DIY Insect Repellant - modification of CareKate's recipe
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

free skin care · Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:42 am

DISCLAIMER AND FINE PRINT: Very Happy

I am NOT an experienced DIY'er and purchase most of my skincare from those more knowledgeable than I. The only personal care products I make on my own are cuticle/hand treatments, body mists and after shower oil blends so please take my inexperience into account.

Summer's arrived in full force here in Southern California, and so are the bugs. I've been moving toward more natural and organic products in all facets of my life and I didn't want to use DEET on my daily walks in the Bolsa Chica wetlands. I used Carekate's recipe as a basis to start from, then modified it slightly to meet my own needs. If this should work for others, all the better!

I took an 8oz. plastic spray bottle and filled it nearly to the top with DISTILLED water. DISTILLED water is important to prevent the introduction of possible microbes.

To this, I added 30 drops of Lavendar Oil, 30 drops of Tea Tree oil and 20 drops of Neem Oil. That was it, and it definitely repels the no-seeum kind of little gnats that hang around the wetlands. The few mosquitos I encountered also failed to land on me, but I'm honestly not sure how this would stand up to a REAL mosquito infestation. If I were walking in an area that's really abound with mosquitos, I would likely use a DEET based product instead of my own solution just to be on the safe side.

There aren't any emulsifiers in my concoction, so I have to shake it up everytime I want to use it. It's also very cooling and could probably be boosted by using additional anti-oxidants like pomegranate, cranberry or raspberry oils as well.

Carekate's recipe below...

carekate wrote:

Natural Insect Repellent Essential Oil Blend:
-----------------------------------------------------------
• Eucalyptus oil – repels insects and helps reduce sting and irritation from insect bites;
• Cedarwood oil - a strong repellent that is poisonous to insects;
• Bergamot oil - a strong antiseptic that protects skin by helping to kill any diseases that the insect might bear;
• Clove oil - acts as a counter irritant to the toxicity of the previously-mentioned EOs, making the blend more harmonious;
• Citronella oil - repels insects and is especially loathsome to mosquitos, yay!

My recommendation is to take an 8- or 16-oz bottle with sprayer* and fill it nearly full with distilled water, then add 5-10 drops of each of the above-named EOs. Add a ½ teaspoon of Lecithin powder to emulsify the oils to mix completely with the water and shake well until Lecithin is dissolved and you can no longer see the oils pooling on the surface of the water.

Shake bottle well before each use, then hold spritzer about 10-12 inches away and – with eyes closed – lightly mist body with the mixture. You may need to reapply after physical exertions or swimming/getting wet.

* A cobalt or amber glass spray bottle is ideal, but an opaque or tinted – the darker the better – plastic bottle will work in a pinch (you can find such bottles at beauty supply stores like Sallys).

If anyone has any suggestions of other EOs that are known for insect repelling properties, please let me know!

free skin care · Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:58 pm

athena, did you use only the lavendar, tea tree and neem oils or did you add them on top of the ones in carekates recipe?
I wonder if this would work for black flies? I'm tired of hiding inside for the first few weeks every summer. Sad

free skin care · Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:06 am

Diana P wrote:

athena, did you use only the lavendar, tea tree and neem oils or did you add them on top of the ones in carekates recipe?
I wonder if this would work for black flies? I'm tired of hiding inside for the first few weeks every summer. Sad

Hi Diana, I only used the water, lavendar, tea tree and neem oils in my concoction. I included CareKate's recipe for reference only. I know for a fact that neem oil is an insect repellant because I mixed it with castille soap, water and cayenne pepper to keep unwanted bugsies away from my tomato plants, so it stood to reason it would repel insects from me.

There aren't huge numbers of flies that inhabit the wetlands, so I don't know how this would work. It does seem to hold off those little black gnats and no-seeums, works as flea control for my cat [without the lavendar oil] and seems to keep small numbers of mosquitos at bay.

Hope this helps,

free skin care · Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:22 am

Thanks athena. I was reading in your other thread that neem oil really smells bad. Can you smell it in this recipe, or do the other oils cancel it out?

free skin care · Mon Jul 30, 2007 6:16 pm

Hi diana, fortunately with so much water and the other EO's, the neem aroma is only slightly detectable. I considered throwing in some other EO's but worried it may cancel the effect, so I'm holding off Laughing

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