Green Queen Living: DIY The 411 on Mosquito Repellents and How To Make Your Own

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, there is a breeze- ideal conditions for a wonderful day of outdoor activities. There you are, minding your own business and trying to enjoy your picnic afternoon. Except for the one thorn in your (very itchy) side: mosquitos. It seems that no matter where you are, these pesky creatures will find you. Cut to you spending the rest of the day scratching miserably. Thank goodness for mosquito repellent! But do you know what’s in those products? Unless you study the ingredients label carefully, you may not realize that while you are protected from prickly bites, you are also letting harmful toxins leach into your skin.

DEET (scary scientific name: N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the main culprit. It is a very common ingredient in insect or mosquito repellents and some products contain over 30% of it, which is two times more than the amount adults and children can bear. DEET may cause insomnia and mood disturbances. It is particularly harmful to children and pregnant women as their immune system is already compromised and has less resistance against toxic chemicals. With excessive use, users can suffer from ataxia and uncontrollable tremors. It has even been shown to damage embryo and brain cells as it contains cell-damaging neurotoxins.

With side effects like these, it is best to stay as far away from DEET as possible. To get rid of mosquitos in a safe, natural and toxin-free way, why not make your own repellents? Green Queen has two super easy and very effective recipes below. Stay mosquito bite free the natural way!

Aromatic Citrus Sachets

What You Need

This will make 2-3 sachets.

• The skin of two oranges (you could also use 3 lemons or a large grapefruit). Citrus fruits are ideal as they have a strong and long-lasting scent.
• 1 perforated cloth bag (other alternatives are gauze bags and unused cut stockings)

How To Make It

1. Cut the citrus skin into small pieces, sized about 3cm x 3cm.
2. Dry the pieces under the sun on a windowsill for 2-3 days. They are ready when they have shrunk and are hard to the touch.
3. Put the dried pieces into the perforated cloth bag.

Voila! You have your very own aromatic mosquito repellent sachets!

Keep these in your handbag for easy access or leave them on windowsills, balconies, even next to your bed- they work really well while you are sleeping.

Green Queen Tip: Once the sachets lose their scent, you can simply replace the dried pieces with newly dried ones. Sachets usually last about one to two weeks.

Lemongrass Repellent Oil 

What You Need

This will make a bottle of about 20ml. 

• 15ml base oil (camellia oil or rice bran oil)
• 5 drops of lemongrass, citronella or lavender essential oil- mosquitoes are repelled by all of these. Find these oils at Native Essentials.
• 1 glass bottle
• 1 teaspoon

How To Make It

1. Add essential oil into base oil in the glass bottle.
2. Mix them with the teaspoon.

Hey presto! Homemade mozzie oil! Great to use on the whole family 🙂

Green Queen Tip: Try it on the back of your hand or on your inner arm to test before using on the rest of your body. If it is too strong, dilute the mixture by adding more base oil. The repellent can last for about one month.

Photo credit: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel via photopin cc