We love spending every last hazy, lazy moment of summer in the great outdoors... until a swarm of mosquitos sends us swatting and scrambling inside!
When we need to send those pesky bugs a clear message they’re not invited to our party, we like to use essential oils to make natural bug repellent.
This post will tell you why we like natural bug sprays, which essential oils to use, safety considerations to be aware of, and (of course!) some great recipes to make DIY natural bug repellent that smells amazing!
When we need to protect ourselves from itchy bites, stings, and insect-borne illnesses, natural bug repellent offers a safer alternative to the chemical-laden bug repellents on the market.
Here’s what we like about using natural bug repellents:
Plants have natural defenses to protect themselves from harmful invaders like fungus, bacteria, and insects.
The naturally occurring oils contained in the leaves, stems, bark, wood, and flowers of some plants help to keep the plants healthy. These are the essential oils!
These oils also have potent properties that we can use to our advantage.
When used safely and applied properly, essential oils can repel insects just as effectively as any commercial insect repellent.
Here’s how we can use them:
You can get creative with your own ways to defend your summer fun from insects. We’ve included a few recipes at the end to help get you started!
If you want to use natural bug repellent with essential oils, you need to know which oils are the most helpful.
Here are some of our favorite oils for discouraging insects!
Sometimes, you might not want to use essential oils in your natural bug spray.
Maybe the essential oils are too strong for your nose, or you’re going to blend for children or pets and don’t want something so highly concentrated. (We’ll talk more about that below, in the Essential Oil Safety section.)
For now, allow us to introduce you to hydrosols!
When an aromatic plant is steam distilled, it’s placed in a still with water. Then the still is heated. The heat releases the plant’s essential oil . . . and the water itself becomes infused with therapeutic, aromatic properties. The steam becomes the hydrosol!
Hydrosols are very gentle, and yet rich with therapeutic properties. They are just right when we don’t want to use essential oils!
Here are a few hydrosols we love for natural bug repellent recipes!
Here’s how to use hydrosols in your natural bug repellent:
This part is important!
Let’s go over a few safety considerations for using essential oils on your skin, for children, and for pets.
Some essential oils might cause skin irritation, sensitization, or phototoxic reactions. Look for dilution recommendations, potential phototoxicity, and medication contraindications when you’re purchasing your oils.
You can find safe dilution ratios in the “Safety & Shelf Life” sections of the product pages. For easy reference, here are some safe drop counts for the following phototoxic oils:
(Please note that only cold-pressed lime is phototoxic. Our lime essential oil is steam distilled, which removes the phototoxic components. But be sure to check the production method of your lime oil, and be careful with any lime essential oil that has been cold pressed!)
Little kids are . . . well . . . little!
Their systems are smaller and more responsive than grown-ups’.
When we’re using essential oils for children, we like to be very selective about using gentle essential oils. We also reduce the dilution ratios, so kids don’t get overwhelmed with too much essential oil.
We suggest using essential oils for children who are at least five years old. For younger kids and babies, we like to stick with hydrosols.
A few of our favorite essential oils to reduce bug bites for children are:
Start with a 1% dilution, which is 6 drops of essential oil in 1 oz. of carrier.
We all want to protect our furry friends from pests!
However, we can’t recommend using essential oils for animals. Research is still ongoing in that area.
But there’s good news! You can use hydrosols for dogs and cats!
When using hydrosols for your beloved pets, less is more. Use them in low dilutions, as animals are far more sensitive to their effects than humans.
Here are a few tips!
Tips for using hydrosols for pets
We like these hydrosols to help repel mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks for our dogs and cats:
NOTE: Do not use hydrosols on dogs or cats younger than 10 weeks old.
In spite of our best efforts, sometimes bug bites happen.
Thankfully, many essential oils and hydrosols can calm itchiness, and restore a feeling of cool comfort around painful bites and stings!
These are our favorites:
Add any of these oils (or several, to enhance the effect) to a carrier oil of your choice such as aloe vera gel, coconut oil, jojoba oil, marula oil, or unscented lotion.
Try adding 6 drops of some of these oils to 10 ml of jojoba in a roller bottle. Now you have a portable applicator that can go anywhere with you to ease the itch!
Save your summer activities from aggravating insects with your own DIY natural bug repellent with essential oils!
Below are some recipes to help you get started, but don’t hesitate to try your own blends. (If you do, let us know what they are!)
And remember, some essential oils can leave oily spots or stains on clothing, so use your best judgment when spraying them on your clothes. We suggest trying them on dark-colored clothing first.
1. Eucalyptus Bug SprayYou may have to apply natural bug repellents more often than chemical versions.
It’s worth it!
Bugs will think you smell terrible . . . but people will think you smell great!
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Our products are 100% pure and completely natural. They are organically grown and free from additives of any kind. We take the extra step of testing each batch to guarantee its purity and share the test results on our website so you can see all of the details.
To support your health and wellness, we only select products that have the ideal chemistry for maximum therapeutic benefit. Our recommendations are guided by expert aromatherapists based on the latest research and science.
We keep the earth in mind during each step of our process, making sustainable choices from plant to package. Our small scale producers follow organic practices and all of our materials are selected for sustainability, including plant-based inks and biodegradable shipping materials.