If you're tired of dousing yourself with chemical-laden insect repellents before heading outdoors, this post is for you. Learn how to make a simple homemade DIY bug spray with essential oils in just a few minutes.
In the warm months from the end of May through early September, we get a ton of mosquitoes and black flies around our place. And depending on where you live, summer often means longer, hotter, stickier days and pests like mosquitos, ants, gnats, and more.
While insect repellent and/or bug spray is a must before we head outdoors, I don't love the scent of OFF, Muskoil, or other typical brands In fact, I much prefer the fresh clean smell of this DIY Bug Spray version over store-bought ones.
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Natural Solutions for Health & Beauty Products
If you've followed my site for the past few years, you've likely seen my posts on natural health products.
My daughters and I started experimenting with making soap scrubs a couple of years ago. We often forage as part of our homeschool activities and then turn our foraged herbs and greens into salves, lotions, and other items.
We recently made homemade sunscreen. And just a couple of days ago we tried homemade toothpaste with bentonite clay. With the leftover clay, we created this homemade calamine lotion.
Earlier in the spring, we even used pine needles to make an all-natural, all-purpose cleaner.
Making toilet bombs worked really well, too, and they smell much better than Scrubbing Bubbles or Comet.
Homemade DIY Bug Spray
This fresh-scented DIY bug spray fights off bugs using just three simple ingredients. We've been using it for a couple of years now, but I just hadn't had a chance to turn it into a blog post.
It's nice to be able to select the essential oil combination based on what I have in my cupboard. And it's also nice not to worry about the many chemicals that could be spraying all over me and the children.
And by the way, I also used this as a homemade bug spray for our yellow lab Leo. He passed a couple of years ago, and we miss him.
When you make your own homemade insect repellent, you can avoid using chemicals like DEET and Permethrin. So you can make an effective bug spray safe for everyone, even your dog.
Use This Bug Spray in the Chicken Coop
I've also used this mixture in and around the chicken coop to keep flies, fleas, mites, ants, and mosquitoes away from the flock.
If you follow us on Instagram, you may have seen the pics of our bug zapper light from a couple of summers ago. It was disgustingly full!
Remember not to spray the homemade insect repellent in food or water or directly onto your chickens. It is, however, excellent for keeping nesting boxes fresh.
Storing Natural Bug Spray
Ideally, store your DIY bug spray in a dark glass container, especially when it's made with essential oils.
However, two types of plastic are safe to use and work well with essential oils.
High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Plastic and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic. Look on the bottom of your plastic container for a #1 or #2 to ensure you're using the right kind of plastic.
Since we often take our bug spray outdoors, I opted for a large plastic bottle for this batch.
How to Make Bug Spray with Essential Oils
Here's what you'll need to make your own spray.
Ingredients
- 8 oz witch hazel
- 2 oz distilled water
- 15 drops of citronella essential oil
- 15 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil
- 15 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 15 drops of basil essential oil.
- Spray bottle
Directions
Use a small funnel to add 2 ounces of distilled water and 8 ounces of witch hazel into your bottle, then swirl the mixture around gently.
Add each essential oil, replace the lid, and shake vigorously to combine.
That's it; it's really this easy.
Before each use, shake to combine and distribute essential oils well.
Before heading out, spray exposed areas liberally and reapply occasionally.
I sometimes also spray this mixture on my hat, patio cushions, and the yard area I'm in as an additional measure to keep bugs away.
How to Make DIY Homemade Bug Spray
This easy-to-make DIY homemade bug spray is ready in minutes with just four simple ingredients.
Materials
- 8 oz witch hazel
- 2 oz distilled water
- 15 drops of citronella essential oil
- 15 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil
- 15 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 15 drops of basil essential oil.
Tools
- measuring cup
- spray bottle
Instructions
- Use a small funnel to add 2 ounces of water and 8 ounces of witch hazel into your bottle, then swirl the mixture around gently.
- Add each of your essential oils, replace the lid, and shake vigorously to combine. That's it, it’s really this easy.
- Before each use shake to combine and distribute essential oils well.
Notes
Before heading out, spray exposed areas liberally and reapply occasionally.
I sometimes also spray this mixture on my hat, patio cushions, and the area I am in as an additional measure to keep bugs away.
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I've had good results with Young Living oils as well as Saje and Revive brands!
Do you recommend any particular brand of essential oils? There are SO many out there and weeding through them (and paying for them!) to find ones that are real and pure is a horrifying task.
TIA,
Tammy
You are so welcome, Katie!
So happy to finally find a diy bug spray that's so easy to make! Love that this is chemical free and all-natural, and is absolutely perfect for the bugs were having a hard time dealing with lately! Thanks a lot for this!
Thanks for the recipe! Noticed you said you used it on your dogs as well, but wanted to warn you that peppermint EO is toxic to dogs. Take care!
Sarita, thank you for this incredibly insightful and practical guide on making homemade bug spray. Your step-by-step instructions using essential oils make it easy for anyone to create an effective and natural solution to ward off those pesky insects.