Natural Bug Repellent Recipe + free printable

June 22, 2013

Natural Bug Repellent Recipe + free printable

Every spring and summer I dread the waking of the bugs. You’ve got the biting flies, mosquitos, annoying gnat tornadoes and even the ticks have been making an appearance pretty bad this year. Especially if you’re a mom, you’re probably freaking out. I hate bugs on me, but I really can’t stand little bites on my kids.

So, I have two SUPER easy recipes for you. One is perfect for you and all kids 4 years old and up. I’ve studied holistic medicine for some time and it’s my absolute recommendation that citronella essential oil not be used on children under the age of 4. There are only 19 essential oils that are approved and safe for newborn on up, so you want to always be mindful. The second recipe is perfectly safe for even newborn infants.

The Carrier Oils

For either recipe, you can adjust the carrier oil if you have any family allergies. I absolutely love soybean oil. Not only does it have a great feel, it also holds in moisture, softens skin and repairs dry and chaffed skin. So not only are you getting an amazing repellent, you are also doing great things for your skin, head to toe. You can also use jojoba oil, sweet almond oil. If you don’t feel like mail ordering your carrier oil, you can use olive oil right from the cabinet.

The Essential Oils

For my adult recipe, I always use my favorite power punch of eucalyptus, rosemary and citronella. This is a mighty blend that will repel mosquitoes, biting flies, lice, ticks, mites and fleas. It’s phenomenal. For baby [newborn up to 4 years old], I only use rosemary essential oil. It’s a safe for baby and it works.

Ingredients [newborn to 4 years]

4 ounces soybean oil

12 ml rosemary essential oil

Ingredients [4 years and older]

4 ounces soybean oil

4 ml eucalyptus essential oil

4 ml rosemary essential oil

4 ml citronella essential oil

Directions

You’ll need any 4 ounce spray container. I own my own bath & body company, so I have tons of random containers on hand. You can pick up little spray bottles in the cleaning area of the grocery store and in the bath & body care area of the grocery store. If it’s bigger than 4 ounces, it doesn’t matter. You can even double the recipe to fill it.

Pour 4 ounces, by volume, of the soybean oil into a measuring cup.

Add all of your essential oils. Stir.

Pour into your bottles and label. That’s it… seriously. This is a 2 minute recipe.

If you would like a label, feel free, for personal use only, to click and print the label below. It will fit most every standard 4 ounce spray bottle and larger sizes. Enjoy the summer!