Killing Mosquitoes Without Chemicals, Use Mechanical Means

Is your sleep always disturbed by a pesky biting mosquito? Or do you fear having malaria or dengue from the bite?

Then I will share with you one of the practices by old folks a long time ago to get rid of mosquitoes without using chemical sprays that are harmful to the environment and to the person(s) at home using it.

Using Coconut Oil

If you have coconut oil, or any oil at home, use it. Put it in an old plastic plate which you are not using anymore, or any broad or flat container of plastic material which is light and easy to swing. Make sure to put ample amount of oil and spread it all over the plastic plate, just leave a small space where you will hold it so the oil will not get into your hands.

Then go to the place or nook in your house where mosquitoes frequently stay or swarm. Swing the plastic plate to catch the mosquitoes. If you hit a swarm of mosquitoes, all of it will got stucked in the oily plate. It can not move and eventually die.

If too many mosquitoes were already trapped in the oily plate, wipe them away with tissue paper and dispose the used tissue paper in the waste bin. You can replenish the plate with new oil to catch more mosquitoes, until you are quite convinced that most of it (if not all) were already eradicated.

Repeat this process during the times of the day when mosquitoes are usually active. Swing it in corners, in dark areas in your home where mosquitoes usually swarm or stay, or tap the hanged clothes, usually the dark-colored clothes which are favorite “hang outs” of mosquitoes. Tap the shoe cabinet or other cabinets that might be their hiding places too.

An Age-Old Practice

This is an age-old practice which I learned from my parents. Many old people in our community did it, and we found it more effective than using chemical sprays which is harmful to the environment because it is said to kill bees which plays an important role in pollination and food production by plants.

Even children can do it because unlike chemical sprays, there are no harmful fumes emitted, and children can enjoy the activity thinking that they have contributed in eradicating the deadly mosquitoes. Just make sure they wash their hands with soap and water after that “mosquito hunting” activity.

Other Mechanical or Biological Control of Mosquitoes

Aside from the “oily plate” method of hunting mosquitoes, some people are using the modern one, a lamp-like mosquito trap with a bluish light on it. It is said that mosquitoes are attracted to that blue light so they go near it, and once they “touched” the metal fence around the lamp, you can hear the snapping sound of what seemed to be “electrocuted” mosquitoes. Then you can see them drop on the floor, dead.

There is also another kind of mosquito trap using the blue light. It is a rechargeable racket, just like a tennis or badminton racket with a wire mesh, and a low voltage of electricity runs through it. It has an on and off switch, and when you turn it on, there is a bluish light from the wire mesh. You can swing it where mosquitoes are flying or swarming. You can hear the snapping sound if mosquitoes are caught in it. They also die instantly.

Another mechanical means is the larvae trap. This was designed by local health authorities where they place a dark-painted can or any container with a black plastic lining inside. Then a funnel shaped plastic bottle usually a cut top portion of a big softdrink container is put upside down so mosquitoes who will breed will go there. There is water at the bottom container for the mosquitoes to lay its eggs.
When you noticed that there are many larvae in the bottom container, throw it in a pavement or ground where the larvae will die from exposure to the sun. It can not survive without water.

This way, the mosquito population will be decreased. Remove rain water or any water collected in unused container or anything that can hold even very little water because mosquitoes can lay their eggs on it and the larvae can survive there.

Smudging or Using Smoke To Drive Away Mosquitoes

Aside from using traps, if there are many mosquitoes in your yard, try using smudge or dried leaves of plants to produce some smoke.There are fragrant leaves usually mint leaves or other herbs that emit sweet-smelling smoke when burned. You can use a metal dust pan with handle so you can easily transfer your smudge to places or nooks in your house where there are so many mosquitoes. Be careful not to drop the ember on the floor or areas that can easily catch fire.

If you have time and regularly do this, mosquitoes will fly away from your home. Do this procedure in the morning or in the afternoon. Mosquitoes usually come out in early mornings before sunrise or evening before sunset.

Campers or those having camp-outs or picnics in the woods or forest usually use this method to drive away mosquitoes and other biting insects. But they have to observe safety precautions not to cause forest fires or destroy the plants in the area. They can bring their own smudging materials like dried leaves or twigs of plants, because it is hard to gather such materials in some parks or forests. Be sure to put out the fire before leaving the place for safety.

It is also nice to use mosquito nets at home and when going on camp outs to prevent mosquito bites.

Some Mosquitoes are Deadly

There is a specific species of mosquitoes that carry malaria or even the dreaded dengue disease. Usually the carriers of dengue virus are the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It looks like a “zebra” with white stripes at its black body.

Health officials says the dengue-carrying mosquitoes usually bite or come out in early mornings till 9 a.m. and in the afternoon starting at 4 p.m. So they advise parents not to allow their children to play outside their homes during those times of the day. Or they should wear protective clothing like long-sleeved clothes and long pants, socks and shoes. They were also told to let their children wear light colored clothes instead of dark colored ones, like black, because mosquitoes are attracted to black colored clothes.

some parents are also told to use insect repellants that are not harmful, like citronella oil, or other repellants that have natural ingredients. Even babies can use it to repel mosquitoes.

It is better to be aware of the ways to get rid of mosquitoes and how to repel them to avoid the deadly sting.