the bedside tables at your cabin to keep your vacation itch-free.

Another good way to prevent mosquitoes is by wearing a natural repellent bracelet, such as the Repeller Bug Band. It is a DEET free repellent & safe for kids (wrists / ankles) and babies (attach to ankle or baby stroller). Wear it on your wrist, ankle or attach it to your backpack. It is easy to use and you won’t even notice it’s there. It holds 1 Repeller Band Refill (15 Days Of Protection Per Refill). It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!.

Make Your Own Mosquito Trap

Mosquitoes carry diseases and illnesses to humans and animals. Humans can contract West Nile Virus, malaria and encephalitis from a mosquito bite. A mosquito bite can cause heartworms in dogs. Mosquitoes breed in areas where water is standing, so you should make sure there aren’t any areas of standing water around your home. Another way to reduce the mosquito population around your home is to make several mosquito traps, and place them in areas where you have seen mosquitoes.

Materials

• Duct tape
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-liter plastic bottle
• Knife
• Black paper
• Microwave-safe bowl
• 3 cups water
• 1 packet yeast
• Cooking thermometer
• Microwave
• Cooking spoon

Procedures

1. Place the bowl on a flat surface, and add 1 cup of water. Place the bowl in the microwave, and cook on high for two minutes. Remove from microwave.
2. Add 1 cup of sugar to the bowl, and stir with the cooking spoon to dissolve the sugar. Put the bowl in the microwave and cook for 60 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave.
3. Add the remaining 2 cups of water to the bowl, and stir the mixture until completely blended. This will make light-colored syrup.
4. Measure 6 inches down from the top of the 2-liter drink bottle, draw a line around the bottle at the 6-inch mark, and cut the bottle apart at the line. The top part that you cut off will resemble a funnel.
5. Pour the syrup into the bottom half of the drink bottle. Check the temperature of the syrup with the cooking thermometer. It needs to be between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If it isn’t, wait until it cools before moving to the next step.
6. Open the packet of yeast and sprinkle it across the top of the syrup. Stir the yeast into the syrup.
7. Flip the top part of the bottle upside down, and put it into the bottom half of the bottle. It will fit snugly into the bottle. Duct tape the sides, so it won’t come apart.
8. Put a piece of black paper around the bottle, and tape it in place.
9. Set the bottle in a place with mosquitoes, and let it stand. Mosquitoes will go in, but can’t escape. Change the liquid in the bottle about once a month.

Aside from this simple DIY, a simple tip would be wearing a repellent bracelet such as the Repeller Bug Band.The Repeller Bug Band is a natural insect repellent bug bracelet that is DEET-free and safe for kids. It contains an all-natural,non-spray & deet-free repellent formula. This formula offers the best balanced proportion of 11 natural, organic essential oils and repels mosquitoes and fleas, gnats, ticks, ants and more! With this product, you get real protection without the use of dangerous sprays or powders!