How to banish wasps and mosquitoes

Household remedies for banishing wasps

Wasps are omnivores: they feed on both fresh fruit and meat to produce protein for their larvae. So a lavish barbecue is also an opulent feast for wasps.

But as they are probably not on the guest list for your barbecue, you can use a few simple home remedies to keep them away:

Peppermint and lavender

Peppermint and lavender emit a scent that wasps don’t like at all. It is best to get a few small pots of peppermint and lavender and spread them around your garden table – this keeps wasps away and also looks great as a decoration. Corresponding fragrance lamps also serve this purpose.

Cover food and drinks

As wasps follow their sense of smell, you should cover all food wherever possible: pasta salad can be placed on the table in a large Tupperware bowl with a lid, while steaks, grilled cheese etc. can be served on a platter with a glass cover, for example.

Drinks are also important. There is a risk that a wasp will fall into an open bottle or can. If you don’t see it and take a sip, it will get into your mouth and could sting you – which would not only be extremely unpleasant, but also dangerous: you may experience a sudden shortness of breath, especially if your throat swells. To prevent this, simply place a beer mat on top of your drink.

Provide alternative food sources

If there is enough space, you can attempt to lure wasps away from you. Take some old fruit with an intense aroma and place it ten metres away from your table. With a bit of luck, this will be more tempting than your food, so the wasps will prefer it and leave you alone.

The disadvantage of this method is that you may also attract wasps that would otherwise have looked elsewhere.

First aid for wasp stings

If despite all your precautions you are stung by a wasp, the following measures will help:

Apply heat to neutralise the poison

Many animal toxins are not particularly heat-resistant: heat destroys the protein in the poison. If you have been stung, you should apply as much heat to the affected area as you can tolerate (without burning yourself, of course). For example, you can simply hold your hand under the hot tap – for more inaccessible areas, take a flannel, soak it in hot water and place it on the site of the sting. Special heat pens that can help in such cases are also available from pharmacies.

Cool the sting site

After applying heat, cool the site: a cold compress, ice cubes inside a towel or special gels can help relieve pain and itching. A sliced onion also has a cooling, anti-inflammatory effect.

Monitor reactions

Wasp stings are generally not dangerous – unless you are allergic to the poison. It is therefore important to watch out for symptoms such as dizziness, vomiting, fainting or even shortness of breath: an allergy can be life-threatening and you must call for an ambulance immediately by dialling 144.

Repelling mosquitoes

Unlike wasps, mosquitoes do not sting or poison us. They are after our blood, which they suck up using a proboscis (only females do this, as they need the nutrients contained in our blood to produce their eggs).

As they do so, they inject proteins along with their saliva to prevent blood clotting – and these proteins cause our bodies to produce histamine, which results in the typical itching. Understandably, we would rather avoid this and prefer to keep mosquitoes at arm’s length.

Household remedies for mosquitoes

Mosquitoes (like wasps) are insects with a keen sense of smell. They are attracted by human odour and the carbon dioxide in our breath; light plays virtually no role by the way, nor does the supposed sweetness of our blood. So the following measures help:

Certain plants

What works for wasps also works for mosquitoes: the scent of peppermint and lavender repels them, making them look elsewhere for a victim. One more reason to use these plants. Tomatoes, rosemary and lemon balm are also effective.

Minimise your body odour

Of course, a shower can help get rid of body odour, at least for a while. However, you should avoid using excessively perfumed shower gel and apply mosquito spray afterwards, if necessary.

Coffee and a fan

Burning coffee grounds in a fireproof dish also makes life difficult for mosquitoes, as they also stay well clear of this smell. You can also use a fan if you wish: mosquitoes are unable to handle the air flows it produces and are simply blown away. However, whether it is wise to sit in the draught from a fan for hours is another question altogether.

First aid for mosquito bites

Mosquito bites should generally be treated in the same way as wasp stings: first by applying heat and then by cooling the site of the bite.

Apply heat to destroy the proteins

Briefly applying heat to the site of the bite destroys the injected proteins and reduces itching. If you don’t have a heat pen from a pharmacy, you can also use hot water or a hot spoon (as long as you don’t burn yourself).

Cool the site of the bite

In addition to cold water or cooling ointments, a sliced onion, apple cider vinegar or cottage cheese can also help relieve the itching.

Don’t scratch

Self-control is now required: you should never scratch a mosquito bite, otherwise bacteria may penetrate your skin, causing an infection. In case of severe itching, additional antihistamines from the pharmacy can help.