Homemade Natural Mosquito Spray

We live by water.  We have mosquitos.  Lots of mosquitos.  I’m actually convinced they’re mutant mosquitos because they leave welts, not just bites…welts!

On more than one occasion, I’ve frantically run one of the boys over to my dad (the family physician) to see if the bites on their arms or legs are brown recluse bites (my other enemy who currently enjoys residing in our house) or mosquito bites because they are THAT big.  They’ve always been mosquito bites (thankfully), but I know how irritating they must be for the boys (and for us).

Last week I asked Facebook friends to share their favorite mosquito repellents and/or mosquito bit remedies.  Lindsey shared about her homemade mosquito repellent that she puts on pulse points and I was intrigued!  Then just a few days ago I saw this idea for homemade mosquito repellent on Pinterest and knew I had to try it out.

Here’s what you’ll need:  essential oils (citronella and lemongrass are musts, I also like lavender or you could use tea tree oil or geranium oil for tick protection), 14 oz. bottle of witch hazel (available in grocery stores & pharmacies usually close to the rubbing alcohol), a spray bottle (or two–one for home and one for the diaper bag/car), a jar for mixing, and a funnel.

We used these essential oils:  citronella, lemongrass and lavender.   You could also use peppermint or cedar wood essential oils as well.

I cleaned out an empty detangler spray bottle for our “on the go” spray.  

1.  Pour the witch hazel into the glass jar then add your essential oils.  We put about 15 drops of both citronella and lemongrass, and about 10-12 drops of lavender.

2.  Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until it is mixed.

It should be pretty cloudy.

3.  Pour into your spray bottles using a funnel.

Make a label (or write in Sharpie).  I used an old Scrapbook sticker to make it look “cuter”.  :)

You can spray this on the exposed parts of your body:  arms, legs, neck, ankles, feet, etc and then rub it in.  Make sure you don’t spray it on your face or get it in your eyes.  If you put this on your kids, be sure to try just a little bit first on one area of their skin to make sure they’re not allergic to any of the essential oils.

Or you can use it to spray the area around where your sitting outside.

http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/06/make-it-natural-mosquito-spray/