You don’t have to go with the store-bought, pre-made insect repellent to keep the bugs away. Instead, make your own at home.
Making natural items at home allows you to know what’s in the products. This can be beneficial to your family, especially if you have people who are sensitive to some products that are often contained in bug sprays. With a few natural ingredients, you’ll be able to make something to keep the bugs away and enjoy a natural way to stay comfortable and enjoy your summer.
What natural items help repel insects?
In order to make your own natural protection against bugs, you need to know which products help provide the protection that you need. The EPA requires most skin-applied insect repellents to be registered for human safety and effectiveness, but they also recognize the desire to avoid commercial sprays with synthetic ingredients. This has led to a list of several natural items that can provide the desired bug protection, including:
- Citronella
- Cedar
- Geranium
- Peppermint
- Soybean
As a bit of a disclaimer, these items should be safe for human use and skin application, but the EPA doesn’t evaluate them for effectiveness.
Oils used to repel insects
Some natural oils can be mixed and used to create a homemade insect repellent, giving you an excellent way to keep bugs away and protect yourself from insect bites. Here are a few oils you can use, and some can be found among the natural essential oils at your local store.
Citrus oils
Citronella and citrus oils, such as limonene are known to keep bugs away. These oils are often used in candles to repel insects naturally. Citronella is known to repel mosquitoes, but also to keep other bugs away, such as fleas, aphids, mites, and flies.
Garlic oil
If you want to keep ticks away, garlic oil could be the answer to your problems. Its suggested to be a great natural tick repellent for use in yards and gardens, making it much easier to keep ticks away from your pets and children. Of course, you’ll have to deal with the garlic smell.
Thyme essential oil
You’ll need to dilute theme essential oil if you want to apply it to your skin, but it can be a great choice when you want to repel mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. This oil is easy to obtain and makes for a good insect repellent, but make sure you dilute it before applying it to your skin.
Oil of lemon Eucalyptus
Oil of lemon eucalyptus is an ingredient used in many insect repellents and is an EPA-approved oil for this purpose. It could be as effective at keeping bugs away as DEET, which could be good news when you want to use natural ingredients. An added benefit is that his oil can also repel ants, which can be troublesome during the summer months. Don’t use pure oil of lemon eucalyptus, but dilute it to be safe on your skin. This is not the same thing as lemon eucalyptus essential oil, which does not repel insects.
Dill essential oil
Another great item to help repel ticks is dill essential oil. This product is especially effective at repelling Lone Star ticks, which can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease. Using this oil in a factory setting helps repel insects that may negatively impact food production. Some research suggests that it’s a good idea to dilute this oil before applying it on your skin.
Cinnamon oil
A 2019 study suggests that cinnamon oil can be great at repelling mosquitoes in lab settings and outdoors. Another study showed that cinnamon oil might be effective at killing mosquito larvae as well. This oil can be irritating to some people, which means you should dilute it and test it on small part of your body before applying it all over. If you have reactions to it, you can still use it in the yard.
Lavender essential oil
Lavender is great for relaxation and sleep, but it can also be effective as an insect repellent. It’s considered safe for topical use without being diluted, which makes it one of the best choices, especially for small children who might be more sensitive to some of the other oils in the list.
Peppermint oil
Peppermint and peppermint oil are natural and often have minimal risks of skin irritation, which makes them great for use in keeping bugs away. Peppermint is supposed to be effective at repelling mosquitoes, ants, flies, and lice. It’s also known to be a pretty good product for keeping spiders away.
Which products will you use in your natural insect repellents to keep bugs away, and know that your family is safe from synthetic products?