Make this 2 minute mosquito spray when the mosquitoes are getting the upper hand. This effective spray is just the what you need to keep from getting bitten.
The spring melt has brought an overwhelming flood to our community. Thousands of homes have been evacuated. Many volunteers have been tirelessly sandbagging to try to keep the water away from homes and businesses. Many folks have lost everything they owned in the flood. But we’ve also had mercy. There has been no loss of life.
The community is bracing for a second peak in the water levels even as I write this. It’s raining. Not what we had hoped for. And while not everyone has lost their homes, everyone is feeling the sorrow of the loss. And everyone is being swarmed with mosquitoes even as the flood levels rise and fall. (update: The second peak didn’t come. An answer to prayer! People are starting to return to their homes and to start rebuilding. It won’t be easy. And those mosquitoes are swarming because of the standing water!)
I put together this quick mosquito spray for this season because we’ve all got enough to occupy our thoughts without worrying about toxic chemicals and disease-carrying mosquitoes. You can literally make it in 2 minutes if you have the essential oils on hand, and it’s one of my favorite effective insect repellents, and will repel ticks as well as mosquitoes. This natural blend is safe for kids.
Essential oils are made up of hundreds of different constituents, many of which have been extracted for testing against various species of mosquitoes. According to a 2010 study in Bioresource Technology the essential oil constituents with the highest repellent activity include α-pinene, limonene, citronellol, citronellal, camphor, and thymol. These are found in various concentrations in different essential oils. For instance, rose essential oil contains 31% to 44% citronellol. Peppermint essential oil contains both α-pinene and limonene but in smaller amounts than its dominant constituent menthol. Lavender essential oil contains α-pinene, camphor, and limonene, along with its other constituents like linalool.
If you have allergic reactions to any essential oil, substitute it with one that is safe for you. The natural essential oils can also reduce topical allergic reactions to mosquito bites. The number of mosquitoes is highest and dusk and dawn, so keeping this mosquito spray on hand for early morning and late evening walks or gardening is a must.
Different batches of essential oil will show varying percentages of each constituent, so if your mosquito repellent is less effective, you may need to look at the batch analysis from your essential oil company to determine if your specific batch of essential oil is representative of the pure essential oil.
To make it you’ll need some essential oils, some cheap vodka, water, and a 2 cup (500ml/16 ounce) spray bottle. I’ve added a little bit of lecithin to the recipe to help the oils and water combine. You can use glycerin, or Turkey Red oil if you don’t have lecithin. Or you could leave it out and just give it a really hard shake before each use. Keep it simple, and you’ll actually make this instead of just thinking about it. In fact, in the time it took you to read this page it could already be in the spray bottle ready to use. What are you waiting for?
If you don’t have all the essential oils called for in the recipe leave the ones you don’t have out and just use more of the ones you do have. Keep the essential oils at 2% of the blend. That’s 10 ml for this recipe. Note that 20 drops of essential oils are 1 ml. So you’ll need 200 drops of essential oil in total for this recipe. If you are making this for a child under 5 years old, cut the essential oils in half and only use 5 ml for this recipe or 100 drops.
2 Minute Mosquito Spray with Essential Oils
Make this effective bug repellent spray in 2 minutes using essential oils.
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
¼ cup cheap vodka or witch hazel
30 drops Tea Tree Oil essential oil
20 drops Pine Needle essential oil
20 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
30 drops Peppermint essential oil
40 drops Citronella essential oil
20 drops Rosemary essential oil
40 drops Sweet Orange essential oil or lemon essential oil
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sunflower lecithin or turkey red oil
Directions:
Pour vodka or witch hazel into a 500 ml (2 cup/16 ounces) spray bottle. Add the essential oils. Add the lecithin. Cap and shake the bottle. The lecithin or glycerin helps the oils mix with the water. Fill the remainder of the bottle with cold water. Cap tightly. Shake well to combine. Shake before each use. Spray over skin, clothing, shoes, socks, or hair. This recipe is safe for humans, dogs, cows, and sheep. Avoid using this with cats or pet rabbits.
If you want to use this mosquito spray for children under 5, use half the amount of essential oils in the blend and only use 100 total drops. So instead of 30 drops of tea tree essential oil, you’d only use 15 drops. Omit any oils that you or a family member has an allergy or sensitivity to.
To use:
Apply the spray liberally to bare skin and clothing. Reapply hourly. Mosquito repellent sprays based on essential oils lose their effectiveness as the essential oils evaporate, usually after 2 or 3 hours. By applying the spray regularly you maintain it’s effectiveness.
2 Minute Mosquito Spray
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
Make this effective bug repellent spray in 2 minutes using essential oils.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cheap vodka or witch hazel
- 30 drops Tea Tree Oil essential oil
- 20 drops Pine Needle essential oil
- 20 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
- 30 drops Peppermint essential oil
- 40 drops Citronella essential oil
- 20 drops Rosemary essential oil
- 40 drops Sweet Orange essential oil or lemon essential oil
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon sunflower lecithin or turkey red oil
Instructions
- Pour vodka or witch hazel into a 500 ml (2 cup/16 ounces) spray bottle.
- Add the essential oils.
- Add the lecithin.
- Cap and shake the bottle.
- The lecithin or glycerin helps the oils mix with the water.
- Fill the remainder of the bottle with cold water. Cap tightly.
- Shake well to combine.
- Shake before each use.
- Spray over skin, clothing, shoes, socks, or hair. This recipe is safe for humans, dogs, cows, and sheep. Avoid using this with cats or pet rabbits.
- If you want to use this mosquito spray for children under 5, use half the amount of essential oils in the blend and only use 100 total drops. So instead of 30 drops of tea tree essential oil, you’d only use 15 drops.
- Omit any oils that you or a family member has an allergy or sensitivity to.
Notes
Apply the spray liberally to bare skin and clothing. Reapply hourly. Mosquito repellent sprays based on essential oils lose their effectiveness as the essential oils evaporate, usually after 2 or 3 hours. By applying the spray regularly you maintain it’s effectiveness.
These essential oils are effective against mosquitoes, flies, chiggers, and ticks.
If you don’t have all these essential oils on hand try this DIY bug spray based on lavender, instead, either way you’re avoiding pesticides and deet for personal mosquito control.
Other essential oils that have been tested in the laboratory against different species of mosquitoes and been found effective include catnip essential oil, clove essential oil, thyme essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, essential oil of lemon eucalyptus, and lemon-tea tree essential oil (lemon myrtle).
Myth Busting and Controversies around Essential Oils
Learn more about using essential oils for health and wellness here.
Is it regular witch hazel that you buy for this spray?
What is the strongest recipe for no-see-ums? They are also called midges.
A good additional mosquito repellent product to make is a body oil: Just use the same essential oil mix that you like as a repellent, but dilute it in a carrier oil instead of vodka and water.
I do make a spray for mosquitoes with vodka and water as above, and use that for a quick scent booster. But water and alcohol evaporate rapidly, and this contributes to how quickly the essential oils dissipate and need to be reapplied.
So for my “base” repellent, I make a fast-absorbing body oil using the same essential oils. I use grapeseed oil as my carrier oil. It is light, absorbs quickly, and makes your skin feel great, not greasy. Bonus: it’s quite inexpensive! (Check the grocery store. You can usually find organic grapeseed oil near the olive oil.)
I find it very convenient to put it in a bottle with a pump (like the type used for a soap dispenser.) I apply this oil to still-damp skin after showering. The oil helps retain the essential oil fragrance longer on the skin, so that’s the repellent I always start with.
Then I keep the vodka/water spray handy to use as a booster.
I have some in the house and I carry a small bottle in my purse all summer.
hi, question, if i’m going to make a 1 liter i’ll just have to double the recipe? Thank you 🙂
Can you use rum instead of the vodka or straight up alcohol? Can you use lavender as one of the oils?
I have read that essential oils were not safe to use on skin. Do they need to be labeled safe for skin and in the cosmetic department?
Essential oils used on skin should be diluted with a carrier oil. Usually at a 2% dilution or 6 drops per 10ml (2 teaspoons) or .05% for young children or 3 drops per 20ml (4 teaspoons). There are a few that should only be used on the skin in lower dilutions — mostly pressed peel citrus oils, but there are safe versions of those that you can use instead.
Can I use regular castor oil?
Castor oil is heavy and may not give you the effect you want.
I’ve never come across one of these DIY recipes with the lecithin in them. Where do you buy it?
You can use any emulsifier including lecithin, Turkey Red oil, or even Dr. Bonner’s Castile Soap. I buy my sunflower lecithin at Amazon.
Thanks; I will check out Amazon for sunflower lecithin. I pretty much live on Amazon.com anyway. 🙂
About using tea tree oil on animals. My dog got a severe ear infection An the medicine didn’t do anything from the vet. So I googled what I could use to help him, I warmed some olive oil an mixed 2 drop tea tree oil per tablespoon an placed in a dropper then put two drops twice a day in his ears till it cleared up completely. He’s bad about gets a yeast infection in his ears an it’s causing him to loose his hearing. This was the worst. After one day with the oils, he was much better than after tons of money at the vet an a two weeks past finished his antibiotics. From now on I’ll go all natural if at all possible. It was better, safer an it works. I wish I had done this years ago maybe my little buddy wouldn’t be losing his heart. Sad fur mom
Diane I’m so glad you found something that works. I use tea tree and warmed olive oil (infused with mullein flowers) on my dog’s ears as well.
If ingested tea tree can be very toxic to dogs. I would be very careful with that. Just a friendly share.
Dogs do not react to tea tree. But cats and rabbits do. Nevertheless, if you have a small dog you do want to be careful.
Quick question, i have heard that you cant use tea tree oil if you have pets, what can you use in place of this?
That’s not quite true. In a mosquito spray that is being sprayed on you, tea tree is fine to use. You don’t want to spray tea tree on the fur of cats or rabbits because they lick their fur and will ingest it. And cats don’t do well if tea tree is used in an infuser and they can’t leave the room. But if you aren’t diffusing it in a room with cats or rabbits you’re good to use it.
Sometimes you have to spell things out for people especially when it’s essential oils….so if you spray this on ur pants and you rub it on ur arms DO NOT let your cat rub up against your legs and wash your hands after rubbing it on your arms before you go petting your cat because the EO’s will then be transferred to your cats fur which in turn your cat will lick , just be extra careful is all I’m saying! Thank You!!
I’ve used the tea tree oil mixed with coconut oil on my horse for flys and booboos. It has worked really well. The tea tree oil has amazing healing properties, including being antibacterial!
Making this today – thanks, Chris!
Use a strong spray, Tessa. I put it in a whimpy essential oil sprayer and the spray pump keeps sticking. I’m going to put my next batch in a 2 cup glass cleaning spray bottle.
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks fo sharing 🙂