Make Your Own Natural Insect Repellent
Posted on June 23, 2010 by
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gyuvallos/71410563/
Summer makes me happy. I love going swimming, watching baseball, and not wearing socks for four months. But if there’s one thing about summer that bugs me, it’s … well, bugs. Not only are mosquito bites itchy and painful, they’re also dangerous. Going outside, especially into a wooded area, with no insect repellent is not an option.
But insect repellents, as you can imagine, are neither eco-friendly nor particularly good for you. Many are made with DEET, which is highly effective in warding off pests but not something you want swimming around in your bloodstream, which is exactly where it ends up after you spray it on your skin. Fortunately, for those who want to protect their health by avoiding both bug bites and chemical-based insect repellents, there are all kinds of do-it-yourself recipes for natural bug sprays.
Google “make your own insect repellent” and you’ll get more recipes than you can shake a stick at. (I’ve never understood that phrase, but clearly that doesn’t prevent me from using it.) In many recipes, the key ingredients are alcohol (either rubbing or the kind you can drink) and essential oils. Here’s one from Design*Sponge:
Ingredients:
1 cup of grain alcohol (organic if available), vodka, or witch hazel
30 drops essential oils (lavender, citronella, rosemary, rose geranium, lemon, or tea tree oil (pick one or a combination of only two)
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a spray bottle. Shake well. Spray liberally all over your skin just before going outside. Reapply as necessary.
This recipe should also ward off ticks, fleas, wasps, and other unwanted pests. Store your homemade repellent in a dark bottle away from heat and sunlight.
You can also dab essential oils directly on your skin — usually in your elbows, behind the knees, and behind your ears will do. However, give this a test run before going outside to make sure your skin doesn’t react badly to the oils. Different kinds of essential oils react differently with individual body chemistry, so you may have to experiment a bit before finding the one that’s right for you.
If you don’t want to make your own, there are all kinds of natural insect repellents on the market. Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, and All Terrain all make herbal bug sprays that are DEET-free and safe for kids.
How do you keep the bugs away?
I use ecosmart insect repellent. I also have a handmade one that has citronella in it and works great. But after using it on a vacation I realized I don’t like the smell of citronella either!
I went backpacking this week and the bugs were really not a big deal. I had some Deep Woods Off with me but never used it.
Last summer in Wyoming would have been a perfect time to test some recipes out. I must have soaked up a gallon or two of DEET.
Another great alternative to DEET is Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE) It’s a plant based product that is recommended by the EPA and CDC for use as a repellent. Repel and Cutter both make a Lemon Eucalyptus product and they work great! In fact, studies have proven that OLE is as effective as DEET in repelling ticks and mosquitoes.
I use catnip hydrosol as a base with a blend of essential oils, such as lemongrass, rose geranium and cedarwood. It works wonderful and use it on my 1 1/2 year old too.