To prepare for Spring and for my daughter going away on a retreat this weekend, I decided to make an essential oils bug spray to keep her protected from tick and bug bites.
The reality is that more than just ticks carry dangerous pathogens. Mosquitoes, spiders, biting flies, and fleas also transmit Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia and other bacterial, parasitic and viral infections.
Today I made my bug spray in 1 oz. bottles that I recycled from our herbal medicine. There are many places online where you can purchase these new.
I use Young Living Essential Oils. I love that I can trust their purity, company standards, and their quality. I’ve been using Young Living oils for years for pain from Lyme, side effects from the antibiotics, general sickness, wounds, infections and everyday well-being.
Now, I’m using essential oils to make an insect repellent. I’m super paranoid about any of my kids getting another tick bite so I added a lot of different oils but it’s probably not necessary.
This is really the first time I’m making a bug a spray for my family. Years ago I made a tick repellent for our bunny. We soaked her collar in a recipe for pet repellent that we found online and let it dry before putting it on her. Once we started using it she never brought another tick inside.
I’ve seen many different recipes floating around the web so I think as long as you’re including some of these key oils (Geranium and Eucalyptus or Citronella) you should be fine.
Here’s the recipe I put together today.
EASY ESSENTIAL OILS BUG SPRAY
Directions
1 oz bottle
1 tsp witch hazel, vodka, or even white vinegar
5 drops each: Cedarwood, Geranium, Eucalyptus, and Lemongrass.
Other oils you can add are Purification, Citronella, Lavender, and Peppermint.
Fill the remainder of the bottle with water, shake and spray.
Increase the recipe for larger bottles. An 8-oz bottle would have approximately 30 drops of each essential oil.
Grab these cute labels over at Amber’s Easy Green Mom site. While she uses a different brand of essential oils then I do, I just loved her cute labels.
If you have Purification on hand, used alone it is quite amazing for bug and spider bites. It reduced the pain and swelling of a spider bite I had within a few hours and feels great on mosquito bites too. It really is a must have during bug season.
Have you used essential oils for your own bug spray recipe? I’d love to hear how you make yours and how they work to repel ticks.
Interested in Essential Oils?
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If you have any questions just send me a quick email and I’ll help you out.
The original repellent I used for our bunny is as follows – 4 oz. Water, 4 oz. Witch Hazel, 1 oz Carrier Oil (soybean was listed) 1/8 oz. glycerin, 10 drops tea tree oil, 10 drops of lemongrass, 10 drops of eucalyptus. (I didn’t use glycerin.)
I put all the ingredients in a bowl, mixed it up and soaked the pet collar in the mixture until it was thoroughly soaked through. Then I left the collar out on a paper towel to dry completely before using. ****Please double check with your Veterinarian to make sure this recipe will be safe for your pet.***
I had to search for the recipe because this was something I used almost 10 years ago. This was my first experience with essential oils. So, here is what we used: 4 oz. Water, 4 oz. Witch Hazel, 1 oz Carrier Oil (soybean was listed) 1/8 oz. glycerin, 10 drops tea tree oil, 10 drops of lemongrass, 10 drops of eucalyptus. I don't believe I used glycerin. I put all the ingredients in a bowl, mixed it up and soaked the pet collar in the mixture until it was thoroughly soaked through. Then I left the collar out on a paper towel to dry completely before using. ****Please double check with your Veterinarian to make sure this recipe will be safe for your pet.***
Tricia: what was the recipe you used for the bunny's collar?
You're welcome! This is really my first time making bug spray so I'm not sure how long it will last but I plan to use often. Water can cause irritation if you're using certain oils like lemongrass and peppermint. I would use with caution.
Thanks for the recipe. How long would the oils keep the bugs away? Is it water resistant?