For children and adults alike, summer is usually an explosion of freedom, fun and fair food. But with each of our outdoor activities come dreaded (and uninvited) guests – an army of mosquitos, ants and other pesky bugs.
So how can you avoid them? Since we don’t want you slathering yourself with unwanted chemicals and sprays, we’ve come up with a top 8 list of our favorite natural repellents to keep the bugs at bay.

1. Add new foods to your diet. If you know you’ll be spending some time in a bug-infested area, think about munching on a clove of garlic before you head out. You can also do extra prep by mixing a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into a glass of water 3x a day.

2. Use the scents of certain foods by rubbing them on your skin. If you don’t feel like gulping apple cider vinegar and chewing on garlic all day, you can always take another route – rub food all over the outside of your body. Try food items like onions, fresh lemon or orange peels, or vinegar (you can also always try rubbing vinegar on your table to keep away curious bugs).

3. Avoid heavy perfumes or scents. If you forgot to grab a clove of garlic, then just try avoiding adding extra scents to your body. These can include anything scented, like lotions, body washes, shampoos, soaps and perfumes.

4. Plant some herbs in your yard. Thinking about starting a backyard garden? Now might be the perfect time. Driving away bugs could be as easy as surrounding your porch with patches of herbs. Some of the most popular herbs to keep the bugs at bay include lavender, feverfew, rosemary, marigolds, lemongrass and mint.

5. Add herbs to your barbecue. Whether you invested  in an herb garden or not, you can still use fresh herbs to keep the bugs away. Buy (or pick) a few sprigs of rosemary or sage and throw them on your barbeque coals. The scent of these herbs is undesirable inquisitive birds and bugs (and it adds some extra flavor to your food).

6. Cover your drinks. Here’s a life hack for you. Nab some cupcake liners, poke a hole for straws, and voila – you have custom covers for your drinks. Doesn’t keep them from trying, but hey – better than a floating mosquito in your drink, right?

7. Plant a few fans around your porch. If you’re too lazy for an herb garden and you don’t have the right foods lying around, keep in mind that as pesky as mosquitos can be, they aren’t actually very good at flying. If you find them munching on you, place yourself near an oscillating fan and you’ll keep the area around you bug-free (and it’s not a bad way to stay cool either).

8. Stick your table legs in buckets of water. Thwart inquisitive ants from climbing up the legs of your table by sinking each leg into a bucket of water. The bugs wont be able to cross the water to your table leg, which means you’ll be free to safely eat your food.

Any combination of the tips above will definitely provide you with natural bug repellents that will help you keep the bugs at bay. And if you love this list but you're too lazy to act on it, then consider Real Purity's Herbal Insect Repellent, natural repellent that uses essential oils to keep the bugs away from your entire family.