Outdoors activities such as camping and barbecues increase in the summer, so the demand for insect repellent also rises! 
Since DEET – which is one of the main ingredients to be found in generic insect repellents – has been found to contain ingredients that may cause health concerns, alternatives have become more popular and the benefits of essential oils are being recognized more and more. 

Natural aromas given off by some plants are believed to have the ability to repel hazardous insects. In this way the plants protect themselves by putting off insects that dislike their fragrance. We can take advantage of the essential oils extracted from these plants in order to make use of their natural protection. 

Vineyard with roses

 
We need to know which essential oils or their constituents can be useful for avoiding insect bites. 

The most well-known essential oil for this purpose is Citronella. The Indian army used it at the beginning of the 20th century to repel mosquitos and other insects, and the oil became commercialized in the US after the Second World War. Considering its main constituent of citronellal, Lemon Eucalyptus and Lemongrass essential oils would also be expected to have the same action. Otherwise, essential oils including Peppermint, Pennyroyal, Clove, Tymme, Cidarwood and Pine are also effective. Geranium, with its compounds of geraniol, is believed to have weaker insect repellent properties as well. 

Please find out here more details of research data.

So let’s make an effective aromatic insect repellent spray! 

DEET free aromatic insect repellent spray 

Ingredients and recipe:

• A pinch of baking soda
• Purified water (or aromatic distilled water (geranium water)) 45ml
• Dehydrated alcohol 5ml
• Essential oil blend – 30 drops of oils that have insect repellent effects (dilution rate of 2%): Citronella (5 drops), Lemon eucalyptus (5 drops), Lemon grass (5 drops), Geranium (6 drops), Peppermint (6 drops), Lavender (3 drops)

Dissolve the essential oils in anhydrous ethanol, mix well and add the purified water (or geranium water). Finally a little addition – it mixes better with baking soda. Voila!

By the way, when the son of my client went on a trip to the south of France, he suffered no insect bites at all! He’d shared this insect repellent with his friends and they loved the aroma too!  

I’m very happy to hear their voice.:-)