Sometime back, I started developing a serious conscience about the chemicals we immerse ourselves in during our day to day lives. Cleaning products jumped out at me with their lists of unpronounceable "ingredients". So began my love affair with essential oils and homemade cleaning products and skin care potions. When I made this bug spray (much to the scoffing of Lily and B's screams for 100% DEET -the man has serious bug issues) I was also bombarded with numerous requests for the recipe if it actually worked! SUCCESS!!! Belle came home from camp with ONE bite. In fact, we all used it the weekend we picked her up and went camping and were bite free (:
Recipe is as follows minus all the nasty neurological issues caused by extended use of commercial bug sprays. Plus, it smells good. Kind of like a woodsy perfume.
Homeopathic Bug Spray Recipe
Witch Hazel
Distilled Water
I make my spray directly in the bottle I'm going to be using. These are just small spritzer bottles I picked up for .99 in the travel section at Target. Fill half way with witch hazel and the rest of the way with distilled water. It's important that it's DISTILLED water and not tap or spring or drinking. Distilled water has been boiled to remove the minerals and chemicals found in common tap water and has not had fluoride added as in drinking water. The condensation from the steam is collected and this is what is bottled. It's the lack of these minerals and chemicals that allow the essential oils to be the most effective. Essential oils should be used with caution as too much can be toxic. However, I think it's condensed version I make that has a higher potency in this bug spray. I use 5 drops of each oil per spritzer bottle. I buy my essential oils at The Good Earth in Broadripple. They have a good assortment for good prices. However, if I can't find what I'm looking for (their selection is surprisingly limited) I go to Whole Foods. I have a few friends who buy theirs online, but I'm an instant gratification shopper. I want my stuff NOW! If anyone has a link to a site with great prices please leave a comment. I'm always up for change in the sake of a good deal. Otherwise, shake and be bite free :)
** I do have one more oil that I myself have not yet added to my current mixture but I will! It's called Pennyroyal. I discovered it from a soap maker at the Farmer's Market Downtown. I bought his woodsman's soap while talking to him about a soap for my dog to help repeal fleas and tics. He had several "pet" soaps, but said I could use the Woodsman's Soap on the dog as well as us. (I bought it for our camping trips because my spray is not for tics. Repeat. NOT A TIC REPELLENT) However, adding pennyroyal deepens the hatred of skeeters and adds tics to the list. If adding pennyroyal oil simply use the 5 drop standard. WARNING: DO NOT USE PENNYROYAL IF PREGNANT OR NURSING!
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