Best Essential Oil Mosquito and Bug Repellent Recipes
With beautiful warm weather comes the not-so-awesome side effects – insects. When you are trying to enjoy a summer picnic or a day by the river, the last thing you want to deal with are mosquitoes, flies, and other creepy-crawly insects. Of course, you can bring along a commercial insecticide spray, but sometimes you don’t necessarily want to spray that on your skin. One of the best attributes of quite a few essential oils is their ability to ward off unwanted insects. Check out these easy pesticide recipes to keep the little buggers at bay.
Essential Oil Mosquito and Bug Repellent
- 10 Drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
- 5 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil or Wintergreen Essential Oil (all mint essential oils repel insects)
- 3 Drops Oregano Essential Oil
- 2 Drops Cinnamon Essential Oil
- Purified Water
● Mix Lemongrass Essential Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil (or Wintergreen), Cinnamon Essential Oil, and Oregano Essential Oils into a small spray bottle.
● Fill the rest of the bottle with purified water.
● Shake well.
This mixture shouldn’t be sprayed on your skin as most people will react to the Cinnamon Essential Oil. It is safe though to spray around windows, doors, on outdoor furniture, and even all over your tent when you are camping.
Another thing you can do with Cinnamon Essential Oil is to add a few drops to any standing water you may have on your property. Cinnamon kills mosquito eggs and larvae. Do not add it though to Koi ponds as it can upset your fish!
Essential Oil Personal Bug Spray
- 5 Drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
- 3 Drops Thyme Essential Oil
- 2 Drops Spearmint Essential Oil
- 2 Drops Tangerine, Wild Orange Essential Oil, Grapefruit Essential Oil or Lemon Essential Oil(choose your favorite!)
- 2 Drops Oregano Essential Oils
- Purified Water
● Combine lemongrass essential oil, thyme essential oil, spearmint essential oil, oregano essentail oil, and your citrus oil choice (tangerine, wild orange, grapefruit OR lemon essential oil) in a small bottle.
● Fill the rest of the bottle with purified water.
● Shake well.
● Lemongrass Essential Oil is the number one essential oil to repel mosquitoes. Not only can you add it to this personal bug spray, but also add a couple of drops to a candle when outside to keep them away. All plants in the mint family repel flies, beetles, ants, aphids, and spiders.
● Thyme Essential Oil works great to make sure spiders and ticks stay away.
● Citrus Essential Oils have a way of annoying flying insects like mosquitoes and flies. All of these essential oils are safe to use on your skin (unless you are allergic of course).
Note: None of this is meant as medical advice. I am not a doctor, and do not play one on the internet. Please consult a physician if you have any questions about using essential oils so your doctor can better explain to you the benefits, possible side effects, and any warnings about essential oils.
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Claire says
Hi. Is purified water the same as distilled water? Or something different altogether?!
Ann says
Claire, distilled water goes through a distillation process, purified water goes through a reverse osmosis process (like a Brita water filter).
Ann
Danielle says
Lemongrass is not the number one mosquito repellent essential oil. It also has a max dermal application of 0.7% because it is a high skin irritant. The number one essential oil for repelling mosquitos is catnip, then lemon eucalpytus, then citronella. There should also be a warning about the citrus oils being used. Grapefruit and Lemon are phototoxic and UV ray exposure should be avoided for a minimum of 12 hours after application. A much much better oil for repelling ticks would be rose geranium. Very effective. Also, water starts to grow bacteria in a matter of hours, even if it is purified. Witch hazel would be a much better alternative in this as the batch should really be tossed after one day if water is used. Thats a pretty big waste. Not to mention that water does not safely dilute the oils since water and oil dont mix, so a carrier should really be added to the witch hazel. Neem is the best because its amazingly effective at repelling mosquitos.
Christine says
How large is the spray bottle in oz?
Marie says
Pinned this for later because here in the Canadian prairies the mosquitos are terrible and I don’t like using a repellent with DEET. I’m definitely making a batch or two of this for this summer. Thank you!
DavetteB says
Lemongrass should also be avoided because it will attract bees, besides what the other comment said about the dermal max.
With water based products it’s smart to add a preservative like Optiphen. A few drop of unscented soap will help the oils stay mixed.
HTH