Homemade Natural Insect Repellent

There haven't been too many bugs this summer in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. Maybe it has something to do with the drought we were having? However, we spent a night at our new property in the country and that place is bug city! Thankfully, I whipped up an easy homemade insect repellent before we left.

• 15 drops tea tree oil
• 3 Tbsp. vanilla
• 4 Tbsp. lemon juice

That's it! Put all of the ingredients into a small spray bottle and fill the rest with water. It's that easy, and it smells good, unlike store bought insect repellents that are full of chemicals and smell like it too. Just spray all over to apply. If your spray bottle has a fine mist setting that would be best. Mine should have but it still came out in pretty big droplets, so I just rubbed it into the skin.


Oh and did I mention that it works too? We did apply it often; I really wanted to avoid bug bites so I would say maybe every three hours or so. Everyone except for my husband wore the repellent and everyone except my husband didn't have any bug bites. I think we pulled three or four ticks off my husbands legs on the drive home. He's a true naturalist, doesn't want anything sprayed on him, but he pays the consequences!

This recipe is a variation of the one seen here from Surviving the Stores.

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This post has been featured on Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Blog Hop #37, Deep Roots at Home 'EOA Link-up #46, and Jill's Home Remedies Natural Link-up from July 25, 2012.