How to Repel Bugs with Your Diet!
By Sara Butler
Summer is a great season, but one of the things about summer that’s no so great is bugs. Bugs aren’t merely annoying, they’re also dangerous and can spread disease. Aside from dousing yourself with chemicals, is there a way to repel bugs? It just so happens there is a completely natural way to make you unappetizing to these bothersome invaders, and it has to do with what you eat! Here are some foods that will help you keep the bugs away, and a few foods that will beckon them to you!
Natural Repellents
If you want to keep the bugs at bay this summer, try incorporating a few of these things into your diet:
- Garlic- It turns out this bulb keeps away more than vampires! The sulfur in garlic will seep out of your pores and that garlic breath will also keep those pesky mosquitoes away. The only problem is you might end up offending more than just a few bugs! Onions will have the same effect, so eating out at your favorite Italian restaurant this summer just got better!
- High sodium fares – Did you know mosquitoes can smell you from half a football field away? When you eat high potassium and high sodium foods, it makes it that much easier for them to detect you because these foods also increase the lactic acid in your body -- and that attracts pests. Don’t cut fresh vegetables and fruits from your diet, but if you’re going outside and you know it, cut down on the sodium.
- Basil – Mosquitoes and flies are not fans of this herb, so if you can find an herb rub or lotion that contains basil you might just be able to keep bugs away.
Foods that Attract
Now that you’ve heard about the best, it's time to talk about the things that will draw insects to you; you'll want to think twice before eating these this summer:
- Sugary delights – That’s right – cupcakes, jam, cookies, and candy will draw pests to you like a moth to a flame.
- Lemons – Lemons are generally good for you, but if you’re going to be outside all day you may want to reconsider. The odors lemons emit mimic a pheromone bees produce to attract other bees, so if you don’t want bees at your party then forego the lemon.
- Beer – This beverage has been found to attract mosquitoes. No one is really sure why, but it has been observed that people who drink beer get bit by mosquitoes more frequently. Consider yourself warned!