It’s that time of year and biting bugs might be invading your life. While there are many over the counter insect repellents, they often contain DEET, or diethyl-m-toluamide, which has questionable health effects, especially for children. Alternatively, nature provides safe and effective aromatics which you can easily blend at home. Here’s a look at these essential oils and how to use them. The following recipes and directions will help you make your own “bug sprays”.
Traditional insect repellant formulas contain DEET, a chemical shown to be hazardous to children (read:humans). Thankfully, catnip oil is 10 times as effective at telling mosquitoes to “buzz off” without the potential safety risks. People seeking natural alternatives are noticing the benefits of essential oils as healthier replacements for chemical insect repellants.
An Iowa State research group, which had previously found catnip essential oil repels cockroaches, presented the report at the 222nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Below is a quote from Science Daily as to how the experiment was done:
The experiment involved two 2-foot tubes, divided in half. One half of the first tube was treated with nepetalactone, which comprises 80% of our Catnip oil. Ten minutes after releasing 20 mosquitoes into the tube, only four remained on the side of the tube treated with nepetalactone. In the other tube, half of which was treated with DEET (diethyl-m-toluamide), after the same ten minutes, 8 or 9 mosquitoes remained on the treated side. Statistically, that means that nepetalactone was 80% effective at repelling mosquitoes, while DEET was only 55-60% effective.
The efficacy of nepetalactone and DEET at repelling mosquitoes was compared on a scale from -100 to +100. A rating of zero means an equal division of insects between the treated and untreated sides. The results of the catnip tests ranged from +49 to +59. In the DEET testsrepellency was only about +10 in this bioassay.
Researchers say nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than DEET because it takes about one-tenth as much nepetalactone as DEET to have the same effect. Most commercial insect repellents contain about 5 percent to 25 percent DEET. Presumably, much less catnip oil would be needed in a formulation to have the same level of repellency as a DEET-based repellent. Yay! You can use a smaller amount of catnip oil in a homemade formula to enjoy the same results as a traditional DEET-based formula.
Given the higher effectiveness of Catnip essential oil, it takes less oil to produce the same benefit as one achieves using more of the potentially harmful DEET. There are also two other delightful blending oils that provide repellency. Their scents are a matter of preference; the newest oil is Eucalyptus Citradora, which doesn’t exhibit Citronella’s classic aroma of lemon-grass.
Essential oils repel insects through a variety of means. From lotions to water- or partially alcohol-based sprays, to diffused oils throughout your home, your essential oil formulas will protect you from biting insects when applied to skin, clothing, or dispersed through the air.
Body Sprays and Lotions
If you prefer to make a pleasant and effective spray for the skin or clothing, you’ll need to add a little “tween”, a naturally-derived compound that helps oils and water stay mixed. You’ll find it on our mixing bottles page. Some people say use equal parts Tween and essential oil in your recipe, but we’ve noticed that we can use much less (perhaps 1/4) if we don’t mind shaking the bottle before we use it. So, here are 3 recipes you can try, or make up your own and see what you get. If you want to make a lotion, use any unscented cream for your base, such as our organic jojoba/coconut. You won’t need Tween when using a cream base. For each one ounce of total liquid, use the following:
Refreshing Blend
1.5ml Catnip Oil 1.5ml Eucalyptus Citradora Oil 0.5ml Peppermint Oil (use only 7 drops if the spray will be used on children under 12) add perhaps 10 drops of Tween (don’t be offended by the smell – it actually is almost undetectable in about a day) and fill the bottle the rest of the way with water and/or alcohol (some folks find the alcohol mixes better, but we use water).
Recipe #2
1.0ml Catnip Oil 1.5ml Geranium Oil (A VERY popular ingredient in natural mosquito repellents) 1.5ml Citronella OR Eucalyptus Citradora 0.5ml Peppermint Oil (again use only 7 drops if the spray will be used on children under 12). The peppermint is not really a requirement, but we think the menthol may add repellent action.
Recipe for Diffusers
Due to the expense of catnip essential oil with a high concentration of neptalactone (like ours), you may add none at all, or perhaps 1/10th of your entire blend being catnip, the rest being whatever you like to smell! Our favorites include: Eucalyptus Citradora, Citronella, Geranium, and a little Peppermint. ALL these oils have been noted effective, and we think trying out new formulas at home is fun. As a best practice, make a note of what you put in your diffuser each time, and how well you liked them.
The author has made available much information about aromatherapy, such as using Helichrysum and other pure and natural essential oils.
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