I don’t mind bugs in general but when they attack me I draw the line. I do that with a natural bug repellent because you should never use standard bug repellant as that is basically putting poison directly into your body. Granted it’s not enough to kill you immediately, but I’m pretty sure even a little poison isn’t a good thing. DEET is a main ingredient in these sprays. It’s so poisonous that the Environmental Protection Agency says you should wash it off your skin when you go back inside. Creams and liquids placed on your skin are absorbs into the body through the pores. Hence, there are a variety of drugs that are given via a patch. If you put it on your skin you might as well put it in your mouth.
We’ve got a very simple, safe bug spray you can use. And if the little “buggers” do happen to get you, we’ve got a natural anti-itch cream too! As always, we’ll give you a variety of suggestions and tips and don’t forget to grab your free labels below! Speaking of bugs check out our No-Kill Natural Pest Control for your home. You might also enjoy our Natural DIY Hand Sanitizer Recipe!
Natural Bug Spray Supplies
Bug Repellant Supplies
- 8 oz water (Distilled if you have it. If not use tap.)
- 20 drops Eucalyptus Oil (This oil repels the most bugs i.e. ticks, mosquitoes and gnats)
- Optional: 20 drops Citronella oil 20 drops Lemon oil
- Spray bottle. I used a 6 oz size
Anti-Itch Cream Supplies
- 2 TB baking soda
- 1 TB water
- 4 drops Tea Tree oil aka melaleuca oil (Among other things this is a phenomenal antiseptic and anti-fungal.)
- OPTIONAL: 1 scant tsp coconut oil. This makes it creamier and it also has many health benefits. Don’t add too much as it becomes runny when it’s warm.
- Small containers
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Note: Amounts do NOT have to be exact! These are incredibly safe ingredients.
For the bug repellant spray you just mix the oil with the water in a squirt bottle!
How long can I keep this for? In the fridge or not?
HI Nancy,
I just mixed up your anti-itch recipe with Eucalyptus oil as initially directed, but the summary recipe says to use tea tree. Which one or the other do you recommend? Thank you for clarifying.
Hi Jane,
Well, as old as this post is you’re the first one to catch that error. Thank you so much! It is indeed tea tree oil for the itch cream. I have corrected the graphic that showed it incorrectly. (If you check and still still it it means its pulling from your browser cache. Just refresh the page a few times to see the updated image.)
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to clarify that.
Be well! (and itch free!)
I noticed it says “scant tsp of coconut oil”…. is this added to the mixture or as a replacement to the tea tree oil?
Hi Nanci!
It is an optional ingredient added WITH the tea tree oil. It makes it nice and creamy unless it gets warm. coconut oil has a very low melt temperature.
Good Luck!
I tried the Baking soda, Tree Oil and water for the Itches from Mosquitoes bites on my Legs and so Far its working..
I put both eucalyptus and tea tree in the mixture. I found it wasn’t really working with the mixture suggested, so I added more tea tree and a bit more baking soda as it was way too runny. After that it worked much better. I’m still itchy but not nearly as bad as it was.
Hey Jean! Yeah eucalyptus is great for that too. Also in the repellent!
Just a ? — since we’re allergic to coconut in ANY form can we use Almond oil as the carrier?
Hi BJ! Sorry this took me a couple days. I normally reply asap. I’m pretty sure any good healthy carrier oil would work great!
I have seen so many great articles about ways to use essential oils and I still don’t have any. I totally want to try the bug spray though! Pinning this so that hopefully I can try it once I get some oils.
The Plant Therapy brand is fairly inexpensive on Amazon. As long as the brand has high ratings it should be ok for this purpose. Good luck!
So glad you shared recipes for some of most needed kinds of things for this time of year. I can’t use store bought remedies for biting bugs as I’m allergic, swell up like crazy and makes me terribly sick to stomach. We lived in MT on Canyon Ferry Lake, when water was high skeeters awful. If I walked out to hang laundry they were all over me, those little bitty really nasty biting skeeters. We have those here in western CO also. Being outside at night is miserable. Hate to stay hidden in house all summer at night, want to enjoy outdoors. These will be so handy. Wish I could afford the Young life oils but just not in SS budget. Will have to see if I can find just the oils needed at Sprouts in Grand Junction. Have great week
Well definitely try this! You might want to add extra drops of the oils. Sure can’t hurt you! On Amazon you can find a brand called Plant Therapy which is really highly rated. I’ve used it a lot myself. It’s fairly reasonably price. A lot more so than Young Living or XXXXX anyway! Good luck!
(XXXX’s MEAN WE WERE REQUIRED TO DELETE THE NAME OF THE OIL BRAND LISTED TO KEEP THE POST LIVE. YOU CAN CALL THE # ON THE POST FOR THAT INFO. SORRY!)
Pinned! I want to try this. I have all ingredients on hand. The natural bug spray I made last year was no match to the squitos at Badlands.
Sounds like you have some nasty buggers there! I’d add extra drops of oil!
So far this year, I’m the only one who’s been bit, but that one outing was enough to convince me that we need something this year. This sounds like a great option.
Just tell everyone they bite you because your so dang delicious. lol!
I love finding great ideas of how to use essential oils. Thanks so much for sharing at #homemattersparty
Your so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!