With summer here, the evenings are filling up with that familiar annoying buzzing of mosquitoes. Sitting outside with their swarms is extremely irritating.
They plant bites on you that could leave you itching for hours and possibly seriously ill as these pesky insects are known to be vectors for dangerous pathogens like Dengue and West Nile viruses. Often, the usage of pest repellents, especially when topical can leave people with some reservations.
Repellents make use of chemicals like DEET and Picaridin which everyone has mixed opinions about. But worry not! There are plenty of ways to make your own 100% organic repellent at home by using essential oils.
It won’t be as potent as industrial repellents and might require more reapplication but it will do its job without leaving you fretting about absorbing foreign chemicals.
All the oils we will be discussing below are strong smelling and basically work to mask our own bodily scents that attracts mosquitoes. It should also be noted that essential oils should never be applied directly on the skin.
They should first be diluted with a carrier oil like coconut or olive oil, or water. Read on to find out how to make your own repellent with just a few ingredients.
Table of Contents
Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Repellent
Probably the most effective repellent after industrial strength repellents is Lemon Eucalyptus Oil. It is CDC approved and has a repelling compound called PMD in it.
Though less effective than DEET or Picaridin, it is still good at driving away bugs and is safe to use.
In its fully processed, and purified form, Lemon Eucalyptus oil has more PMD and so, is more potent. It also has citronellal which, too, has been shown to repel mosquitoes.
How To Make It?
To make this repellent, you will need the following ingredients in the specified quantities:
- Lemon Oil Eucalyptus Oil : 5 Drops
- Coconut Oil : 5 Drops
Mix the Lemon Eucalyptus oil and the coconut oil together in a bottle and shake well. Keep the mixture with you in a spray bottle and reapply as necessary throughout the day when outside.
Citronella Oil Repellent
This oil is one of the oldest ways to drive mosquitoes away. People even grow citronella plants in their gardens to drive off pests. It has a strong scent so it works by masking the attractive scent of our own body. It also has compounds like geraniol in it.
Geraniol is a repelling compound which is a primary component of rose, citronella and palmarosa oil and is found in small quantities in other oils like lemon and geranium. One use of citronella oil can offer as much as three hours of protection against mosquitoes.
How To Make It?
To make this repellent, you will need the following ingredients in the specified quantities:
- Citronella Oil : 5 Drops
- Distilled Water : 45 Drops
- Rubbing Alcohol : 5 Drops
Products currently unavailable on Amazon (B0078RU9QS)
Mix the Citronella oil, rubbing alcohol and the water together in a bottle and shake well. Keep the mixture with you in a spray bottle and reapply as necessary throughout the day when outside.
The point of alcohol in the recipe is to make the action of citronella oil more strong. Some compounds in the alcohol act as repellents too, augmenting the action of the oil. If you have problems with using rubbing alcohol however, you can omit it.
Lavender Oil Repellent
Lavender oil has compounds like eucalyptol and limonene which have been shown to have insect repelling qualities.
It smells heavenly and is also known for its soothing and calming effect on the nerves so you can add extra relaxation to your mosquito free time!
How To Make It?
To make this repellent, you will need the following ingredients in the specified quantities:
Mix the two ingredients together and shake them well. Pour them into a spray bottle and keep it with you. Apply as often as necessary when in areas with high mosquito activity.
Combo Repellent Spray
If you want to pack more action into your repellent, you can mix multiple essential oils together. The apple cider vinegar in this recipe helps to maintain the pH balance of the skin and the witch hazel acts as a carrier oil. The rest of the essential oils all have repellent properties.
- Apple Cidar Vinegar
- Witch Hazel
- Eucalyptus Oil
- Lemon Grass Oil
- Tea Tree Oil
- Citronella Oil
- Rosemary Oil
Mix Apple Cidar Vinegar and Witch Hazel each 125 ML and rest all of the essential oils each 8 Drops.
Combine all the ingredients above in the specified quantities. Shake the mixture well and add some to a smaller spray bottle and store the rest. Keep the bottle with you and apply when necessary outside.
We hope the recipes above prove useful. Other repellent oils that can be used on their own with carriers or in conjunction with each other or the oils mentioned above are:
- Peppermint
- Mint
- Cypress
- Geranium
- Bergamot
- Lemon
Bear in mind, essential oils have a strong smell and the more of them you use, the stronger the smell will get. If you don’t mind that, then mix away different concoctions to have a bite free evening stroll.
Any doubts, feel free to share your opinion in the comment below.