Natural Bug Spray

Updated on July 02, 2010
M.4. asks from Saint Petersburg, FL
7 answers

I have a 5, 4 and 3 year old. The 5 and 3 year old along with my husband have no problems staying outdoors all day and evening and not getting bit by a single mosquito or bug. My 4 year old and I are VERY prone to getting bit, even if we are out for only a few minutes. The kids are out of school for the summer and spend majority of the morning, afternoon and evening outdoors - and although commercial bug sprays work, they are so unhealthy (not to mention expensive!).

I live in hot FL, so wearing long sleeves is not an option without exposing my children to a high risk of getting heat exhaustion.

The main culprits of the bites are mosquitos and sometimes no-see-ums.

Can anyone recommend natural big sprays that work? Please provide proportions so I can work up my own batch. Thank you!

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S.A.

answers from Tampa on

California Baby has an all natural, organic insect repellent. Californiababy.com. Good luck.

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J.B.

answers from Dallas on

I use a great mixture of natural products that I get from Melaleuca. I also have a mixture that I use in parts of my yard that also works at keeping them at bay. What I love about the products is they have so many variety of uses. Ie the Sol U Mel is also a super cleaner.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

I haven't tried it yet, but I heard that one part vanilla and one part water works really well. You wipe it on with a cotton ball. If not, jason's organics worked pretty well (some people really don't like the smell though). Good luck.

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

Here's a page from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website regarding various kind of active ingredients in insect repellants:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/ai_insect...

They have several different commercial and naturally-derived ingredients listed.

Don't assume that they're unhealthy because you may have heard/read things. Much misinformation is on the internet, and a lot comes from sources without scientific information or credibility.

I'd be more concerned with products that aren't thoroughly tested - Whole Foods announced today that they're requiring allpersonal care products that label themselves as "organic" to have official government certifications by 2011 (http://www.drugstorenews.com/(S(gcjtxl45g33ps255zeue0e45)...)
What this means is that there are currently a lot of products on their shelves currently that will not be a year from now because they won't be willing or able to submit to governing bodies to verify their organic ingredients.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

Well, I've never tried making my own, but I've used Burt's Bees natural bug spray when I was pregnant. Quite honestly, nothing (not skin so soft or anything else) truly works on me but DEET, so I use it. I try wait until I have to have it and spray it on my clothes, but I will get bites without it. The Burt's Bees stuff DID keep most mosquitoes at bay though -normally where I would have had 5-8 bites I would only get 1 or 2. It's expensive though -I think more than OFF or CUTTER. I also think Cutter has a natural, no DEET spray out that I also tried and had the same results as with the Burt's Bees.

L.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I also heard that a few drops of vanilla extract in a spray bottle of water (exact proportions not specified) will keep mosquitos and other bugs away. I haven't tried to, but plan on it, since it's non-toxic and super-simple.

R.G.

answers from Dallas on

It's 2-3 drops vanilla extract per ounce of water and I swear by it. I'm the one person in a crowd of a million who the mosquitoes seek out, I get half eaten alive. This has kept me from getting ANY mosquito bites thus far this year. Again, thanks to the mama who originally posted this. =)

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