Aren’t the bugs really starting to bite right now? They can become a real pain durning your outdoor activities. As you all know, store bought bug spray isn’t cheap. I began researching how to duplicate the results with items found at home to make DIY homemade bug spray. So far, the best recipe I found to fight biting bugs such as mosquito’s comes from TentAndTrek.com.
And what’s so great about this bug spray recipe is that it really smells great! TentAndTrek says you should venture to your closest drugstore to get a small spray bottle that pumps out a fine mist. I found that the dollar store is a good candidate for spray bottles. Just look in the in the cosmetics/personal hygiene section.
Bug Spray Recipe:
- 60 drops or approx. 1/2 teaspoon of your choice of essential oils listed below: ( We use a 2:1:1 Lavender:Clove:Eucalyptus mix. I would use some tea tree but my kids hate the smell). Citronella, Cloves, Cinnamon, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Cedar, Lavender or Lemongrass
- 1/2 Cup of distilled water ( can use water that has been boiled)
- 1/2 Cup of witch Hazel
- optional- 1/2-2 teaspoon vegetable glycerin. All this does is help mix the oil and water.
Just add your water and witch hazel into a spray bottle. Then, add in glycerin and essential oils. Don’t worry if you add too much of the oils. Put on the cap or sprayer top. Next, shake up the bottle. The site suggests that you should always shake the mixture if you don’t use glycerin in your bug spray.
This spray is perfect for babies and children because there are no toxic chemicals being sprayed on their body like DEET. It’s easy to make several of these bug sprays. Just keep them stored around the house, on the patio, or on the front porch. They’re really the perfect size to stash in a purse, beach bag, your car. Really, anywhere that you might run into a swarm of biting flies or mosquito’s. Try it yourself and let us know how it turns out.
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