I try to use as few unnecessary chemicals as possible, so I came up with this wonderful homemade natural bug repellent. It works and smells great too!
We’re having a serious tick problem around here.
In the eight years that we’ve lived here I’ve only actually seen a tick on someone once. Fast forward to this year and they are everywhere!
They’re embedded in our pets almost daily, crawling around our house, and a few weeks ago I pulled one out of my little guy’s belly after he was playing outside. YUCK!
How to Make Homemade Natural Bug Repellent
I try to use as few unnecessary chemicals as possible, so I’ve been doing my research and came up with this wonderful homemade natural bug repellent. It really works and actually smells good too!
This is the tick we pulled out of my son! Ewww!
Since we’ve had so many ticks I chose to make our repellent with vinegar…in my research I found that those little buggers don’t like it. But if you are lucky enough to not be in a tick-infested area this year than you can use witch hazel as a substitute for the vinegar. Either ingredient will work great, and I really don’t even smell the vinegar at all.
What You’ll Need…
All you’ll need to whip up your own batch of chemical-free natural bug repellent is a spray bottle (I got mine at the $1 store), water, vinegar (or witch hazel), Shield Me essential oil mix, vegetable glycerin (optional), and whole cloves.
The vegetable glycerin is simply a skin conditioner and the Shield Me Synergy essential oil mix is a combination of Citronella, Grapefruit, Geranium Bourbon, Rosalina and Patchouli.
Shield Me is from the KidSafe line of oils which are specifically formulated for children ages 2-10. If you won’t be using your bug repellent on little ones there is also a different synergy blend available – Nature Shield.
Homemade Natural Bug Repellent
Keep the bugs away and the chemicals too with this natural homemade bug spray! Makes 12 oz.
- spray bottle
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon vegetable glycerin (optional)
- 50 drops Shield Me Synergy essential oil mix
- 4 whole cloves
- Combine vinegar and water in spray bottle.
- Add vegetable glycerin (if using) followed by essential oil mix and cloves.
- Shake to mix and spray away!
We just finished our first bottle of this homemade natural bug repellent and everyone that used it loved it. It works, smells great, and is very easy and inexpensive to prepare once you make the initial purchase of your ingredients.
What natural tips and tricks do you have to keep the bugs away? Share with us in the comments below!
Your link for the Bug-Off Synergy essential oil mix is for a 1/3 oz bottle….how many drops would that make. IE how many bottles of your recipe would one bottle do?
Hi Laura! I’ve made 2 batches so far using that size Bug-Off mix and the oil level is just dipping below the top of the green label right now. So I’m really not sure, but if I had to guess I’d say maybe 10 – 15 or more batches? I plan on that little bottle lasting me about the entire summer. When I use it up (might be a few months) I’ll be sure to come back and update the post to let everyone know just how long it lasted 😉
There are approximately 20 drops in each ml. The bottle has 10ml, so about 200 drops per 1/3 oz bottle.
Yes, Sandy, I have to agree. After you posted your comment I went back and checked my bottle again. Looks like I’ll get about 5 batches so I’ve updated my original comment below to reflect that 🙂 Thanks for helping!