Biting bugs putting a damper on your outdoor plans? Been there. A mosquito magnet, taunted and tormented unto indoor isolation. But, it doesn’t have to be that way for you!

All across the US, there are a plethora of different pests and insects that like to crash your campsites, swarm your meals and chomp on your skin. Gross. Still, there is hope—convenient, low-cost DIY insect repellent is not as far out of reach as you might think.

How are the buggers finding me?

Despite our larger stature and seemingly dominant reign over planet earth, we are vastly outnumbered by insects. There are estimated to be 900,000 different species of living insects, and it has also been estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (a lot) of individual insects alive. In the United States, the biggest party-pooping culprits are generally ants, gnats, ticks, flies, and mosquitoes. They are simply the worst.

While there is still much to be discovered, we have a general idea as to how insects seem to find us whenever we step outside. Some insects, like mosquitoes, use their smell & vision senses to detect exhaled CO2, and follow the trail back to you & I. To make matters worse, mosquitoes can even isolate humans from other animals, honing in on us as their premiere luncheon. 

What can I do to keep insects away?

Thankfully, there are plenty of homemade mosquito repellent remedies & trustworthy products out there on the market that can effectively keep the bugs at bay, without harming your clothes, camping + fishing gear, or your skin. It is vital that you are protected from mosquitoes, as they are the vectors of many infectious diseases that take hundreds of thousands of lives for year. Still, despite all the baggage they carry, the USDA still recognizes mosquitoes as pollinators in wetter environments & for smaller flowers, so we don’t want to kill them (even though they can make us mad sometimes).

The (Magic) DIY Mosquito Repellent

Ingredients:

Distilled Water: to dilute our DIY concoction, distilled water is a necessary component. Ensuring that there are no impurities in the water will help keep the product effective. We use deionized water in our best-selling repellent spray to produce a consistent, repeatedly pure solution. 

Essential Oils: This is where you can get as creative or simple as you want. Oil of lemon eucalyptus is the only plant-based essential oil that is recommended by the CDC as an effective alternative to DEET. It can sometimes get expensive quantities…which is why we would recommend our low-cost, (yet highly concentrated), Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Spray to the average consumer. Plus, it won’t harm your gear.

If you would like to go another route, there are plenty of other essential oils that can be bought that are also recognized by the EPA as natural insect repellents. Our favorites (for both smell & effectiveness) are cedarwood oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, citronella oil, and peppermint oil. We’ve heard soybean oil can work too, but we haven’t tried it yet. Here are some common scents that block insect smell receptors:

• Lemon Eucalyptus: mosquitoes + ticks
• Citronella: mosquitoes + gnats
• Lemongrass: mosquitoes + gnats
• Mint: ants + flies
• Basil: ants + flies

Spritz Bottle: lastly, you’ll need a bottle to put your bug-repelling masterpiece inside of! We would recommend one with a smaller spray nozzle, as to keep the spray out of your eyes and only on your skin, specifically in prime bite areas such as your ankles, wrists, and neck. 

Instructions:

Step 1: Combine ½ cup of witch hazel and ½ cup distilled water in the spritz bottle. 

Step 2: Add about 25 total drops of your chosen essential oils into the spritz bottle. Of course, you're welcome to adjust the fragrance to your personal preference—lemongrass & cedarwood have an excellent smell! 

Step 3: Shake things up! Secure the spritz bottle cap, give it a healthy shaking, and allow the essence of bug-repelling elixir to come together.

Step 4: Venture outdoors with your newly created, naturally-powered insect repellent. As a backup, it’s always a good idea to supplement your bug repellent with a proven area repellent (like our incense or candles), as well as some soothing bite relief—just in case a pesky biter breaks through your aromatic, DIY insect repellent.

 
Have fun out there!
- The Murphy's Naturals Team