Summertime is an exciting time. Families are busy spending lots of time outdoors. Camping, hiking, canoeing, boating, beach time, pool time, and playing in the park and backyard time give us plenty to do outdoors. The one thing I don’t love about Summer is…being attacked by mosquitoes!
The mosquitoes haven’t been too bad for me this year, but they simply LOVE my five year old daughter. Just two days ago, she got bit by the eye by a mosquito and had 14 bites on her arms and legs. Poor kid. The one by her eye was so bad, that her eye was swollen shut. She reacts adversely to bug bites and has sensitive skin. Many people who get mosquito bites get itchy and more annoyed and irritated than anything. Little One gets full-on puffy, swollen, red, blotchy, bumpy, and looks like she’s a creature out of a sci-fi movie. It shocks me that mosquito bites can do this to her.
Because Little One has such sensitive skin, and because I want to use natural products on her, I attended a workshop on how to use doTERRA essential oils to make natural mosquito repellent. In the workshop, we also made natural after bite and natural after sun cooling gel.
I’ve known for a long time that certain plants have natural mosquito repellent qualities.
DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent
- 1 tsp Epsom salts (to avoid sticking to the inside of container)
- 10 drops Terra Shield
- 5 drops lavender
- 5 drops lemongrass
- 2 drops peppermint
- 1 drop thyme
- fill rest of bottle with water
In a spray bottle (photo above is actual size – not sure how many mL it holds), add Epsom salts. Add essential oils listed in ingredients above. Fill rest of water with water. Close lid and shake. Voila! DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent!
The above DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent was made with doTERRA essential oils. This recipe is not mine, but from the workshop I attended. A big thank you to Ramona for a fun and informative evening! It’s so great to be able to make my own natural mosquito repellent. I feel much better using essential oils on Little One.
If you’re interested in learning more about essential oils (specifically doTERRA essential oils), visit Ramona’s page here.
I really hope to try this next summer!
Oooh, this sounds like a great idea! I’m not a huge fan of bugspray because of all the chemicals in it. Living on Vancouver Island, we haven’t had to deal with too many bugs, but we’ve been camping more “inland” a few times the mosquitoes can get bad there. So this is great to know! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Oh, Bonnie! You’re so lucky you don’t have to deal with too many bugs where you live! 🙂
Oh how fabulous! I would love to make my own repellents (especially if they would smell much better than those synthetic/toxic chemical stuff.) I totally feel for your little one Christine! Mosquito bites always wind up as huge welts on me thanks to sensitive skin. :/ Thanks so much for the introduction to doTERRA! I’m going through their catalogue now, as I’ve been wanting to use products that are better for myself and the environment. <3
Wow great recipe and it must smell nice too! I hear so many great things about essential oils for ALL kinds of things. Good stuff!
Yes! It doesn’t smell like the kind of bug repellent you get in the stores! I love the smell of lemongrass!
Very interesting, I will have to give this a go when I get my butt in gear and get some more oils 😉
Randa, I love it! I love that it’s natural and safe to use on my little one!
Thanks Christine for the great blog! It was such a fun evening! I can’t wait for us to have our “Back-to-School” make and take later in August!!!
Ramona: I am SO excited about the essential oils. Not to sound like an essential oil evangelist, but they have truly changed my life. I’m so excited about the changes I’ve seen in my family’s health! Thank you!
I’m excited for you too and me and everyone who uses them and see that they really do work!!! I tried one oil today that I’ll have to tell you about, one day you’ll write a blog about it! It worked wonders! BUT I’m keeping it a secret until you are ready to share!
The mosquitoes have been horrible around here. I always feel badly about spraying the children with chemicals, but we just can’t be out without using bug spray. I am excited to read about your alternative.
Pam: I hear ya! I’ve tried everything. I prefer using bug repellents that are natural though. This one is a great bug spray! I feel comfortable and safe spraying Little One with it.