Mosquitoes always attract a warmer environment and some desirable scents such as blood, plants, grass, etc. But you can easily repel these undesirable pests from your house and children with the help of some mosquito repellent essential oils. Essential Oils extracted from leaves, roots, fruits of the plant, and some spices too.
Essential oils are a natural and effective way to protect your house from mosquitoes. Most of the mosquito repellent oil companies sell their chemical-filled products at high prices, which also hampers the people's health by increasing pollution in the environment. Still, in this case, essential oils work oppositely. It will just spread pure plant-based scents in your room without putting harmful effects on your health.
Why Choose an Essential Oil as Mosquito Repellent?
People prefer essential oils as they are a natural and easy way of getting rid of mosquitoes bites and come in handy to them. You can also use essential oils while doing yoga, exercises, or meditation. Check out some reasons why you should prefer essential oils as a bug repellent spray too:
- Safer Option: When you are pregnant, you are very specific about the health of your about to be born baby and want to avoid the diseases and infections spread through mosquitoes bites and insects. You can’t go for any chemical spray or chemical-filled mosquito repellent oil, so essential oils are a much safer option in this case as it is natural and highly effective.
- Aromatherapy: Essential oils not only repel bugs but also help in getting relaxed and relieve stress after a long day of work. It also helps in getting a night of good sleep and helps you if you are going through insomnia because of irritating mosquitoes around you.
- Topical Use: You can use essential oil in your creams, lotion to keep bugs away, or you can diffuse these oils in an essential oil diffuser to get rid of mosquito bites itching. This makes it easy for you to choose between chemical-based mosquito repellents or naturally extracted essential oils.
- Safe for Children: With proper instructions and ingredients, you can make a natural homemade essential oil bug spray or lotion for your children without being worried about harsh effects on their skin or health.
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Top 10 Essential Oils for Mosquito Repellent
Here is the list of some of the best essential oils to repel mosquitoes, bugs and other insects and know how you use them in different ways:
1. Lavender Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Lavender essential oil is known for its number of health benefits, but its use as an insect repellent is less known to most people. It has been observed that the fragrance of lavender essential oil helps in repelling mosquitoes. It contains a 93% repellent rate against mosquitoes and contains a high level of linalool, which is also an important component for repelling mosquitoes.
The scent of lavender essential oil is a favorable scent for humans but it is an unfavorable scent for mosquitoes. For better use, you can take a spray bottle and fill it with distilled water and then add 20-30 Drops of lavender essential oil and shake and then use it whenever you want. Even you can apply lavender oil directly to treating bug bites due to its pain-relieving
2. Neem Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Neem essential oil is seen as scientifically effective in repelling bugs and mosquitoes for at least 3-4 hours. Neem oil has already seemed like a medical miracle as it has been used in many of the Ayurveda medicines in India for centuries.
You can try out DIY of neem essential oil spray by diluting 50-100 ml of neem essential oil in water or lotion to repel bugs. It is also observed that when Neem essential oil is used with coconut oil, it shows better results. Neem essential oil makes the skin supple and heals mosquito bites scars.
3. Patchouli Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Patchouli essential oil is made from the patchouli plant's leaves, a specific type of aromatic herb. Patchouli essential oil has a sweet, woody, and spicy smell. It can be used easily for aromatherapy as it has a mesmerizing fragrance. Patchouli essential oil acts as an effective insect repellent and keep mosquitoes away.
It especially works the best for those living in areas where diseases like malaria, dengue fever, etc. Its insecticide properties are so good that some companies use patchouli essential oil in their mosquitoes and bug repellent products. You can also make your homemade bug repellent spray at your home.
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4. Peppermint Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Peppermint essential oil comes from a minty herb, which is a cross between spearmint and water mint. Peppermint essential oil will give a cooling effect on your body as it is a mint herb. This cooling effect also helps you to calm down your body temperature on a hot, humid day.
Peppermint essential oil is found effective in killing mosquito larvae and also protects from yellow fever caused by mosquitoes. You can make bug repellent spray, lotion, blends using peppermint oil well with Carrier Oils like jojoba oil and coconut oil.
5. Tea Tree Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
The chemicals present in tea tree essential oil kills bacteria, fungus and reduce allergic skin reactions. Tea tree essential oil is well known for its antiseptic and antifungal properties, which can help you eliminate mosquito bites or any diseases caused by mosquitoes.
Tea tree essential oil is effective against bush flies, insects, mosquitoes and biting midgets. Tea Tree essential oil works much effectively if used with camphor oil and this blend not only helps you in getting rid of mosquitoes but also helps you in getting rid of other stinging insects, bed bugs, etc. you can also make DIY insect repellent with tea tree oil by using it with geranium essential oil.
6. Lemon Eucalyptus Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Lemon eucalyptus essential oil is extracted from the lemon eucalyptus gum tree. Lemon eucalyptus essential oil is also well-known mosquitoes and bug-repelling essential oil. It provides 90 percent protection against mosquitoes for about three hours. Lemon eucalyptus oil can also be used to insect repellent spray in your kitchen to keep the pantry bugs away from your kitchen.
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7. Geranium Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Geranium essential oil is made from steam distillation of the leaves of pelargonium graveolens. It has a sweet minty-rose smell, which can be termed close to rose or lavender essential oils. The component Geraniol inside geranium essential oil helps it to repel a wide variety of insects and bugs like mosquitoes, fleas, cockroaches, ticks, etc.
The geranium essential oil can stay effective for up to 3-4 hours, depends on the type of geranium essential oil. Geranium essential oil blends well with carrier oils like olive oil, coconut oil, or castor oil.
8. Citronella Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Citronella essential oil is extracted from the leaves and stems of lemongrass Citronella and is also used as a basic ingredient in many mosquito repellents, creams, and sprays. You can follow different DIY recipe for mosquito repellent candles or spray from citronella essential oil, and it will provide you a significant amount of protection from mosquitoes and lemony smell.
Citronella essential oil bug spray can provide you protection against mosquitoes for up to two hours. Citronella essential oil evaporates very fast, so to remain safe, so you have to apply it several times a day but other than that, citronella essential oil can be used in many places for protection from bugs like ants and fleas.
9. Organic Thyme Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Thyme essential oil is a traditional herb from a mint family. Being a traditional herb makes it antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. Carvacrol and alpha terpinene are the two most important compounds in thyme essential oil, which makes it a good mosquito repellent. Thyme essential oil is also found effective in eliminating houseflies.
Thyme essential oil provides 90 percent protection from mosquitoes for at least 2-3 hours. For DIY, you can combine 4 drops of thyme essential oil to every teaspoon of carrier oils, such as olive or jojoba oil. For making a DIY spray, mix 5 drops of thyme oil with 2 ounces of water.
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10. Basil Sweet Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
Basil is something Indians usually use in their day to day life because of its health benefits, but basil can also be used for getting rid of mosquitoes and bugs. Basil is also called Tulsi in India. The pungent smell of basil essential oil keeps the mosquitoes out of your surrounding area. Basil essential oil can be effectively used to kill the larvae of mosquitoes.
Tulsi contains some compounds that help relieve pain because of its herbal antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Basil essential oil can provide you protection against mosquitoes for up to 2-3 hours after that you can reapply the product again after proper diffusion.
How to Use Essential Oil for Mosquito Repellent
There are several ways to use essential oils as a mosquito repellent in your daily life, but some possible selective ways are explained below:
Homemade Mosquito Repellent Diffuser: Use essential oil mosquito repellent diffuser that will release the scent of essential oil directly to the room and works as aromatherapy for you when you are tired and want to have a good night's sleep.
DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent Spray: You can make your own homemade mosquito repellent spray or lotion at home without using a bulk of ingredients and chemicals. It would be safe to use mosquito repellent spray in appropriate amount.
Essential Oil Mosquito Repellent Blend: You can also make essential oil roller blends and mixtures which would beat the heat and works as a mosquito repellent both at the same time. In hot and sweaty weather cooling effect from anything feels so better and side by side also effective in keeping you safe from.
Best Essential Oil Recipe for Mosquito or Bug Repellent
Use clary sage essential oil, Catnip essential oil, Lemon eucalyptus essential oil and above-mentioned oils which can be used to provide you relief from mosquito’s bite scars and itching issues.
Mentioned below are few recipes to use essential oil in your routine which is believed to repel mosquitoes:
DIY Essential Oil Mosquito Repellent Spray Recipe
Check out this homemade mosquito repellent spray diy, you can make easily with few essential oils:
- Take 6 oz. spray bottle.
- Add 2 oz. of witch hazel oil in it.
- Now add 2 oz. of water.
- Then add 10 Drops of geranium essential oil, 15 Drops of lavender essential oil, 5 Drops of patchouli essential oil, 10 Drops of lemon essential oil, and 10 Drops of citronella essential oil.
- Shake your mixture well and spray it whenever you want to go out.
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Essential Oil Blend to Repel Mosquitoes
- Take a bottle with a capacity of more than 10 ml.
- Put 10 ml coconut oil or sweet almond oil.
- Now put 2 Drops of frankincense essential oil, 4 drops of lavender essential oil, 2 Drops of peppermint essential oil, 1 drop of tea tree essential oil, and 1 Drop of lemon essential oil.
- Mix the blend well and use it on your head, neck, ankles wherever you want other than your eyes.
Essential Oil Mosquito Repellent Candle
- Take 1 Lemon, 1 Lime, few sprigs of rosemary some specific essential oils, and a 16- 20 oz jar.
- Slice lemon and lime into ¼ inch slices and put on the bottom of your jar.
- Now add water to the jar and essential oils inside the jar.
- Add 15 Drops of lemongrass essential oil, 7 Drops of lavender essential oil, and 7 Drops of geranium essential oil. Leave 1 inch of the jar for the candle
- Now put a small candle in between your mixture. You can now use this beautiful candle for dates, night outs, etc, and it will work as an excellent decoration for your special day and works as a mosquito repellent.
Precautions While Using Essential Oil as Mosquito Repellent
Essential oils are natural oils, but some people can be allergic even when you dilute those oils with a carrier oil. That’s why it is advisable to conduct a patch test on your elbow before using them directly on your skin.
Suppose you feel any irritation or uneasiness after applying the oil. In that case, you should wash that part of your body where you have applied essential oil immediately with soap and cold water.
- Put essential oils away from direct contact with your eyes or it will greatly damage your eyes.
- Do not mix essential oils with the wrong ingredients or any ingredient which were proved to be harmful to your health.
- Some essential oils are phototoxic, so don’t go outside in the sun after applying those essential oils.
Conclusion
Mosquitoes are one reason that makes summer much terrible, and choosing a right method to get rid of them seems so confusing for everyone. Essential oils are a perfect match for your needs with several other uses. It will provide you a good night's sleep, which we miss in the presence of lots of mosquitoes in our room or house. Chemicals are also not a part of these essential oils, which makes them safe to use for your family.
Making DIYs Essential oil Mosquito and Tick repellent spray with your children would also be a fun activity for you and your children or siblings, and homemade products work best for our household use rather than factory-made chemical products. Essential oils are also environmentally friendly because they don’t contain harmful carbon monoxide, which pollutes the environment. You can purchase the best quality and natural Essential Oils online to get rid of bugs, mosquitoes bites and scars.