22 Jun Mosquito and Bug Repellent

So do you ever feel we’re trading one problem for another? We get so fearful of germs that we willingly lather our bodies with harmful chemicals that, in the longterm, may be more detrimental….sheesh.  What are we to do? I often feel this moral and ethical conflict when it comes to bug repellent. Of course, no one likes mosquito bites; however, the harshness of chemicals in many commercial products isn’t that great either.

I have found a variety of recipes for bug repellent and thought I’d experiment with my own.  This is a nice blend of castor oil, witch hazel and essential oils. Witch hazel helps emulsify oils and liquid so they stay nicely blended. The essential oils, while pleasant smelling, have natural bug repellent properties. We have used this several times (dogs included) and it seems to work. Robb did an experiment while working outside. He sprayed one arm and left the other arm free. It was quite fascinating to watch the nasty critters hover for a moment over the sprayed arm and then move on.

This took only minutes to make, and was quite pleasant smelling. Certainly not as toxic as mass produced commercial products.

Mosquito and Bug Repellent

40 ml castor oil
120 ml witch hazel
6 drops of cinnamon essential oil
20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
20 drops of citronella essential oil

Mix above ingredients and store in bottle with spray attachment.