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‘Tis the season for outdoor activities….and their inevitable accompanying health concerns. Mosquitoes come with many, from the plain old itch factor to West Nile Virus and EEE. How can you protect yourself without bathing in DEET or other crazy chemicals?
There are many natural repellents on the market, but you can make your own and probably pay less in the long run. Below are the ingredients and instructions for making your own natural mosquito repellent, courtesy of chemistry.about.com. I can’t wait to try it!
Natural Mosquito Repellent Ingredients
If you are making large
amounts of mosquito repellent, a good rule of thumb is to mix the
repellent so it’s 5-10% essential oil, so mix 1 part essential oil with
10-20 parts carrier oil or alcohol.
For a smaller batch use:
- 10-25 drops (total) of essential oils
- 2 tablespoons of a carrier oil or alcohol
The essential oils that work well against mosquitoes are:
- cinnamon oil
- lemon eucalyptus oil
- citronella oil
- castor oil
Safe carrier oils and alcohols include:
- olive oil
- sunflower oil
- any other cooking oil
- witch hazel
- vodka
Natural Mosquito Repellent Recipe
Mix the essential oil with
the carrier oil or alcohol. Rub or spray the natural insect repellent
onto skin or clothing, using care to avoid the sensitive eye area.
You’ll need to re-apply the natural product after about an hour or
after swimming or exercise. Unused natural insect repellent may be
stored in a dark bottle, away from heat or sunlight.
Have you ever made your own natural mosquito repellent?
posted May 25, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Please research each essential oil to make sure it is safe for YOUR body. Cinnamon is great, but perhaps not for everyone. Did you know, cinnamon has a blood thinning compound in it. Just one example. Herbs are powerful medicine. Rearching is a responsibility each has to undertake. Luckily, when we are using essential oils, we can find plenty of benfits/risks about them. A product that we buy won’t have, 99 out of a 100 times, all the ingredients. Even if it did, some of the synthetic ingredients have names that only a chemist could understand. Herbs are a gift from the plant kingdom. So research, and also I like to say thank you so much to the plants I am using!