How do you make your own bug spray?
Making your own bug spray with essential oils is pretty easy. You don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing things it takes about 5 minutes of your time. I have to avoid the chemicals in commercially made bug sprays due to a chemical sensitivity. DEET is neurotoxic and can effect us neurologically. DEET is made to confuse the insect. For instance, mosquitoes are attracted to us by scent there is a compound in the DEET that effects proteins in the DNA of insect that correlates with the way they smell. This is the way I understand it, lol. I am not a scientist but I can tell you I don’t want to use anything that alters DNA or the way an insect or something can smell. We don’t truly understand how this can alter our neurotransmitters and brain. No thank you.
So I played around with many recipes and have created my favorite I have one for the kiddos (just a lighter scent) and one for the big kiddos. 😉
What are essential oils? Learn about the quality importance etc of Essential oils Click HERE
Bug Spray (lighter scent)
3 drops of Therapeutic grade Peppermint Essential oil
3 drops of Purification Essential oil
4 drops of Thieves Essential oil
4 drops of Citronella Essential oil
3 drops of Therapeutic grade Lemon essential oil
2 oz Cobalt Blue glass spray bottle
Witch Hazel
Distilled water
All you need to do is open the spray bottle add the witch hazel to the glass spray bottle then add all of the essential oils listed above then fill the bottle the rest of the way with the distilled water and then put the spray top back on bottle and close tightly and shake. You now have bug spray. How easy was that, right?
Bug Spray (regular)
4 drops of Therapeutic grade Peppermint Essential oil
4 drops of Purification Essential oil
4 drops of Thieves Essential oil
5 drops of Citronella Essential oil
2 drops of Therapeutic grade Lemon essential oil
2 oz Cobalt Blue glass spray bottle
Witch Hazel (approximately 1/3 of bottle filled with witch hazel)
Distilled water
All you need to do is open the spray bottle add the witch hazel to the glass spray bottle then add all of the essential oils listed above then fill the bottle the rest of the way up with distilled water and then put the spray top back on bottle and close tightly and shake. You now have bug spray. How easy was that, right?
How do I apply
Where I live we need to put on as the sun goes down. I apply it to my clothes and my body to keep the bugs away. I like the smell and I receive compliments and get asked what I am wearing, lol. When I tell them bug spray they want some right away. (he,he) Essential oils need to be applied more often so every hour or so I reapply my bug spray. It truly smells so nice I don’t mind at all. Enjoy!
More info
More information: Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2011-09-deet-insects.html#jCp
Wooooww what a fantastic idea!! I absolutely hate mosquitoes during the summer when it gets all humid. And I refuse to use bug spray because I’m a bit of a health nut and I do my best to avoid toxic chemicals like the plague! This is an awesome idea, and I can’t believe I haven’t looked up how to make an all natural bug spray! I always just put up with it. Thankfully for some reason this summer hasn’t been too bad with mosquitoes. Which is strange, because it’s been unusually hot and humid this summer!
Anyway, I appreciate this awesome advice!
Chris,
Me too and my hubby works outside a lot so he needs to be certain he protects himself from these nasty buggers lol. This is a great recipe I made and it smells great.. 🙂 You are lucky on the mosquito front.
You are very welcome Chris and I can’t be around all of those horrible chemicals I am chemically sensitive so I had to figure all of this out. Lol. It has been crazy hot here, too.
Wow! I had no idea that you could make your own bug spray. I hate all the chemicals in regular bug spray so I will have to make up a bottle of this spray. Thanks for the information.
Yes, the chemicals are quite toxic to our bodies. The skin is our first line of defense to our organs. So anything we are applying to our skin is absorbed and in our bloodstream. It is so scarey. But, it is sooo cool that we can make our own.. This is my favorite I have tried many ways.. 🙂 You are very welcome.. 🙂 I have so many recipes to share I just can’t type that fast, lol.. 🙂
Awesome recipe! I am going to try this. I was using RC and lavender in a spray bottle but yours looks much better LOL.
Hillary, this recipe is Amazeballs.. It smells sooo good! People ask me what I am wearing and I am like bug spray, lol.. Yes, this is a great combination and my hubby who gets bit all of the time does not get bit at all. Woohooo!
This is great. We have tons of mosquitoes around where I live. I always try to put on a ‘repellent portable fan. ‘ I’m always concerned about having chemicals around my dogs. Yet, these seem very natural and possibly safe for dogs. I just might have to try it out.
Genevieve, yes these are therapeutic grade essential oils and are safe for pups. This recipe smells so yummy, too. My dog doesn’t mind me putting on her when I take her for walks in the evening. I am so chemically sensitive I cannot be near those strong odors from store bought sprays. Plus, these sprays are neurotoxic to us and the animals. Let me know what you think. 🙂
That is awesome! Bugs really bugs us, am I right? 🙂 I going to give it a try cause I am really interested if your recipe will work against mosquitoes during hike.
David, Yes, bugs love to bug us, lol. You will be pleasantly surprised how well it works. Just remember this is natural so you do you need to apply more often. But, you won’t walk around smelling like a bunch of chemicals. On the plus side, it works just remember to apply more frequently because you are using something more natural. I usually apply hourly it just depends on your body chemistry.
Neat! Thanks for this, Francine. this is a terrific resource and great idea!
Kevin
You are very welcome.
My wife is going to love this. I had no idea you could make your own bug spray. Do you know where you can purchase these essential oils? Thanks!
Yes, she will.. Isn’t it awesome that you can make your own bug spray. I played around with the recipe for awhile and this smells good and works. Bonus! lol Here is some additional information for the essential oils on purchasing the therapeutic grade essential oils and here is info on purchasing the essential oils click here Click Here.
This is such a cool idea! Didn’t know making your own bug sprays could be so easy. I’ve always been on the look out for an alternative to commercially available sprays. All those chemicals listed on their labels can’t be good for our health. Now, I can finally make my own. Thank you, Francine!
John,
You are so very welcome I am looking forward to hearing your feedback. Everyone just loves how it smells. Have fun making it, too! 🙂
I am totally going to try this next time I go camping!!! Thanks for this!
You are welcome, I can’t wait to hear how well it worked. 🙂
That’s very interesting! During the summer here in Taiwan the mosquitoes can be quite bothersome. I’ll try to make this bug spray sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Okay – I had to follow your links to find out what “Thieves” oil is – fascinating bit of history there.
I get a lot of mozzies so I’m most definitely going to give this a go.
So much better for one that Doom – and better smelling to. Can’t really spray the bed linen or room when I’m about to sleep with the commercial stuff – this will save a lot of hand-flapping and cursing at night esp now that spring is coming. (It always brings mozzies.)
So thank you for adding this so much bigger than just the few words value to my life!
Those lil blue bottles are cute too.
This is fantastic, will definitely try this out. Thanks also for informing on the facts of Deet, it just shows you really need to do your research when buying something off the shelves.
Yes, it is pretty scarey how these products can be sold as safe without listing side effects of these harmful chemicals. 🙁
I am huge on using products that are all natural on myself and my children. We actually love creating things like this but have yet to make bug spray. I am saving this page and making it…with my children! Thank you for these great recipes!!
It smells soooo good Rachel, the kids will love this. When you make it I would love to see a pic with you and kids. I have classes locally for local families and it is so much fun when the little ones love making the products. I frequently have families bring their children to my classes. I love it! So happy you do these wonderful things with your children.
Summer’s gone for this year, but bugs are always a problem here where I live. I’m a little confused about what “essential” oils are. Also, when you tell how to mix it up, after adding the ingredients you say to fill the bottle the rest of the way up. I assume you mean with water, is that right? At any rate, I’m gonna try this next summer, because I get tired of the high prices of commercial bug spray, and I agree with you on not wanting all the chemicals they use. There’s gotta be a better way, right? Thanks, Jim.
Summer is not gone where I am either, and we have Zika here in Florida and I am not covering myself in Deet. Thank you for being a little confused and sharing that with me. Sometimes I forget to include some things that someone may not know. I included a link to another one of my posts about essential oils. If bugs are always a problem don’t wait till next Summer this recipe is amazing and smells nice, too. 🙂 Thank you for checking out my site and commenting.
Hi, Francine
It’s always a pleasure to read about products that are good for us. I have made my own bug spray. It works and as you say I have to apply it often since it is made of essential oils. I have wondered for a while how different the bugs are throughout the world. I live in Norway and we have different kinds of insects but not the very big ones luckily. How is the insect where you live? Can they cause you health issues if they bite you? Does your bug recipes help for all kinds of insects?
Tove
Hi Francine,
Making our own bug spray can ensure we do not have any dangerous chemical or substance in it, i am even more worried when i use those over the counter repellent on my 5 year old son. Thanks for sharing the information.
Never thought of making my own bug spray. This is good information as we will not need to worry about the substance they use in those commercialized repellent.