Author: be well™ with Big Y^® Registered Dietitian Team

Making Your Own Homemade Bug Spray

Love playing outside during the summer months, but can’t stand the buzzing of mosquitoes and black flies in your ears? Using bug repellent can be the difference between enjoying a warm hike in the woods and getting a tired arm from shooing little mosquitos away from your face.

There are many different brands of bug repellents available for sale—some with chemicals and others using everyday ingredients such as white vinegar and essential oils—to keep pesky biters from hovering wherever you go. BUT, did you know you can also make your own?

Whip up this homemade recipe loved by hikers near and far. Just remember: For any mosquito-based contagious infections like EEE (eastern equine encephalitis), always follow recommendations from public health authorities for the best repellent to use. Many of these cases call for a chemical-based repellent with DEET, or N,N‍-‍Diethyl‍-‍m‍-‍toluamide.

Homemade Bug Spray

What You Need:

15 drops lavender essential oil
3 to 4 tablespoons vanilla extract
¼ cup lemon juice
water

How to Make It:

In a 16-ounce spray bottle, COMBINE ingredients above and fill remaining space in bottle with water.
SHAKE and use immediately by spraying on yourself or any other surface you may want to keep free of bugs.

Recipe shared from Mindful Outdoor Guide and Yoga Teacher, Ashkia Campbell. Learn more about Ashkia at www.facebook.com/BuffaoloOmYoga/.

For more health & wellness tips, contact our be well^™ with Big Y^® Registered Dietitian Team.

Published 7/7/2021