I’m a gardening expert – you can make a budget mosquito repellant with a yummy-smelling herb

The Happy Sprout experts recommend putting six ounces of fresh basil leaves from the grocery store or garden in a jar and covering them with four ounces of boiling water.

Let the leaves and water sit for four hours, then strain the liquid into a spray bottle, making sure to squeeze all the extra liquid from the leaves.

Finally, add add half a cup of vodka or witch hazel to the bottle.

If you want to up the potency, you can also add some drops of basil essential oil.

The mixture can be sprayed directly onto skin.

The tip has science to back it up: In a 2011 , hairy basil (mixed with vanillin) repelled three species of mosquitoes for six to eight hours.

Another on the effectiveness of basil as a mosquito repellant from 2006 has similarly promising results.

Earlier this month, Instagram user Brunch With Babs shared her easy 

In her video, Babs is shown using a cheese grater in her garden, grating a bar of soap.

"We're having dinner around the firepit later tonight and this is something I've been doing for years," she said.

"Take a little soap, I like Irish Spring, and I'm going to just grate it a little barrier around our dinner area to keep the mosquitos at bay," she recommended.

TikTok user Ali Koca also claimed that rubbing a  over your body will keep mosquitos away, too.