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Are Plug-in Mosquito Repellents Safe? (Plus Safer Alternatives to Consider)

Are Plug-in Mosquito Repellents Safe? (Plus Safer Alternatives to Consider)

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Mosquitoes are among the most annoying insects that you will encounter. It’s no fun to spend time outside in the summer and wind up getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

If your area has a lot of mosquitoes, then you might find it less pleasant to be outside in the evening. This isn’t good because most people want to be able to sit on their decks or porches on a cooler summer evening.

Thankfully, there are things that you can do to try to keep mosquitoes at bay. There are certain remedies that work well to drive mosquitoes away, but many are turning to convenient plug-in mosquito repellents to keep themselves safe.

Are plug-in mosquito repellents safe? Keep reading to learn more about plug-in mosquito repellents so that you can decide for yourself.

How Do These Plug-in Mosquito Repellents Work?

If you haven’t ever used a plug-in mosquito repellent before, then you might not even be aware of how they work. It’s actually pretty simple, but you’ll understand why some people worry about the safety of these devices once you know more.

You plug these mosquito repellents right into electrical sockets. Once they’re plugged in, you’re going to see that the repellent device will start expelling chemicals that will keep mosquitoes away.

If the mosquitoes get near the area where the repellent device is plugged in, then they will be killed by the chemicals. These devices generally work pretty well, and it’s an effective way to keep mosquitoes off of your patio or porch, assuming that you have access to an electrical outlet in those spots.

There are also repellent devices on the market that use ultrasonic sounds to keep pests at bay. Many products such as this say that they’re able to repel mosquitoes, but people say that they don’t work all that well.

For example, there are products on the market that emit dragonfly sounds to try to scare mosquitoes away. Some have used products such as this and said that they haven’t made a difference at all.

Chemical repellent devices appear to be much more effective than ultrasonic devices, but it’s harder to find chemical devices in many parts of the world now due to potential health concerns. Whether it’s worth trying the ultrasonic plug-in repellents that are readily available will be up to you to decide, but you can look at customer reviews to hear first-hand accounts of how those products work.

The ultrasonic repellent devices appear to be more effective at keeping rodents and small animals away from certain areas. It’s possible that these plug-in devices could be improved in the future with further developments, though.

Chemical Repellents Are Mostly Safe to Use

Chemical mosquito repellant plug ins can be a safe alternative

The chemical plug-in repellent devices are mostly safe to use according to studies that have been done. The manufacturers of these plug-in mosquito repellent devices have studied the impact of the chemicals being released into the air on humans, and they’ve found that it’s safe enough that you don’t need to worry about it.

Apparently, these products are even safe to use around children, pregnant women, and pets. Despite this, many companies have stopped selling the chemical repellent devices, and they can be quite hard to find now.

However, it should be noted that some companies are saying that the chemicals being released into the air can be potentially harmful to pregnant women or people who are allergic to certain things. It could cause some type of minor reaction or it could lead to something being transferred to an unborn fetus.

There has been some talk of these chemical plug-in repellent devices being responsible for a condition known as hypospadias, which affects a newborn male baby’s penis or foreskin. They also might cause babies to develop breathing conditions such as asthma.

So you can see that the “mostly safe to use” claim is very subjective. If you don’t want to take any risks, then it’s a lot better to use other ways to get rid of mosquitoes.

Even if you want to use these products, you aren’t as likely to find plug-in chemical mosquito repellents as you are ultrasonic ones now. They might be more prevalent in certain parts of the world, but they can’t be found in many parts of America.

The fact that they’ve disappeared in many places leads many to believe that manufacturers know that they’re not safe. The jury is still out on just how safe or unsafe these products are, but it might be better to take no chances and avoid them.

Ultrasonic Repellents Are Safe

You can use an ultrasonic repellant to get rid of mosquitos

Ultrasonic repellent devices are completely safe to use as far as humans go. They won’t harm you, your children, or your pets in any way.

This means that you’re welcome to use these devices as you see fit. The problem is that many people have seen that these devices don’t work particularly well to get rid of mosquitoes.

Some statistics state that these devices are only around 57% effective against mosquitoes. However, they’re much more effective at harming beneficial insects such as bees.

Bees are very important to the environment, and keeping them away or killing them would be a bad thing. Ultrasonic mosquito repellent plug-in devices might not be worth your time even though they aren’t harmful to humans in any way.

Other Ways to Get Rid of Mosquitoes

Now that you know that plug-in repellent devices might not be the best options for your home, it’s going to be time to figure out what else you can do. You still want to be able to get rid of mosquitoes or keep them away so that you can enjoy sitting on your porch or being in other areas that might have lots of mosquitoes normally.

Keep reading to get some of the best mosquito repellent ideas that won’t be harmful to you or your family. These options will be safe enough that you’ll be able to use them without any hesitation, and many of them have been tried and true methods that have worked for years.

Use Essential Oils as a Mosquito Repellent

Lavendar essential oil can be used as a mosquito repellant alternative

Essential oils are used in many homes just to make things smell nice and to provide people with a feeling of refreshment. You can easily use essential oils as a type of mosquito repellent on your deck or your porch as well.

Mosquitoes and many other types of insects loathe the smell of essential oils. They’ll stay away if you place an oil diffuser in a good spot on your deck or porch.

If you don’t have an essential oil diffuser that you can use, then you can even just soak a cloth in essential oils. Once the cloth is soaked, you’ll be able to place that on your deck or porch to keep them away.

Some people even wear clothing items that have been soaked in essential oils when they’re doing yard work. You could dip a bandana in essential oils and then wear it while you’re trimming your bushes.

Many different essential oil scents will work nicely for this endeavor. You could try lavender or lemon essential oil if you want something that smells nice to you.

Put Baby Oil on Your Body

You can use baby oil as a mosquito repellant alternative

Putting baby oil on your body is something that can keep mosquitoes off of you too. Many people will go ahead and oil themselves up when they’re going to be sitting outdoors during the evening.

Mosquitoes seem to really dislike the smell of baby oil. This makes it so that they won’t want to go near anyone who has a lot of baby oil on them.

You can just apply the baby oil as if it were lotion on your arms, legs, and neck. It should work well enough that you’ll have a pleasant experience outside.

Burning Rosemary

Burning rosemary is another natural way to keep mosquitoes away from the area. You can keep mosquitoes away when you’re having a bonfire quite easily with this method.

Throw a bit of rosemary into the fire and you shouldn’t have to deal with mosquitoes getting close the entire night. Some people just burn a little bit of rosemary on their decks or porches as a way to repel mosquitoes.

Depending on what you’re planning on doing, it might be nice to burn some rosemary. If you don’t have rosemary that you can utilize, then there are still other methods that you can look into to enjoy similar results.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Many people aren’t aware that mosquitoes hate the smell of vinegar. Vinegar does indeed have a powerful scent, and you can use that to your advantage.

Mix up some apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle so that you can use it as an effective mosquito deterrent. Fill half of your spray bottle up with water and then fill the rest of it up with apple cider vinegar.

You’re supposed to spray the apple cider vinegar on things that are near the area where you’ll be sitting. For example, you can spray the table that you’ll be sitting at or the legs of the chairs that you’ll be sitting on.

If you do this right, then it should keep the mosquitoes from getting close to you. The mosquitoes won’t want to get near you at all, and you’ll be able to have a more enjoyable evening.

Note that you’re not supposed to spray apple cider vinegar directly on your skin. Stick to spraying it on items near where you’re going to be congregating.

Citronella Candles

You can use citronella candles for a mosquito repellant

Citronella candles are the classic tried-and-true method of keeping mosquitoes away outside. You can easily buy citronella candles at department stores, but you can purchase them online as well.

Light a citronella candle when you’re going to be spending time on your porch or your deck. The scent coming off of this candle should keep mosquitoes away from the area pretty well.

It’ll do a good job of repelling mosquitoes within a certain radius of wherever you place the candle. Just try to position the candles in good spots and you should have a positive experience.

People with large decks will sometimes buy multiple citronella candles that can be positioned in different spots. The good thing about using these is that they’re quite cost-effective, and you’re not going to regret buying them.

Dryer Sheets

You almost surely have some dryer sheets somewhere in your house. If you have a washing machine and a dryer at home, then you likely keep dryer sheets around so that your clothes will smell nice and fresh when coming out of the dryer.

These scented dryer sheets can actually come in handy when you need to keep mosquitoes away. You could try placing some dryer sheets in your back pocket when you’re going to be hanging out in your yard.

These dryer sheets actually contain some of the same ingredients that are in citronella candles. They do an excellent job of making mosquitoes want to stay away from you.

Plus, it’s really easy to put a dryer sheet in your pocket and not have it bother you. Many recommend having a dryer sheet hanging out of your pocket slightly as if it were a handkerchief.

Final Thoughts

Getting rid of mosquitoes is important when you’re going to be spending time outdoors. Some areas have a lot of mosquitoes, and this can make it tough to be out on your porch or deck during the summer months.

Using plug-in mosquito repellent devices might sound like the best solution at first, but it isn’t ideal for many people. Although some say that chemical plug-in devices are safe enough to use, many areas have stopped carrying these products.

Ultrasonic plug-in devices are readily available, but their effectiveness might leave something to be desired. To add to this, the ultrasonic devices cause problems for beneficial insects such as bees.

You might want to use some of the great mosquito repellent ideas listed above to make your life easier. If you go this route, then it should be simple to have a good time outside without being bothered by mosquitoes constantly.

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