How To Burn Rosemary for Mosquitoes (Explained)

Rosemary is a mosquito-repellent herb that grows naturally.   You can keep mosquitoes away by burning dry Rosemary in a backyard fire or a campfire. You can also make your mosquito repellent spray to apply to your skin.

Rosemary is an aromatic plant that grows in the Mediterranean area. It has a mild, bitter taste and gives a pleasant flavor and scent to various dishes. Furthermore, Rosemary can be consumed as a tea, essential oil, or liquid extract. Rosemary is well-known for its flavor and fragrance and the numerous health advantages it provides. Rosemary has been used for millennia for medical purposes since it is high in iron, calcium, and vitamins A, C, and B-6.

How to dry Rosemary for burning?

It can be hung

Using paper towels, carefully wipe dry your rosemary sprigs. Tie the sprigs together at the base using household thread or a piece of string. Hang them to dry in a well-ventilated location, enclosing the bundle with a vented paper bag to keep dust and vermin at bay. You may either dry your bundle indoors or outside on the porch. For example, allow them to dry for approximately two weeks, frequently inspecting to ensure they aren’t moldy or sun-damaged until the needles turn brittle and fall off. Remove the dried sprigs from the stiff stems and store the leaves in a tight container.

It can be dehydrated.

Rosemary can be quickly dehydrated if you have a dehydrator. After washing and drying the sprigs, trim them to suit the dehydrator pans and equally distribute them. Place them in the oven at 95°F to 115°F (or, if you live in a particularly humid location, up to 125°F) for 1-4 hours, occasionally monitoring until the brittle needles come off easily. Once dried, Remove the dried sprigs from the stiff stems and store the leaves in a tight container.

It can be cooked.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you may dry the cleaned and dried rosemary sprigs by baking them at a low temperature. Trim the branches into 2-inch sprigs, removing any extra-thick, woody stems. Lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 2-4 hours at the lowest temperature possible until the needles easily come off the sprigs. Once dried, Remove the dried sprigs from the stiff stems and store the leaves in a tight container.

Rosemary Repellents in Various Forms

As a mosquito repellent, the rosemary herb may be used in a variety of ways. It’s well-known for its flavor, but it’s also utilized for a variety of culinary applications. What’s not to like about something that blooms, tastes good, and repels mosquitoes?

It thrives in whole light if brought indoors and grown on a garden bed or in a container. Mosquitoes are deterred by the live plant, plant cuttings, and rosemary essential oil.

Rosemary Repellent Spray

Boil 1 cup dried Rosemary in a quart of water for 20mins to 30mins to make an essential repellent spray. Pour a quart of cold water into another container (at least half a gallon capacity), then filter in the rosemary water. Pour a little volume of the mixture into spray bottles to treat directly to the skin and your pets. Refrigerate any unused pieces; dispose of when they no longer smell intensely of Rosemary.

Blend of Fresh Herb Repellent Oils

Catnip may also be used to repel mosquitoes. Combine your oil with a skin-friendly natural carrier oil for a rub-on repellent, such as grapeseed oil. Combine two parts catnip cut from the stem, one part Rosemary, and two segments of grapeseed or other healthcare oil in a container. After that, gently rub the herbs between your palms to assist them in releasing their oils.

Place the jar cover on top of the mixture and store it in a cool place for two weeks. Shake the container once or twice a day to help the ingredients mix. If desired, filter the solution and place it in the refrigerator. Apply the oil on your skin as desired.

Repellent Essential Oils

Some essential oils, such as citronella and therapeutic-grade Rosemary, help repel mosquitoes. To evaluate sensitivity, dab a dab of oil on your skin at full intensity, or mix a diluted oil combination. To prepare your repellent mixture, combine 10 to 20 drops of oil per ounce or two of essential oils or liquid in a spray container. Witch hazel works best as a liquid, but you may also use olive oil, coconut oil, or purified water. 

Other mosquito-repelling oils, such as citronella or lemongrass, can be used to keep the pests away. Lemongrass oil and rosemary oil are both natural and herbal insect repellents that many people utilize. Lemongrass oil contains limonene and citronella, both of which repel mosquitos. On the other hand, Rosemary oil contains natural insect repellents such as eucalyptol, camphor, and limonene. To produce a fantastic homemade mosquito repellent spray that works best, combine ten drops of lemongrass oil and ten drops of rosemary oil in 60 ml of carrier oil (olive oil or coconut oil) with boiling water and vodka in a spray container.

Alternatives to Rosemary

Several types of woods and plants, when burnt, are highly efficient in naturally getting rid of mosquitoes in your environment.

Repelling Mosquitoes by Using Pinyon as Firewood

Pinyon, or Pion as it’s often called, is a common firewood alternative widely accessible in the Southwest of the United States. Mosquitoes dislike Pinyon for unknown reasons. Pinyon, when burned in a fire pit, is highly efficient in keeping mosquitoes at bay. Even though mosquitoes despise it, Pinyon has a pleasant odor, and most people agree. 

Like other pines and junipers, Pinyon is a softwood, generally inferior to hardwoods as the primary fire pit fuel source.

Repelling Mosquitoes by Using Eucalyptus as Firewood

While used in your fire pit, eucalyptus can provide you with an advantage over other types of firewood when fighting mosquitoes in your garden. The potent natural component eucalyptol found in eucalyptus tree bark is frequently utilized as an insect repellant.

Eucalyptus (also known as gum trees in certain areas) is not native to the United States. Still, it has been farmed throughout the country since the late 1800s after being brought in from Australia. Despite being less localized than Pinyon, it is generally cultivated in warmer parts of the nation.

Repelling Mosquitoes by Burning Sage

Burning sage produces a pleasant fragrance that enhances an evening spent outside. Another advantage is that a similar odor repels mosquitos and other flying insects. If you like socializing around the fire pit in your yard, plant some sage around the fire pit. If you throw some of the plants into the fire, the earthy fragrance will keep pests away. You may also dry sage and use it to make your insect spray.

Burning Citronella candles

Citronella is a well-known and widely used component in mosquito-repelling candles. Its powerful odor effectively masks the characteristics that attract mosquitoes to humans. Fortunately, citronella is a simple plant to grow. This minimal plant grows well in large pots due to its inability to withstand cold. However, it may be seeded simply in the ground in hot climates.

Basil

Plant some basil in your garden. You’ll have a wonderful fresh herb on hand to add to all of your favorite dishes, as well as a quick and easy mosquito repellant.

There are many different varieties of basil, so experiment with them all to find the kinds you prefer. To keep insects at bay, many professional gardeners prefer lemon basil or cinnamon basil. Basil is also one of the easiest herbs to maintain – even the most inexperienced gardener can do it.

Does Smoke Kill Mosquitoes?

Smoke has long been used as a natural insect repellent. It is the greatest technique to purge your yard or patio of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes do not like to play in an atmosphere with small particles of smoke and specific compounds found in wood smoke.

However, particular wood species and plants have additional characteristics that make them very good for repelling mosquitoes. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies, test burns resulted in considerable decreases in mosquito bites.

Smoke was more effective than other approaches, such as applying repellents to the skin. However, smoke may not completely remove the danger of mosquito bites. It is highly successful in repelling them from an area. Some species of mosquitos are more impacted than others.

Finally

Firepit smoke, which is a mosquito repellant in and of itself, is far more efficient than other techniques in keeping mosquitoes away from your gathering.

Adding any of the two fire pit firewood alternatives I mentioned, Pinyon or eucalyptus, or the herbs sage or Rosemary, will increase the ante by bringing something more to the blend that insects hate. This will aid in the organic control of mosquitoes in your yard. For the mosquitoes that get past your defenses, I recommend experimenting with some of the more “natural” topical insect repellent solutions available to fill the gap.