Have You Tried This Natural Mosquito Repelling Hack Some People Swear By?

Mosquitoes in Minnesota are no joke. As Minnesotans emerge from their winter dens looking to enjoy the nice weather, the battle quickly gets underway to avoid being swarmed by the little pests.

In those efforts, it seems like people are willing to try pretty much anything to repel mosquitoes. While the most universally recognized defense is just a good bug spray, a lot of natural remedies and hacks exist, many of which people swear by.

Some people sing the praises of things like citronella candles while other people will tell you having certain types of plants around or wearing specific colors can help you ward off mosquitoes. This other natural hack, though, is one I've personally never heard of before, but I know a few people who say it works great.

Again, I've never personally tried this before, so I can't speak from personal experience on how well it works. That said, I know a few people who say it works great, and after doing some research, there are other people that agree that it has effectiveness.

READ MORE: Heads up: This common soap may be a mosquito attractant!

Natural coffee mosquito repellent hack

Apparently, coffee grounds can be used as a mosquito repellent. While those who say coffee grounds can work in repelling mosquitoes, they say one specific way of using them is most effective.

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Mosquitoes are dissuaded by smells, and even a mosquito control company says that just having the scent of coffee around can discourage mosquitoes. Enhancing the scent by burning the coffee grounds is the best way to weaponize coffee against mosquitoes, according to those who swear by the trick.

Videos on TikTok share different ways to burn the grounds, with one option being to insert a wick into grounds in a glass container.

Another TikToker just lights the grounds on fire, using a little lighter fluid to start the grounds smoldering.

I've also seen a few videos where people just held a lighter to coffee grounds without any accelerant eventually getting them to burn on their own, making it the most "natural" of the options. A landscape nursery walks people through the steps on how to do this, suggesting you allow them to dry in a cool, dark place before burning them like incense.

Do coffee grounds work for repelling mosquitoes?

While some people swear by this natural hack, others say it has limited effectiveness and some liken it to the effectiveness of citronella candles.

The idea of overwhelming a mosquito's sense of smell with another smell makes sense. It's a the heart of a lot of repelling methods. So there may be something to the hack if you want to try it for yourself.

There isn't any serious scientific research I could find into the subject, but based on the reading and videos I've seen after hearing about this hack, it seems like coffee grounds may have some effectiveness, but it isn't a "silver bullet" to ward off all of the mosquitoes in your yard.