Homemade Insect Repellent Options

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It’s that time of year…when you go outside and seriously consider coming BACK IN because you’re become a buffet for every bug in a 5 mile radius. I hate having bug bites…and I hate going outside when there are bugs running rampant all over my body. BUT, there are times when you do want to be outside – you want to hike – you want to camp…and bugs obviously live out there. It has something to do with their natural habitat and all that mess.

Some of you have asked me what I use – and I’ll tell you. Nothing. Ha! I thought that I would make plans to make a repellant this year, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet. However, lots of my blogging friends have! I’ll share some of their recipes with you below.

We always use citronella candles when we camp. For the most part, they work well…and I just like having the candles lit while camping – it’s very…camp-like.

We have also used the water in a plastic bag method and that seems to work well for flies, but that’s about it.

In most of these recipes you’ll see essential oils being used. I always get asked where I buy my oils, so I’ll just go ahead and answer that – Vitacost is where I buy all my oils because I can get them cheaper there than anywhere I can locally.  And cheap is how I roll. Amen.

Image by minicooper93402

Repellent Spray

My rockin’ awesome blogging friend, Andrea, from Frugally Sustainable has a GREAT insect repellent recipe. It seems very easy and she gives a great description. It only calls for witch hazel, grape seed oil, and essential oils. Easy as pie! You can find all of those easily on Vitacost. I like Andrea’s natural recipes because they’re so easy to follow and she makes them really easy to understand!

To find a spraying bottle, you can search online or do what I do…keep those types of bottles once you empty them from something else – or you can buy a small $.99 travel sized hair spray and use that little bottle.

 

Rub-on Repellent

Gaps of Light has a another option for homemade insect repellent. I like her “safe and economical recipe.” Because if I’m anything, I’m cheap economical. This particular recipe uses coconut oil instead of grape-seed oil. Since coconut oil is solid (unless it’s very warm in your home), this recipe can be used as a semi-solid and rubbed on instead of sprayed on. I like that option! The only other ingredients are essential oils.

 

Other Options

Here is a FABULOUS post from Keeper of the Home about different options for insect repellent. She gives the dangers of using traditional chemical varieties and then gives some ideas of things you might consider as alternatives. This is a great post for you if you had no idea that DEET wasn’t good for you.

Image by Keith Laverack

Caution and a Practical Look at Oil Buying

A word about essential oils. You have to be careful with them – just because they’re natural, doesn’t mean that you should rub them all over your body and add them to your coffee.

I’m learning more and more about oils and I enjoy having them around. I can use them for so many things. IF you plan on keeping oils around, then these recipes are worth buying the ingredients to have on hand. For example, the peppermint oil in the Gaps of Light recipe can be used for SO many things: headaches and nausea for example. So, I don’t mind buying a bottle of peppermint oil to make this recipe because I know I’ll use the whole bottle.

IF you have no plans to use oils of this type, then it would be cheaper for you to buy a repellent…because your oils would just sit around. Vitacost has lots of natural options for insect repellent and so does Amazon.

 

So, go forth and slay those bugs! *Shiver*

*This post is linked at Healthy 2Day Wednesday on Quick Easy Cheap and Healthy, at Works For Me Wednesday on We Are That Family, at Weekend Whatever on Your Thriving Family, and at Frugal Days Sustainable Ways at Frugally Sustainable.

Disclosure: Some posts include links to sponsors or affiliates, which give me a small percentage of the sale. You are not obligated to use these links when you make a purchase, but when you do so it helps to support this site, so thank you!

About Stacy

Stacy is the author of Crock On: A Semi-Whole Foods Slow Cooker Cookbook and a stay-at-home mom to her two children, Annie (3) and Andy (newborn). After an “awakening” in March 2011, her family switched to a more natural, whole foods diet. She likes to blog about how to live on less than you make and how to eat good food while doing it. Her passion is teaching others how to save money and she tag teams with her husband in this endeavor. At Stacy Makes Cents you’ll find information on how to save money in the kitchen, how to have fun with your kids, and how to be thrifty in all areas of life. Her passion is teaching others how to live debt free. Make sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with her daily antics.

  • Becca C

    I can’t put EOs in my coffee? Lamesauce to the max.

    • Stacy

      LOL You’re a trip.

  • http://simplymadehome.blogspot.com/ Tara @ Simply Made Home

    I made repellent out of essential oils this year that i am pretty excited about. A local group that sell Young Living did a “Make and Take.” It was great to get to use such a high quality oils without pruchasing the different oils individually! My son had seizures a couple years ago (unrelated to DEET) so I am leerying of using anything with DEET on my children.
    The other thing that I heard after I wrote a post about apple cider vinegar is that drinking ACV keeps the bugs at bay. I have yet to get a bug bite this year or used any repellent. I am happy to say I have not a had a bite yet. My husband has had a few bites (but refuses to believe that ACV will work for the long list I give hime! :) We humor each other!)

    • Stacy

      Wow, that is awesome! :-) I wish I could stomach ACV. I have several friends that drink it for the benefits…but it makes me want to yak. LOL

  • Kate

    I’ve been looking for natural options to keep wasps away from the yard. Any ideas?

    Also, getting rid of clothes moths and large black moths. We’ve been having problems with both of those this year.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    • Stacy

      Kate, if you can locate the bees’ nests you can spray them at night with a mixture of half white vinegar and half water. You might have to repeat that a couple times. For a bee trap you can cut a Mountain Dew bottle in half and then turn the top part down into it like a funnel. The bees go down the funnel to get the sugar and then can’t get back out. I have used that method very successfully.
      To get rid of moths in your closets, you can put some lavender essential oil on a cotton ball and place with your clothing. Dried mint leaves also work. I prefer to use cedar chips from Lowes. :-)

      • Bee

        Be careful not to kill bees! They are in short supply lately and without them we will be without food. Think about it.

        • Stacy

          :-) Excellent point. However, there are lots of us who have several small children (some with allergies) so we do have to be careful about how many bees are lurking around the house.

      • Lilana

        I would really like to get some good ideas on how to get rid of fruit flies.

        • Stacy

          My mom has always used the same method. :-) Put some apple cider vinegar in a small cup or lid (think peanut butter lid). Add a drop or two of soap and swirl it around. The flies are attracted to the vinegar and then the soap traps them. Works like a charm!

    • Barbara

      If you have moths in the house, you can fill a bowl with water and a little dish soap and shine a light on it. The moths are drawn to the light and then get trapped in the soapy water.

      • Stacy

        Sounds a lot like a fruit fly trap…minus the light. :-)

  • http://www.thehumbledhomemaker.com Erin@TheHumbledHomemaker

    Great resource! I have the ingredients to make my own homemade repellent…just haven’t gotten around to it quite yet! We used the CJ’s Butter brand last year from Jack Be Natural! :) I’ll have to link back here when/if I get around to making and posting! :)

    • Stacy

      Thanks for the recommendation!

  • Amanda

    I made an awesome and so simple bug repellent. A spray bottle of water, 25 drops of lavender oil, and 10 drops of pennyroyal oil. That’s it! The first time we hiked this year we all found several ticks on us and 14 on the dog. We’ve used it every time since and have had no ticks, mosquito bites and flies and gnats don’t swarm us. We use it on us and the dogs.

    • Stacy

      Awesome! Thanks for sharing. :-)

    • Gail

      Amanda, where do you get your oils?

      • Stacy

        I’m not sure where Amanda gets hers, but I buy my oils from Vitacost. :-)

  • http://workingkansashomemaker.com Nicole

    This is very interesting Stacy- I love the links to learn more :) My husband and I are planning to purchase the citronella candles to ward off bugs this summer. Seems an easy option for just hanging out for a little while outside or eating dinner, etc. Now to go outdoors for a long period of time (softball game, hiking, etc.) I would definitely want to invest in more of a on-the-body sort of deal.

    Nicole
    Working Kansas Homemaker (.com)

    • Stacy

      That’s how we feel about the candles. :-) Thankfully, we don’t have many bugs like that around here so I have no need to use them at home…but when we go camping, that’s another story.

  • J

    After being covered from top to bottom in bug bites I finally broke down and purchased insect repellent. It works but smells. Hopefully the biting critters will leave me alone now. Candles do not work here so this is my desperate attempt to leave some skin on me that hasn’t been covered by insects.

    • Stacy

      Yeah…the smell can be rough.

  • Gail

    Well, being that I’ve gone my whole life without ever having to have or need a bug spray, and then moving to a location that it is ESSENTIAL (no pun intended – ha!) to have bug spray, I have tried all sorts of repellants for myself; my animals, and my home.
    Avon SSS helped, but I absolutely cannot breathe – allergic reaction- to the fragrance. :(
    For my dog, I use the whole line of products from http://www.onlynaturalpet.com called Herbal Defense. They seem to work well.
    For my animals AND me, I like Curealia: http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Repellent-Dogs-Natural-Fleas/dp/B004T3C0P2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338948072&sr=8-2

    and around the house, I bought a 50 pound bag of (food grade) Diatomaceous Earth from http://www.earthworkshealth.com I sprinkle on the dog beds, around the baseboards; outside the perimeter of the house, under my plants, in the garden, and on the grass, and around the garage. It works fantastically!

    Love the homemade recipes!

    • Stacy

      Gail, my husband cannot tolerate Avon SSS either. :-( I’ve heard a lot about diatomaceous earth. I think I need to check it out!

  • Donna

    I found this trick somewhere online a couple years ago and have used it ever since… Just plain old pure vanilla diluted in water keeps most bugs away. We live in the Houston, TX area and have terrible mosquitoes, which think I am the tastiest thing around. This is my favorite remedy I’d found b/c it used ingredients I already had on hand and is perfectly safe for the kids (I had a newborn at the time when I’d found it).

    I tend to make it pretty strong… For one of those travel size spray bottles, you’d fill it about 1/4 of the way with pure vanilla extract, then fill with water. Shake & spray all over. It’s safe for the kiddos, and really works wonders. The original recipe I found said to dilute 1 or 2 tsp in 1 oz of water if I remember correctly, but I figured more is better.

    I even make it in a big pump spray bottle to use around the porches and yard, and it keeps all those mosquito hawks, june bugs, and moths away from our doors even at night with the lights on.

    Absolutely heaven sent… which brings me to the fact that it also smells so nice. I love vanilla. =o)

    • Stacy

      WOW! Now this is right up my alley. I have always said that I just wished I could rub vanilla all over my body. LOL

    • Cristi P

      Love all the great ideas!! Since I have vanilla at home I will be trying this one tonight! Thanks!

      • Stacy

        Always a good idea to try what you already have. :-)

  • http://quickeasycheaphealthy.com Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy

    Um, nope, I don’t ever want to hike or camp. Those urges never strike me, lol. But I do occasionally have a use for insect repellant, so I will check out these recipes!

    • Stacy

      Oh Anne…you have no idea what you’re missing. :-)

  • Lisa

    I can’t use DEET or other spray-ons. I take a Vitamin B complex everyday and bugs don’t bother me. Occasionally, a bug may land, but they never bite. Its a welcome change from being the most attractive food for all biters. Misquitos ignore me now. Yahoo! The B vitamin complex contains thiamine which is the bug repellant. Most of my family and friends use Vit.B Complex with the same great results.

    • Stacy

      Interesting! I did not know that! :-)

  • http://www.mtfw.net Danielle @ More Than Four Walls

    Thanks for this post Stacy. I just whipped up a batch of Kate’s (didn’t realize she had one posted) for camping this weekend.

    • Stacy

      Good luck!!

  • Christina

    After I went outside to change a light bulb last night and came in with polkadotted legs 5 minutes later, I decide to go buy some essential oils. I made the rub on repellent. Even my husband decide to try it. We were outside for a good 3 hours and I never saw a mosquito. I don’t think anyone got bitten. And my skin is so soft from the coconut oil. I will be making up more for my sons to take with them to Boy Scout camp.

    • Stacy

      Coconut oil is so awesome! :-) I’m so glad it worked for you….I’ll have to try that one first.

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