Homemade Insect Repellant Bar
July 18, 2008 by Linette Gerlach
Filed under Garden Pests, Home Remedies, eco-friendly gardening
It’s getting very buggy outside, especially in and around my flower garden. I think all the extra rain we’ve had has made a wonderful breeding ground for mosquitos and other bugs this year.
I’m allergic to the scents in many of the commercial insect repellents out there. Most of them throw me into a sneezing fit, and eventually give me a major headache if I don’t wash them off or get away from the smell. I can use one or two of the unscented varieties, but I’d rather avoid them all together when I can.
Here’s my favorite homemade bug repellant recipe. I copied it down from somewhere, but it’s been many years ago, so I don’t remember the source.
What You’ll Need:
1 1/2 oz beeswax
1 1/2 oz of aloe butter
1 1/2 oz of cocoa butter
2 oz of sweet almond oil
3-4 drops of vitamin E oil
5 to 10 drops of one of the following oils:
- citronella
- cedarwood
- eucalyptus
- geranium
- lemongrass
- sandalwood
soap mold, or plastic or glass container to use as a mold
You will also need a double boiler, or two different size pans so you can put water in the base pan, and another inside it to melt the waxes and butters.
How to make the bug repellant bar:
Put the beeswax, aloe butter, almond oil, and cocoa butter in the top of a double boiler over heat to melt them together. Make sure you have a little water in the bottom pan.
When the waxes and butters have melted remove them from the heat. Mix in the vitamin E and the essential oil you chose.
Pour the mixture into soap molds and let it cool.
When you need to repel insects just rub the bar over the exposed areas of your skin before you go outdoors.
If you have a difficult time locating any of the items listed here, try a whole foods, or natural health store. Most of these items can also be found through online retailers.
Here are a couple more “buggy” home remedies from Simply Home Remedies:
Eco-Safe Insecticide For Your Garden
Image (c) Linette
awesome!