DIY Nontoxic Bug Repellant Spray

Making a homemade bug spray is sooooooo easy! It's a little surprising how easy it is. You really can't mess it up.

DEET. That's the abbreviation for N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide. The main ingredient in many commercial brands of bug spray is DEET. Off!, a very popular brand, is 7-98% DEET depending on the formula (the one I usually see people with is 15% DEET). DEET is an effective bug repellant.....but very toxic. You don't want this stuff on you or your kids!

The EWG website gives DEET a rating of 5. Zero is nontoxic, 10 is very toxic. See the DEET listing on their site here and see my post on EWG here (I show you how to check the toxicity level of your cosmetic items on that post).

Possible side effects of DEET (per usual on these types of chemicals, testing is still in progress. Many times this is because the manufacturer is interfering with the testing. Here is one of many sources, a quick google and you'll find lots of sources that list these side effects):

• Cancer
• Kidney & Liver Damage
• Insomnia
• Skin Irritations
• Reproductive Organ Damage
• Birth Defects
• Toxic to fish, birds, and bees
• Contaminates ground water

Here is a list of NATURAL, nontoxic essential oils that bugs don't like:

• Citronella (find what I use here on Amazon)
• Lemongrass (find what I use here on Amazon)
• Peppermint (find what I use here on Amazon)
• Tea Tree (find what I use here on Amazon)
• Sandalwood (I almost bought sandalwood. But the lady at the health store said her cats didn't like sandalwood. I want to repel the bugs, not my cat!)
• Clove
• Lavender
• Catnip
• Eucalyptus
• Cedar

You can use ANY mix of those oils! I told you, you can't mess this up. Definitely use at least 3-4 oils. A variety of oils will repel a larger variety of pests.

I already had peppermint (I use it in my toothpaste) and tea tree (I use it in my toothpaste, deodorant, and baby wipe solution). I bought citronella and lemongrass. I love citrus scents, so that's why I chose those.

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup witch hazel (I use it for my baby wipe solution); Find what I use here on Amazon.
• 1 tsp carrier oil (I used olive oil; you can use grape seed, almond, etc.)
• about 40 total drops of essential oil (I did about 10 drops each of tea tree, citronella, lemongrass, and peppermint)

Pour into your spray bottle with a funnel. That's it! Spray as needed.