How to make an effective all-natural bug spray

Small green bottles, cloth sachets, essential oils on a silver tray, spray tops for green bottles and a cloth bag of supplies for making bug spray.

It’s summer so that means a couple of things…a lot of time outside and those nasty bug bites and mosquito bites, and other pesky insects.

Most bug and mosquito bites are just annoying. But in rare cases, they can also be dangerous. So best to avoid them when possible. I’m also not a fan of insecticides or deet or putting all kinds of chemicals on my skin which may or may not be dangerous depending on who you talk to or what you use. I play it safe and make my own bug spray/repellent using all-natural ingredients.

I’ve been making all-natural insect repellent for three summers now and I will never go back to the awful-smelling and messy stuff I used to buy at the drug store. It’s so easy to make an all-natural bug spray and you can even customize it to what you’ll be using it for. Personally, I like to make sure I’m covered for every kind of bug I’ll encounter – on land and water. So I use all the essential oils known to keep multiple kinds of bugs away! Call it overkill, but that’s just the way I am.

All-natural ingredients

DIY or organic bug sprays are a great alternative to synthetic bug repellents. You can use natural ingredients to make bug sprays for your home, yard, plants, and your skin, too.

Some of the pure essential oils that are known to repel insects are:

Citronella
Lemon grass
Lemon
Tea Tree
Geranium
Thyme
Eucalyptus
Cinnamon
Lavender
Peppermint

How to make a small bottle of bug spray/repellent

I like to use a 15 ml bottle, all organic ingredients, and follow three simple steps:

Fill it with about 25 drops of different oils
Add about 10 drops of witch hazel
Top off the bottle with distilled water.

What are the best oils for insect repellent

Essential Oils in Clear Bottles show the difference in colors of all natural oils

All of the oils listed above are known to repel bugs. But here are my five favorites and why I use them. I always keep the quantity at approximately 25 drops per 15 ml bottle.

Citronella oil

Citronella gets its name from the French word Citronelle which means lemon balm. Citronella is known to help keep bugs at bay, especially mosquitos.

Lemongrass oil

Very close to citronella, lemongrass essential oil is also helpful in keeping flying insects away.

Peppermint oil

Peppermint helps keep all kinds of bugs away! You can use it in a spray bottle around the house and even in sachets. We always add it to our insect repellent.

Tea Tree oil

Tea tree is also known as Melaleuca. It originates in Australia. Tea tree is known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. But in addition, it helps keep mosquitos, ticks, bees, and fire ants away.

Geranium oil

Geranium helps with a wide variety of insects including mosquitos, ticks, gnats, ants, flies, and fleas.

What else goes into all-natural insect repellent?

Witch Hazel

Distilled or boiled water

Why Young Living Essential Oils?

Three years ago I had never used essential oils for anything! I was introduced to Young Living essential oils by my friend Brooke of Nesting with Grace. One of my favorite things is the all-natural insect repellent. I’ve tweaked it a bit over the last couple of years. If I’m out of one of the above oils, I don’t worry about it! As you can see you could make it with all five listed or just two or three.

If you use 100% pure therapeutic grade oils like Young Living, you know that you have the best quality oils you can buy. They are the most effective and that’s why they work!

Three 15 ml green bottles, two with spray tops, filling with all-natural bug spray made from essential oils

Cloth sachets in a wooden bowl, 15 ml green glass bottles, essential oils in a silver tray, and spray tops falling out of a cloth bag

Four 15 ml green glass bottles with spray tops filled with all-natural bug spray, sitting on marble countertop

Putting this all-natural insect repellent to the test

We live on the water in coastal Connecticut. We are outside on the porch or out on our paddle boards at dusk all summer long and I can’t remember the last time I had a bug bite! We keep them in our golf bags and beach bags too!

Perfect for a summer wedding in the woods

My sister-in-law asked me to make them for my nephew’s wedding. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it first! I made them for the garden party last summer and they were a big hit! We are using the same green bottles, and labels with the ingredients listed. We added a spray top so it’s easy to apply. We put them in small bags and as everyone arrived, they could grab a bottle to use all weekend!