How To Make Your Own Natural Insect Repellent

Summer definitely makes me happy. I love to swim, watch baseball, and the fact that I don’t have to wear socks for the next four months. But if there’s one thing that I don’t look forward to during summers, its well, the bugs. Insect bites are painful and dangerous so going outside to explore especially in a wooded area should be taken with an extra precaution of putting on insect repellents.

However, insect repellents are neither eco friendly and are laden with so many chemicals. A lot of these are made with DEET, (I highly recommend deet free insect repellentover these) a substance which is very effective in warding off insects but not something that you want to be floating in your bloodstream, which is where it ends up after you spray it on your skin. The wonderful thing is, there are several natural insect repellents for those who want to protect themselves from bug bites and harmful chemicals.

Try to search in Google for “do it yourself insect repellent” and you’ll get more than your fair share of useful recipes. In a lot of these resources, the main ingredient is alcohol (either the sterilizing kind or the one you drink) and other essential oils.

Here’s one recipe that I can recommend:

Ingredients:

1 cup of grain alcohol (preferably organic), vodka or witch hazel;

30 drops of essential oils (lavender, citronella, rosemary, rose geranium, lemon or tea tree oil) – pick only one or a combination of two

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a spray bottle, shake well and spray generously on your skin before going outside.

This recipe is also useful in warding off ticks, fleas, wasps and other pests. Remember to place this natural insect repellent in a dark bottle away from heat and sunlight.

You may also put a small amount of essential oils directly on your skin. Try to put more in your elbows, the backs of your knees and the backs of your ears as well. But remember to test a small sample on your skin first to see if you may have some allergic reactions to it.

If you prefer to buy your natural insect repellent instead of making it, there are several varieties available in the market. You can try Wondercide’s Biter Fighter natural insect repellent that’s safe for kids, natural and DEET free.