The Secret Ingredient People Use To Keep Their Campsite Bug-Free (& Does It Actually Work?)

Whether you go on a hike or attempt to enjoy dinner on your back porch, mosquitoes can transform a beautiful summer evening into an itchy nightmare. According to some, garlic is the secret ingredient that will prevent you from scratching all summer. But does it actually keep bugs away? The answer is more complicated than you might expect. While not as effective as traditional DEET sprays, it's not a complete myth that you can use garlic against mosquitoes.

Given the frustration that accompanies a mosquito bite, it makes sense that people continue to hunt for the best solution, trying approaches ranging from burning coffee grounds while camping to using vodka to banish bugs from their campsite. Garlic shows some of the greatest promise as an alternative mosquito repellent, with some studies backing up its use against these insects, at least in certain situations. However, remember that the CDC considers mosquitoes the world's deadliest animal because of the diseases they spread. As a result, if you find yourself in a region with serious mosquito-borne illnesses, you should opt for repellents with active ingredients confirmed to work, like picaridin, IR3535, and DEET.

Some people believe that eating a lot of garlic makes you unappealing to mosquitoes. Some even go so far as to pack garlic powder supplements for venturing out in mosquito season. If you and your camping buddies want to pick up a few orders of garlic knots and test this theory for yourself, you'll probably have a great night and a delicious meal — but you will likely get the same amount of bug bites as if you had any other dish for dinner.

One 2005 clinical trial published in Medical and Veterinary Entomology that investigated the possibility that eating garlic would repel mosquitoes found no difference in the amount of bites people received when they ate garlic or avoided it. However, the study noted that consuming garlic over a more extended period could yield different results, potentially meriting further tests. Sadly, even if the smell of garlic off puts mosquitoes, researchers have not found any evidence that eating a specific food will keep mosquitoes from biting you. Such a discovery could save a lot of lives, but so far, we haven't uncovered a pill to take or a snack to eat that will keep humans safe from bug bites.

Some pantry staples, like vanilla, can help you repel bugs if utilized correctly, and studies show that garlic may also be a useful tool. Sadly, eating a whole loaf of garlic bread won't stop you from getting awful itchy welts on your arms and legs while hiking through the Florida Everglades or enjoying a backyard barbecue, but what about using pure garlic oil? A 2022 study from Industrial Crops and Products suggests that garlic may help in the fight against mosquitoes. In concentrated doses, garlic oil can kill mosquito larvae and pupae. At 100 ppm, garlic oil even prevented some mosquito eggs from hatching.

In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Applied Entomology, a combination of diallyl trisulphide and diallyl tetrasulphide, both found in garlic oil, provided some protection. However, as reported in New York State's Integrated Pest Management Program and the Cornell Cooperative Extension's overview of garlic and garlic oil as a pesticide, garlic oil has only produced a 10% mortality rate for adult mosquitoes. In other words, it might stop some bugs from biting you, but it probably won't kill them.