Natural Repellents: Use These 7 Essential Oils for Mosquitoes

You don't need to buy expensive mosquito-repellent to keep the bugs off of your skin. We'll show you how to use essential oils to repel mosquitoes naturally.

Mosquito bites are not fun for anybody, especially if you have sensitive skin. Most bug sprays tend to be aggressive not only for the mosquitoes but also for you, due to the toxic chemicals they contain. This makes it a problem if you are a mosquito magnet and can’t seem to get rid of them. In this article, we’ll show you how to use essential oils for mosquitoes, instead of synthetic bug spray.

Why Use Essential Oils for Mosquitoes?

It’s not hard to imagine that if bug sprays are meant to kill or repel the mosquitoes, they probably won’t have a nourishing effect on your skin. According to the EPA website, insect repellents are considered pesticides. In addition, most bug sprays often include DEET, a synthetic chemical that can have adverse health impacts on humans. 

If you want to stay away from synthetic bug spray, a great alternative is to use essential oils to repel mosquitoes naturally. This will be especially helpful for children and for those with very sensitive skin. The following essential oils work well as natural repellents due to their strong scent, which mosquitoes don’t like. Read on to learn about which essential oils work best and how to use them.

1. Citronella: A Common Oil to Ward Off Mosquitoes Naturally

Citronella oil is one of the most common essential oils used to repel mosquitos naturally. It comes from the citronella plant, which is often used to make citronella candles that also help repel mosquitoes. Research shows that citronella applied directly to the skin can completely protect against bugs for up to two hours. Here are some other ways you can use citronella essential oil for mosquitoes:

• You can add four to five drops in a diffuser with water and let the strong lemon scent keep bugs away.
• Add a few drops of citronella to your body lotion and apply it to your skin.
• Mix water with a few drops of the essential oil in a spray bottle and use it to spray your home to keep mosquitoes away.

2. Lavender Essential Oil for Mosquitoes

Lavender essential oil is another great mosquito repellent. This essential oil not only helps reduce stress and anxiety, but is also very effective in keeping bugs away. In addition, it also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent that will help you relieve the itchiness from bug bites. To use it on mosquito bites, you can simply add a drop or two directly to your skin. Lavender essential oil can help reduce the redness of the bite and help with the healing process. On the other side, if you want to use it as a bug repellent, you have several options:

• Mix a few drops of lavender essential oil with your body lotion and apply it to your skin.
• If you have a diffuser at home, you can diffuse a mix of water with 3-4 drops of lavender essential oil to keep the mosquitoes away.
• Make a lavender spray: mix 2 drops of lavender essential oil in ½ cup of water and keep it in a spray bottle to keep bugs away.
• It is also very helpful to plant lavender in your garden, since the plant itself will also act as a natural repellent, and you can benefit from it when spending time outdoors.

3. Lemongrass Oil

Lemongrass is an herb that has a citrus flavor, and the oil is extracted from the leaves by the steam distillation process. Lemongrass essential oil is used for cooking and aromatherapy but is also used as a natural way to ward off bugs. It can be applied directly on the skin, mixed with body lotion, or even sprayed over your clothes. If you use this essential oil for mosquitoes, we always recommend diluting it instead of using pure lemongrass oil. If you want to use it as a bug spray, you can combine ¼ cup of water with 2-3 drops of pure lemongrass oil. 

4. Essential Oil for Mosquitoes: Clove Oil

Cloves are not only useful for cooking! Clove essential oil also works well as a natural repellent for mosquitoes and other bugs. This essential oil is known for not only repelling different kinds of insects but also for relieving the itchiness and pain from bug bites. One study showed that the essential oil from cloves combined with olive oil or coconut oil is an effective bug repellent for up to an hour and a half.

Due to its strong effect, the clove essential oil is often used as a natural pesticide that you can spray at home if you get ants or any other bugs. Because of that, we don’t recommend using pure clove essential oil directly to your body. To benefit from the clove essential oil, you can mix a few drops with a small amount of olive oil or coconut oil and apply to your skin. 

5. Tea Tree Oil

This essential oil not only helps keep mosquitoes away, but is also said to help eliminate the pain and swelling of bug bites. If you already have bug bites and want to help the itching go away, tea tree essential oil might be one of your best options. You can apply a drop of this oil directly to your mosquito bite.

You can also make mosquito repellent using tea tree essential oil and coconut oil as follows:

1. Mix 30 ml of natural coconut oil with 10-12 drops of tea tree essential oil.
2. Apply the mixture directly to your skin. The tea tree essential oil’s strong aroma will keep the mosquitoes away from you!

6. Peppermint Essential Oil for Mosquitoes

Peppermint is another essential oil with a strong scent. Due to its cooling effect, it helps reduce the pain of bug bites as well as the itchiness. The best way to use peppermint essential oil as a natural repellent is to diffuse it at home. Add water and a few drops of peppermint oil to your diffuser, and you will have a mosquito-free environment with a refreshing smell.

7. Catnip Essential Oil

Catnip essential oil comes from the catnip plant, which grows as a weed in many areas of the US. A study by Iowa State University researchers showed that catnip was more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET, one of the main chemicals of synthetic bug sprays. You can use catnip essential oil in a diffuser, or you can also rub catnip leaves in your hands to release the essential oil.

Read on:

• 10 Plants That Repel Insects Naturally
• Calming Tea: Varieties to Help with Stress and Anxiety
• How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs: 5 Home Remedies

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Tags: Guide Natural Remedy