Natural Mosquito Repellent

moquito repellent, natural mosquito repellent, repellents
Rose Geranium, Plantain
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Since the 1999 appearance of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in North America, it’s more important than ever to keep these pests at bay. You can outsmart mosquitoes with this homemade, Earth-friendly solution.

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Herbal Insect Repellent

2 1/2 teaspoons total of any combination of the following essential oils: basil, cedarwood, citronella, juniper, lemon, myrrh, palmarosa, pine, rose geranium and/or rosemary (available at health food stores)

1 cup 190-proof grain alcohol (available in liquor stores)

Place ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Transfer to small bottles for storage. To use, rub a small amount on any exposed skin (test first to be sure your skin will not be adversely affected by the repellent) or dab it on clothing.

Experiment a little to find which essential oils work best with your body chemistry. If you’re lucky, you also will like the way they smell; otherwise, add a few drops of peppermint oil to fine-tune the fragrance.

If you are bitten, follow this advice from James Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy. Plantain (Plantago, various species) is one of the best herbs to treat bug bites.

You probably won’t need to plant this home remedy because it is a very common weed, often growing in compacted soil along sidewalks and driveways. To use the plant as first aid for a mosquito bite, crush a few leaves and rub them on the bite. Visit the University of California’s Weed Photo Gallery for help identifying plantain.

Some anti-itch drugstore medicines to use include Calamine lotion or cortisone creams. Doctors generally recommend pain relievers, ice packs and meat tenderizer to treat insect bites and stings. Promptly applying a dab of commercial meat tenderizer directly to a sting can neutralize the allergen.

32 Comments

  • Christine Kesselring 6/23/2009 9:57:44 PM

    Please note GARLIC IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR DOG! Please don't put it in your dogs food. You are going to slowly kill your dog.

  • Carol Jacobs 5/31/2009 1:23:54 PM

    Before putting any garlic in your dogs dish: Beware! Garlic and onions are not good for dogs; they can destroy red blood cells. You might be solving one minor problem and creating a much worse one. Per Hound Health Handbook by Betsy Brevitz, D.V.M.

  • Meri Lee 5/31/2009 10:44:58 AM

    For Fleas. Sprinkle a little Brewers Yeast on your pets food, as this comes out the poors of your pets fleas will leave.
    Salt your carpets, leave down for a few days then vacume, I also like to have a couple of moth balls in my vacume bag to kill any fleas that are still alive....however I have recently learned that the same fumes that kill off the moths and fleas is not good for us either,
    Mosqutios. I prefer to use essential oils over anything else but you do have to use caution when using EOs they are very powerful oils and can be harmful if used incorrectly.
    Skin so Soft that you get thru Avon...Mosquitos HATE it and will leave you alone....AND it smells good!

  • krkyoldhag 5/28/2009 1:29:22 PM

    Flea remedy: It works...crush one pod of garlic in your pets food...fleas begone. I buy the chopped garlic in jars at Sam's Club(food warehouse) ...on what to put in water..haven't tried that..but there is a LOT of liquid in the jars so might work to just put a spoonful in the water..

    but the garlic in the food works great.

    Mosquitos: one spray of Lysol runs them off ...doesn't work for flies tho.

    What is the recipe for the Dr. pitcairns pet food?

  • Jackie 5/28/2009 12:32:30 PM

    I believe Laurie is referring to the liquid Ceder-cide that Shiela posted about. I believe that is what she is putting into her dog's waterbowl to keep the fleas off.

  • Jackie 5/27/2009 8:48:14 AM

    Would someone please repost the recipe for getting rid of the fleas by putting something in the water bow. TIA

  • Sherli Jones 5/26/2009 9:34:11 PM

    Laurie, in her 08/08 comment, said to "put 1 teaspoon in each quart of dog's drinking water" to curtail fleas. She did not say WHAT to put in the water, only HOW MUCH. Could someone please let me know what she put in the water. I have heard this before, but have forgotten it. Thank you. Sherli

  • hollie228 5/6/2009 6:55:01 PM

    Love your site and magazine!!!! Keep up the great work!

  • shameem ghori 4/30/2009 11:32:41 AM

    I am an angler and camper.there are a lot of mosquito in pakistan forests.I always keep my own made mosquito repellent and enjoy. one part of citronella oil and 9 parts of white or any oil.it is best to protect from mosquitores.shameem ghori pakistan

  • shameem ghori 4/28/2009 8:54:35 AM

    I am an angler and camper.there are a lot of mosquito in pakistan forests.I always keep my own made mosquito repellent and enjoy. one part of citronella oil and 9 parts of white or any oil.it is best to protect from mosquitores.shameem ghori pakistan

  • MC 4/4/2009 10:55:10 PM

    I haven't had a lot of luck with rose geranium as a mosquito repellent. I might try throwing some lemongrass oil into the mix and see what happens. Maybe AR mosquitoes are extra-hungry... or maybe they're just glad to bite someone where they don't have to compete with the ticks. No kidding-- we've got TICKS around here. Not just ticks-- TICKS. I once left my baby in his carseat under a tree for 20 minutes and ended up pulling over 2 dozen ticks off him. Rose geranium oil is bar none THE BEST TICK REPELLENT AVAILABLE. I dilute 10-20 drops (weaker for the kids, stronger for DH and me) in an ounce of baby oil and rub on the skin. I have found very, very few ticks on us since I started. A 1-oz. bottle costs $10-20 but lasts two years. And better than DEET, it doesn't turn my kids' pores red and it doesn't sweat off.

  • Laurie 8/14/2008 5:56:44 PM

    One teaspoon to each quart of dogs drinking water will keep fleas from bothering your dog. I have done this with my dog, and wanted to share. My dog still drinks the water so that is not a problem. She's almost 13 and it has not hurt her.

  • Sheila 7/11/2008 10:49:41 PM

    Hi, I am new to this site but thought since I am here, being a woman and all, that I may as well put my two cents in as well. I had an outside dog when I moved into my new home and we have a bunch of neighborhood dogs that run free and are so infested they only have of their hair. Owners need to be taught a lesson... Anyway, I worked in a bar at the time and had the sweetest older gentlmen that came in regular and I was telling them my problem and one told me this trick that I have used since. I have 3 kids and don't like chemicals especially since one had ezcema. He told me to go buy a bag of cedar- cide, you can get this at some Walmarts or fertelizer stores. Get a couple of big buckets and fill them a third full with the cedarcide, then fill with water, and cover. Let sit for 24 hours, you can buy this made at some stores but it cost alot. After it sits strain all the water into a sprayer and spray everything, being natural I sprayed my yard, the inside of my house,my furniture, everything. Then sprinkle the chips around your house outside and I put a few in the closet and such. It got rid of my Fleas, my yard bugs, I had less mosquitos, no locust, etc. It was nice. Now I buy a bag every summer and keep my yard and house sprayed. You can get a bag for 8 bucks and I only use one bag per summer. I only have about three quarters of an acre, and a small 3 bedroom house. So more land more cedar.

  • AKMAN 7/3/2008 7:16:36 PM

    Beleive it or not it works:

    I just moved into my new house and there are mosquito's everywhere. I was told that If I sprayed my entryways and porch with Listerine mouth wash that the mosquitos would stay away. I figured what the heck and gave it a try. I probably had 50+ mosquitos in my entryway when I began to spray listerine. 30min later I had maybe 1 brave mosquito flying around. I now spray the entry and deck in the morning and evening and I dont have mosquitos in the house.

  • Moe Paulson 10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM

    The best natural flea and roach killer and repellent I've found
    is 20 Mule Borax! I've always had cats and dogs (raise Bull
    Terriers) and have used this for 20 years in my homes in Florida
    and now in the bayou in Louisiana (typical bug paradises!) When we
    first moved to Florida our pets and home became quickly infested
    and after trying every nasty chemical with only temporary results,
    we read about Borax.Sprinkled it everywhere (NOT on pets!), then
    vaccumed and swept.After that, only under counters,stoves, along
    baseboards,behind furniture- it only takes a little at this point,
    once they are gone, to keep them gone.I was amazed.Occasionally a
    roach gets in and I direct hit with a 50-50 mix of Dr.Bonner's
    peppermint soap and water.I keep my dogs away from dogs I don't
    know- tried a dog park once and picked up some
    hitch-hikers(fleas)

  • angel ayala 7/25/2007 12:00:00 AM

    Hola. Any body cant tell me whath is "fabric softener sheet" in
    spanish?Those mosquitos got me and my family
    crazy...HELP.<<a_ayala18@hotmail.com>>

  • Janice cooper 7/24/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I tried this recipe at a nursery I work at and the mosquitoes
    loved it.I figure it cost me 24.00 for this.What a waste.

  • Spring Williams 7/10/2007 12:00:00 AM

    A safe way to deal with fleas is to sprinkle lots of salt on
    carpets, rugs, and hardwood floors, especially along baseboards,
    leave on for several hours before vacuuming up. This is safe for
    pets, but it dehydrates fleas in all the stages of life including
    the dormant stages. I don’t have pets and only used this when I
    moved into a home where fleas were present. When I did it, I left
    it overnight and it worked. If you have pets, you may have to do it
    more than once.

  • MARLEY KINGSTON 5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I live in Jamaica and we're loaded with mosquitos. I haven't yet
    found any miracle cure (and don't think plaintain grows here). I do
    sleep with a mosquito net, but when I'm desparate, I just burn a
    lot of incense. It doesn't kill the mosquitos, but they avoid the
    smoke. Unfortunately, I do not like breathing it either.

  • Mona White 5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I am new and am looking to find a way to keep mosiquitos from
    hanging around. I am not much for store bought chemicals, but need
    to spray or put something around my porch area (the little buggers
    keep getting in when the screen door opens). This year seems to
    really be bad and need something quick.Thank you in
    advance!!

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