About this Recipe

When it comes to camping, there are a lot of things that you need to prepare for, one of those things being the bugs. Depending on where you live, there could be different bugs and pests that come to bother you while you're trying to enjoy yourself and the great outdoors. It's great to find ways to keep the bugs away using organic pest control methods that are safe for you, your family, pets and the environment. Plus, many of these outdoor pest control methods will not actually kill the bugs but keep them away from your area.

There are a few different organic pest control options for you to try out that will help you keep all sorts of bugs and pests away from your camping area including flies, mosquitos, wasps, spiders, ants and more. Of course, you can use the common bug sprays that you find at the store; there are even natural ones you can buy now too.

The chemical ones with DEET can be saved to be used in the worst case scenarios where organic pest control methods aren't working. You can also make your own natural organic pest control spray using essential oils. Just use 10 to 20 drops of any of the following essential oils mixed in a spray bottle with a half a cup of purified water, one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and half a cup of natural witch hazel. The essential oils you can try out are Cedarwood, Catnip, Rosemary, Tea Tree, Thyme, Eucalyptus, Sage, Geranium, Lavender, Lemongrass, Cajeput, Citronella, Basil, Mint, or Clove.

Some of these oils will smell better together than others so choose the ones you like the best, and that will pair well together and mix them all up with the other ingredients. Then spray your skin and your clothing with the spray. Another organic pest control solution is plain white or apple cider vinegar which may smell a bit funky at first, but it will keep those bugs away. Just spray it on your skin and all over your tent to keep bugs away. Use vinegar paired with essential oils to take some of that strong scent away or distill dried herbs in the vinegar for 2-3 weeks.

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Just put 3 or 4 tablespoons of dried sage, lavender, mint, thyme and rosemary in 32 ounces of vinegar for 2-3 weeks and shake or stir the solution every day. When it's ready, strain the liquid from the herbs and then dilute the strong herbal and vinegar solution with some water before you put it in a spray bottle and spray it on your skin. You can also try using organic pest control patches that you activate and then place on your body in different places. Or pest repellant bracelets that you can wear to keep bugs away from you. You can find these online or in most health food stores. Citronella candles are also great for keeping bugs away. They hate the scent of citronella so they'll stay far away from it and far away from you.

There are also pest control coils or incenses that you can burn which create smoke that bugs don't like and will deter them and keep them at bay. Always remember to zip up your tent and keep it zipped up all the time, so you don't let bugs into it. You can also get mosquito or bug netting to make a bug free zone to eat in too if you have the time to set one up. Try out a few of these methods and use some of them at the same time for maximum benefits.