Hey, guys.
Dr. Axe here.
Welcome to Ancient Medicine Today.
Today, we'll be talking about natural insect repellents and mosquito repellent.
So, if you're a person and you tend to get bit by the bugs, I'm going to go over the
best essential oils, the best diet, and some of the best natural ways to keep the bugs
away and to keep you from getting bit.
So, let's dive right in and talk about natural bug repellent tips for the summer.
First, let's talk about what attracts mosquitoes.
Now, have you ever noticed that certain people get bit more than others?
And I'll tell you why.
In fact, my wife is, like, the chief person.
She's always getting bit.
I get bit some, she gets bit more.
So, let me talk about why that might be.
Number one here, carbon dioxide.
Now in general, bigger people give off more carbon dioxide, but also if somebody is out
of breath or breathing more, in general, they might be giving off more carbon dioxide, a
thing to know there.
Somebody that has a lot of lactic acid built up, if somebody just got done with the hard
work out, think of CrossFit or swimming where you're getting that burning and lactic acid
in your muscles, that actually attracts mosquitoes to your body, okay?
So, if somebody's even sweating, that can cause that.
Acetone in your breath.
Now, acetone in the breath is sort of a chief characteristic if somebody that's in ketosis
or if somebody is on a ketogenic diet.
So, somebody who's on a low carb or ketogenic diet, the acetone on their breath can actually
attract more bugs like mosquitoes to them.
Number four here, estradiol.
So, if your estrogen levels are high.
Now, this is . . . often times I've noticed that sometimes women get bit by more bugs
than men, and part of it is the hormones that they're giving off.
And higher levels of estrogen in the body can actually attract more bugs to them as
well.
Those estradiol levels that get higher, which also can happen during, you know, certain
times of day and then also body heat.
Now, this is very frequent in women that are pregnant or if somebody just got done working
out or if somebody has more mass on them or even body fat.
But body heat, in general, will attract mosquitoes such that they will go after those people.
So, again, all of these things actually increase your likelihood of getting bitten by mosquitoes.
So, here are the natural ways using essential oils to repel those bugs.
Number one is oil of lemon eucalyptus.
Okay, this is a certain type of eucalyptus that actually really repels bugs.
Now we know eucalyptus has so many benefits and it's typically grown in Australia.
In fact, it's known that koala bears tend to eat the eucalyptus leaf.
But, again, eucalyptus and lemon eucalyptus give off eucalyptol which actually acts as
a natural insect repellent.
The next one here is citronella oil.
Now, I remember growing up my parents, they would actually put these like burning candles
with eucalyptus oil to actually keep bugs away, and they would do that incense all over
when we were kids.
But citronella oil of all the things on this list, probably, the most powerful natural
insect repellent out there today especially for mosquitoes.
And then lemongrass oil.
Lemongrass repels mosquitoes.
It's also great for fighting ants and other bugs.
Actually, it's great for fighting fleas and ticks on your pets.
But, again, these also keep the bugs away.
What I recommend is making a blend of all of these as I'm going to show you in just
a minute and making your own at-home natural DIY insect and mosquito repellent.
So, let's talk about . . . here's a homemade bug spray, takes you two minutes to make.
Half a cup of witch hazel which has natural bug repellent properties, half a cup of apple
cider vinegar, 40 drops of the essential oils of eucalyptus, lemongrass, citronella.
Also, tea tree and rosemary oil are effective.
And then one 8-ounce glass spray bottle.
Directions, just mix these together and spray on the areas of your body.
Just make sure you avoid your eyes when spraying on this at-home natural bug spray.
Now, here's some other things you can do if you're really going to be outdoors especially
in the summer, and like my wife's family is from Minnesota.
I'm from Ohio originally.
I remember going up to the lakes during those times and even going up to my wife's here
in a few weeks, and the mosquitoes, they joke around like they're the size of like, baseball
or baseballs are huge.
But again, you got to dress right.
That's number one.
So wear socks.
Really, wear long sleeves.
Really cover up.
Number two, avoid sandals.
Bugs can really eat up your feet at night as well.
Drink less alcohol.
Actually, alcohol attracts bugs.
If you're drinking alcohol it's going to attract more of them to you.
Number four here, and this actually is a type of material made with black pepper.
And so actually it helps repel bugs.
You can use a fan.
A fan and especially using essential oils as well or citronella candle with the fan
can really keep the bugs at bay.
And actually avoiding bug zappers.
One of the things . . . the light can't attract bugs from all over and sometimes using bug
zappers can actually kill off everything but mosquitoes, all the other bugs.
And some of those bugs actually kill mosquitoes themselves.
So, a bug zapper really isn't good or bad necessarily.
It's just not effective when it comes to mosquitoes specifically.
So, here's what you got to do.
Number one, dress appropriately.
And the last thing here, use essential oils like eucalyptus or lemon eucalyptus.
Use lemon grass, use citronella.
Those are the most effective essential oils to fight off bugs and mosquitoes.
And try out that natural at-home bug spray.
I've used it before.
I know it works.
And, guys, if you've enjoyed this live training and if you want to learn more about essential
oils and natural remedies, make sure to subscribe here to my YouTube channel.
We've got a lot more content coming out on how to teach you on how to use food as medicine.
Thanks for watching.
Hi, Dr. Axe here.
I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video.
And also don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great content on things like
herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine.
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Thanks for watching.