No-see ums are among those insects that can easily ruin a quiet and peaceful evening of barbecue and outdoor fun. But, how do you deal with them?
Many bug sprays in the market have been specifically formulated to kill mosquitoes so these might not be that effective against those tiny invisible sets of teeth. While you can always retreat indoors, that would just take out all the fun that you planned for the night.
Good thing that you can now make your very own insect repellent that will work effectively against no see ums and doesn’t contain nasty chemicals at the same time.
Common in the beach or mountain areas, no see ums or those small biting flies that are not a big fan of lemongrass. With a close relation to citronella, you can also use lemongrass to make sure that these bugs are kept away from your yard as well. Lemongrass oil can be burned in oil lamps to repel Ceratopogonidae and keep your outdoor areas free from these pesky bugs.
You can also mix 20 to 25 drops of lemongrass essential oil, ¼ cup distilled water, and ¼ cup witch hazel in a spray bottle. You can spritz this mixture on your exposed skin to keep the no see ums at bay.
How to Use Oils to Repel No-See Ums?
The mixture that you will use must be 5% to 10% of the essential oil and the remaining must be alcohol or carrier oil. You might want to use the smallest amount of alcohol or carrier oil since no see ums are notoriously challenging to discourage.
Citronella and lemongrass oils are the two essential oils that you can use to repel no see ums. Just make sure that you use a highly concentrated essential oil and not one that has already been diluted and might contain other things that you wouldn’t to be rubbing on your skin.
For alcohol or carrier oil, you can choose one or even a combination of vodka, witch hazel, sunflower oil, olive oil, or other cooking oil.
You just need to pour the carrier and the essential oil into a dark bottle where you will store the mixture. Cap the bottle then shake well to mix. In case you want something that has a gel-like consistency, you could mix in a small quantity of aloe vera gel. Just take note that doing so means that you will cut the concentration of the essential oil.
You can then spray or rub this mixture. Apply this about once an hour or as often as needed if you are sweating a lot or you are swimming.
The mixture should be stored in a dark plastic bottle to ensure that it will not degrade. If there is no dark bottle available, you can use duct tape to cover a clear bottle.
What are No See Ums?
No see ums technically called ceratopogonidae are a type of tiny flies that share many things in common with mosquitoes. Males of these two insects feed on nectar as the females look for blood meal that will help them produce eggs for reproduction.
Once the right time comes, the female no see ums and looks for moist nesting grounds where their eggs can mature. In just one month or less, a new generation of adults of these biting insects emerges.
These small but quite terrible flies measuring 1 to 3mm are also known by other names, such as sand gnat, punkies, and sandflies, just to mention a few.
These are blood-sucking insects that love to feast on their blood meals from animal and human hosts alike. They have quite painful bites that can leave itchy and red welts that can soon turn to rash, particularly for people who have allergies to insect bites.
How to Eliminate Ceratopogonidae Inside the House
No see ums might be the type of insects that love the outdoors but it doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to find their way inside your home.
The truth is that these biting gnats are so tiny that it wouldn’t take much effort for them to penetrate your home. Thus, you can almost be sure that no see ums will find themselves inside your house just to get a bite.
To ensure that your home will be free of these punkies, there are several precautionary measures you might want to consider:
- Sandflies tend to thrive during hot months of summer so it would be best that you keep all your doors and windows closed once this time of the year comes.
- You can also install window screens with small mesh that can help prevent these insects from conquering your house.
- Turn on your air conditioner unit and take advantage of it. No see ums never like colder temperatures so it might be able to help if you crank up your AC to have a bite-free and relaxing time inside the house.
- Use a dehumidifier to support your air conditioning unit or you can use the two alternately. No see ums are not big fans of humid areas.
How to Eliminate No See Ums in the Yard
It doesn’t matter if you love basking in the comforts of your backyard or you love to tend to your garden because you will be able to enjoy your outdoor areas more if you know how you can repel no see ums and stay away from those itchy and painful bites.
The following are some tested and proven tips to help you transform your backyard into your haven free from no see ums:
- Remove any standing water in the garden.
- Use a quality insecticide spray if there is a large number of adult no see ums in your backyard.
- Keep your bird bath clean by removing dirty and old water and replenishing it with fresh and clean water every day.
- Use conceal handles if the weather allows you to keep you and your family away from the radar of these insects.
