BUG OFF!! All natural insect repellent

With Summer comes outdoor activities, cookouts, swimming, fishing, hiking or just relaxing in your yard. AS IF you can do that with all the mosquito's this years rain has brought! But i am a firm believer in giving thanks for ALL things. Without the mosquitos and other creepy crawly things that suck the blood and life right out of you AND your pets..... I would forget how totally awesome the essential oils are!!
A couple of weeks ago I was working out in my yard between rain showers, since that was the only way anything was going to get done that week (end) lol. I have been reading up on all natural bug repellents a lot lately. I hate the idea of all the harmful stuff they put into the name brand (works so good) items you buy. My husband even has felt sick from using them in the past. So I decided rather than being a prisoner in my house for the next several months I REALLY needed to find something that would work, was reasonably frugal and all natural - aka would not kill us if we breathed it in or make us grow a third arm ;0)  I also needed something that was safe around my animals. My Shepherd has a fascination of herding me where ever I go (It is a GSD thing) and she constantly kisses me to get my attention. I found several articles on homemade repellents and many variations of oils that I already had on hand. The most amazing thing I found is they could also repel ticks and fleas - Thank you JESUS!! I need me some of that.... with all the rain I cannot seem to get my yard treated either... My dog has pills to take, me I get ate up with sand fleas :(
So as the next torrential downpour came on I went into my kitchen and mixed up this batch. Sprayed it on my skin and clothes and went back into the yard as the rain subsided. I was amazed, after only a few minutes of not having to wail my arms like a mad woman I realized it was REALLY WORKING!!

Here is the list of ingredients that I used:

10 drops Lemon Essential oil
10 drops of Eucalyptus Essential oil
5 drops of Peppermint Essential oil
1 tsp of Rubbing alcohol 91%
6 oz of water
1 fine mist spray bottle (any garden variety will work well also)

I put the rubbing alcohol in a medicine cup then measured in my essential oils. The alcohol helps to emulsify the oils so they will mix with the water, otherwise they will just float on top. I then put that in my spray bottle, added the water and shook it up to mix it. Sprayed it directly onto my exposed skin and also sprayed some into my hands to rub around my face and hairline. The peppermint adds a nice little coolness to the water, which feels so good on a steamy day. The smell was a rather exotic blend.

I hope you try this and let me know what you think! It worked well for me and I live in the country by a river and a pond on both sides of me so I have a pretty good testing area in my yard.
At only pennies for the batch, I can say that not only did it work as well as the store bought items, it smelled wonderful AND I do not have to worry about the harsh chemicals and cancer causing agents being used JUST so I can go outside of my house. That is a change that we can ALL live with :)

#MosquitoSpray  #AllNaturalBugSpray  #InsectRepellants #EssentialOils #SustainableLiving  #DIYRecipes #PersonalHygiene