Sick of swatting away mosquitoes while you're hanging outside during the summer? Naturally keep pests away with this Homemade Natural Bug Repellent made with essential oils!
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My husband is off this week, so that means we'll probably be spending most of our time outdoors. Honestly, we've already been spending all of our free time outdoors! Last weekend, he had a four day weekend and we were outside doing some yard and garden work. We pulled two dead azalea bushes from the backyard and replaced them with rock mulch and a couple dwarf butterfly bushes.
With all of our extra rocks, I cleaned up the front landscaping a bit. I was carrying buckets of rocks back-and-forth from the backyard to the front yard. During my travels, I ended up with my first mosquito bite of the season. Right on my lower ankle!
Despite having pots of lemongrass and lavender - known mosquito repelling plants - around the yard, bugs still happen. It's summer. They're outside and so are we! But the last I want to do when I head outdoors is douse myself with bug spray! I recently found an article on Facebook stating that lemon eucalyptus oil is just as effective as using DEET. After sharing the article, one of my friends asked me to create a blog post on the topic, so here we are!
Homemade Natural Bug Repellent
I was a little confused about lemon eucalyptus oil at first because I thought it was just a blended oil. But it's not! This essential oil is actually derived from a type of eucalyptus tree. However, there are a number of essential oils that can be used as bug - and especially mosquito - repellents.
Mosquito Repelling Essential Oils
- Lemongrass
- Citronella
- Lemon Eucalyptus
- Eucalyptus
- Lavender
- Geranium
- Peppermint
- Patchouli
- Clove
- Tea Tree Oil
I decided to make a natural mosquito repellent roll-on bottle to swipe on when we head outside. I used a combination of lemon eucalyptus oil and a couple drops of peppermint. Lemon eucalyptus oil has a scent that reminds me of citronella.
I've only ever used citronella oil in homemade candles because it has such a potent smell to it. Not only does it repel mosquitoes, but my husband really hates it, too! So I wanted to balance out that lemon eucalyptus scent with a little peppermint oil.
I also used jojoba as my carrier oil (dilutes essential oils to make them safe for topical application) since it's odorless and moisturizes the skin.
SUPPLIES
- Roll-on bottle
- Jojoba oil
- Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil
- Optional: Peppermint essential oil, or other bug repelling oil
STEPS
- If necessary, remove the cap and roller top from the roll-on bottle.
- Add 10 drops of lemon eucalyptus essential oil. If using another oil to blend, like peppermint, add about 5 more drops of that oil to the bottle.
- Fill the rest of the bottle with jojoba oil.
- Then, replace the roller top and cap.
- Give the bottle a good shake! Add a label, if desired, and apply to wrists and ankles before heading outside.
After I popped the top back on my new bug repellent roll-on, I made a label for it using my Cricut machine. I'm keeping this little bottle in the kitchen, by the back door, so I can roll it on and go!
Did you make this Homemade Natural Bug Repellent project? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
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