For a family in mosquito country, needing to use mosquito repellents throughout the Summer is just a fact of life. The thing is, the main ingredient in the most popular products is DEET, which has recently been called into question as potentially damaging to children's developing nervous systems -- and potentially harmful to adults as well. Yes, there's evidence to the contrary as well, but is it worth the chance? Anything you put on your skin is immediately absorbed in to the bloodstream. The folks making it known that DEET might be dangerous don't have a grudge against the DEET makers -- they have no reason to make an issue unless the potential for harm was there. Given that, did you know that making your own natural formula is totally easy? And that there's natural ingredients that have been shown to be 10 times more effective than DEET? You can make gallons at a time if you want! So here's a primer on making your own effective insect repellent formulas at home, and even how to use these same ingredients to repel the buggers from the space around you as well.
Essential oils, and aromatics in general, have been used throughout the ages to repel mosquitoes and other biting bugs. In all over the counter "natural" formulas, you'll find one or more essential oils as the "active ingredients". Making your own formulation is truly easy to do, and can be cost effective if you're going to go through a significant amount over the year. Making a lotion or spray is as simple as measuring essential oils by the drop into your base, be it an organic cream, or liquid such as witch hazel. One of the coolest thing about making your own is you have the ability to control all the ingredients, and make a completely organic formula if you like!
In addition to making a topical lotion, aromatherapy offers the ability to diffuse natural insect and mosquito repellents inside your house -- something you'd never do with synthetic chemicals. Not something you'd want to be breathing all the time! But aromatherapy diffusers, particularly nebulizing diffusers which allow you to control the concentration of essential oil in the air, can disperse pure, natural, organic aromatics throughout the day or night to keep those critters away.
So are you ready to mix up your first batch of topical mosquito repellent? You'll need to decide whether you want a spray or a lotion. For either of these, the recommended concentration of essential oils is between five and ten percent - that means anywhere from 120 drops to 240 drops total essential oil in four ounces of base. To help you chose: A lotion will probably remain effective for a longer time after application, though the spray can be easier to use -- you can spray it on your clothes if you like. For your base for a spray, you can use rubbing alcohol (perhaps not the finest scent, but it's inexpensive), vodka (yes, this time you want cheap alcohol!) or witch hazel (a natural plant extract based in water -- probably the easiest on the skin, but does not hold the oils in suspension as well, just requiring more of a good shake before each use). For a lotion, any unscented lotion will do, and there are many organic unscented creams available through natural product suppliers.
Some common essential oils to repel mosquitoes are Rose Geranium, Citronella, Lemongrass and Peppermint (for children, use Spearmint). You can blend all these together to make up your 10%, and its likely that a combination of oils will work better than any oil alone. If you do blend the oils, keep the mint at only 1-2%. You only need a tiny bit to make that little "effervescence" the buggers won't like. Also, Cedarwood is considered helpful, especially in combination with the Geranium, to repel ticks in addition to mosquitoes. Also, interestingly, the latest scientific research indicates that Catnip essential oil is actually the single most potent mosquito repelling essential oil, though it is a good bit more costly that the oils already mentioned. But if you're looking for the most potent blend, find some catnip to include!
Here's an example recipe: fill a 4 ounce spray bottle with 1/3rd each vodka, water, and witch hazel. To this add 120 drops Rose Geranium, 80 drops Lemongrass and 20 drops Peppermint. Shake well and apply. You can spray this on the outside of your clothing if you like, and of course, directly on your skin. For children under 12, be sure to substitute Spearmint for Peppermint, and the Peppermint can be to intense for the young ones. You can make precisely the same recipe in a lotion: just find an unscented, preferably organic natural lotion and add this same amount to the lotion base.
So you'd like to repel insects from your home, office, or other enclosed space? Find yourself a quality, high output aromatherapy diffuser. A nebulizing diffuser -- one that does not mix the oils with water -- is best, as you can really output a high concentration of essential oils in the air if you find it necessary. Just add the essential oils of your choice into the reservoir and run the unit for several minutes. In this case, you might use just Citronella essential oil, as it is of very low cost. One prominent author talks about leaving tissues with drops of Peppermint essential oil on them on the windowsills (obviously she didn't have screens in this room!) as a deterrent. So because so many possibilities can work, you might want to experiment here, trying to find the least amount of essential oil necessary for your needs.
And there you have it -- a quick look at how easy it is to use essential oils as insect repellents during these Summer months, with the great relief knowing you're choosing organic and natural oils over questionable synthetic ones for your health and the health of your family.
Author Resource:
For more on the therapeutic value of pure organic essential oils , and one of many important oils individually such as cypress essential oil , visit The Ananda Apothecary online.
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