Natural Insect Repellent That Works

I have a great recipe for you. I used to make it for a farmer's market and I could not keep it in stock.
Email me at ____@____.com

I just made some insect repellent this weekend with Apple Cider vinegar, essential oils and Neem oil. (Neen oil is recommended by Dr. Weil as a safer alternative to DEET.) You can Google, homemade natural insect repellent and it will give you recipes. It can be strong and you don't know how your child's skin will react to the oils so I suggest spraying it on their clothes or putting it onto a bandana you can put on the child when you go outside.
You can get all the oils at Whole Foods. Use a glass spray bottle as the oils can eat away at plastic.

I would also suggest Avon Skin So Soft. Its been around for years and works great as a bug repellent. In fact people use it on their horses as a bug repellent because it isn't harmful. If you are interested in buying it you can go to this website and order it. They are offering free shipping now for orders over $30 and the shipping time is quick...I usually get my orders within 4-5 days.
http://dyanalittle.avonrepresentative.com/

I rub rosemary oil on my children's necks and heads. The smell is not so bad- but it's repellant to bugs. It seems to work well for gnats and mosquitos.
I find the pure oil at GNC, but other health food stores should have it as well.
-S.

Haven't tried it myself yet, but one of the local garden clubs in my area recommends putting Listerine (yes, the mouthwash) in a spray bottle and spraying the area you are in (deck, yard, etc) or you can sprayit directly on your skin or your children's skin. Some people we know who have tried it swear by it - especially for mosquitoes.

I've used a product called "Buzz Off, though I think they recently changed names." The manufacturer is Lewey's. It's all natural and works really well. There's a state park near my house and supposedly all of the rangers there use it. It's like a lotion rather than a spray. It feels sort of like the tanning oil of old, so not the most comfortable thing on your skin in the heat, but it's Deet-free and actually smells pretty pleasant. I haven't checked with my pediatrician yet about using it on my 6 month old this summer but am planning to at our next appointment. Here's their website:
http://www.buzzoff.us/home.asp

Here is a link to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) website called Skin Deep. That have all kinds of information on safe (and unsafe)products - soaps, shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, insect repellent... I highly recommend checking it out. I use it all of the time before I buy any products for my daughter.

Just google skin deep if the link doesn't work and click on onto the "cosmetics safety database" link.

Good luck!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wordsearch.php?query=ins...

I second the BUZZ AWAY. I used it last summer on my 10 month old and have to get some more for this summer. My husband does a lot of raking and outdoor work and really attracts bugs bad and he loved it. You have to apply it more frequently but it works great. Last year I got it at Shaws but didn't see it there this year yet, but here's a link to help. Maybe you can find it elsewhere but at least you'll know what it looks like. If you do find it local, please let me know.... THANKS!
http://www.quantumhealth.com/productgroups/itchandbite.html

There's one called Swy Flatter (yes... like Fly Swatter) that works well. It's available at Whole Foods. I also love the Burt's Bee's After Bite (I'm not sure that's the actual name, but it's in a little green tube kind of like chapstick). The only problem with Swy Flatter is that it's slippery and never really "rubs in" like some of the other brands.

I've tried loads uf stuff and even sent away for expensive natural stuff, but Burt's Bees makes a nice natural herbal insect repellent that does a nice job of keeping mosquitoes/black flies away and it lasts. We're outside a lot, so I put the Burts Bees stuff on our skin, but use DEET-based sprays on our clothing and around our socks if we're going in the woods. Living in Maine and being DEET-FREE isn't really an option for us, but this system is pretty good at keeping the DEET off our bodies.

We love and use the California Baby Bug repellent spray (and many of their other products!).

http://www.californiababy.com/citronella.html

AVON Skin So Soft works to keep away the critters. They make one now that is a bug repellent and has SPF in it, too but I never tried that one, just the original Skin so soft. It is DEET-free, as well.