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Monday, April 2, 2012

Make Your Own Natural Bug Spray


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Did you know that the main ingredients in most commercial bug sprays and repellents, Deet, is a neurotoxin and is harmful to the brain. Yup you read that right, harmful to our brains. If you do use deet it is recommended that the bug spray not be applied to the skin, but rather to the clothes.  I have never been a fan of deet before and avoid bug sprays for my family and myself, lucky for us we don’t get many bites these days. Something about a good diet makes you a bad target.
For years I have sworn off bug repellants of all sorts. I have instead incorporated plants into the landscape that help to repel the bugs. This works well when we are at home, but now that kids are old enough to go off to camp they need something to take with them.
Last week I wrote about natural methods to combat fleas and ticks on pets, many of the same methods used on our pets can be used on us; diet, essential oils and vigilance.
Making your own bug spray is not that hard. It is just as easy as making your own cleaners. My favorite bug sprays are easy to make. You can take some of your favorite essential oils and combine them in a spray bottle for a safe and easy effective bug spray.
In an opaque spray bottle combine
  • fill about 1/2 full with distilled or boiled water
  • fill almost to top with witch hazel
  • add 20-30 drops of essential oils of any of the following essential oils: rosemary, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, clove, lavender or tea tree oil.  – The more oils you use the stronger the spray will be
  It took me longer to write this than it did to mix it up . Do you have a favorite remedy for repelling bugs?

This post is linked up to Frugal Days Sustainable WaysWildcrafting WednesdayYour Green Resource

5 comments:

Amy said...

I love this! Thank you!

Debbie said...

Thank you, I have tried many different concoctions but none seem to work. I will try this one this year. I usually just end up scratching bites until they bleed as I am allergic to the poison from the bugs until I get it out.

Lisa - the Granola Catholic said...

Oh, Debbie, so sorry you are allergic to the bug bites. I hope this works for you. Remember the more oils you use the more potent the mixture will be.

Melissa said...

What size spray bottle are you using? I really want to try this!

Lisa - the Granola Catholic said...

Melissa, I use a smaller size bottle like that you would find in the travel toiletries size. I suppose you could use a larger one one like you mix up cleaner in, but you would have to bump up the quantity of oils.

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