I have two recipes for personal use bug spray that have been given to me. This one is the less likely to get you pulled over bug spray (the other uses vodka as a base).
Ingredients
4 ounces fresh catnip tincture (95 percent alcohol)
4 ounces witch hazel extract
80 drops organic citronella essential oil
80 drops organic eucalyptus essential oil
40 drops organic lavender essential oil
20 drops organic rosemary essential oil
10 drops organic lemongrass essential oil
10 drops organic lemon essential oil
Mix all ingredients in an 8 oz spray bottle and shake well before using. Re-apply as often as needed.
Showing posts with label insect control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insect control. Show all posts
6/1/13
5/30/13
Tick Spray for Pets and their People
Before this year I had never seen a tick in Florida. Now they're popping up left and right and they're gross little bugs! I've heard all kinds of ways to remove a tick from you, but I'd rather not have them attach in the first place. Ticks are attracted to butyric acid, which is found in sweat among other things.
Ingredients
grapeseed oil
cedar or citrus essential oil
Use a ratio of three tablespoons grapeseed oil to 15-20 essential oil and rub on yourself and your pet.
Ingredients
grapeseed oil
cedar or citrus essential oil
Use a ratio of three tablespoons grapeseed oil to 15-20 essential oil and rub on yourself and your pet.
Quick and Easy Bug Spray
Can you see it? Well if you can, there's no need for powders or dusts or traps. You might not want to smoosh it (my answer) and instead want it dead from a distance by whatever means necessary. Here's your answer.
Ingredients
Ivory liquid dishsoap
spray bottle
hot water
Add the dish soap to the bottom of the spray bottle, fill most of the way with hot water and shake well. Spray on bugs. According to experts this suffocates the bugs. What does that tell you about Ivory, huh?
Ingredients
Ivory liquid dishsoap
spray bottle
hot water
Add the dish soap to the bottom of the spray bottle, fill most of the way with hot water and shake well. Spray on bugs. According to experts this suffocates the bugs. What does that tell you about Ivory, huh?
4/7/13
Bug Off Bar Soap
I spend a lot of time in my little garden. Here in Florida the mosquitoes are like little B-52 airplanes swarming you most of the year. This is a good lotion bar soap recipe for keeping them off of you while you're out. Thank you Mountain Rose Herbs for the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 part)
1/2 cup beeswax + 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup fresh or dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried whole cloves
2 tablespoons dried or fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 cup dried catnip leaf
1 (or more) tablespoons of mint leaf
1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil to preserve.
10+ drops lavendar essential oil
10+ drops lemon essential oil
Using a double boiler or glass bowl on top of a small saucepan, heat about 1 inch of water (in bottom pan) until starting to boil. Place the dried rosemary, cloves, thyme, cinnamon, catnip and mint in the top part of the double boiler and add the coconut oil (can also use almond, olive or other oil but you will need to add more beeswax later on to get the bars to firm.
Cover the bowl or top part of the double boiler and keep the water at medium/high temperature for at least 30 minutes or until oil has adopted a darker color and smells strongly of rosemary. Alternately, you can fill a crock pot about half full with water, put the coconut oil and herbs in a glass mason jar with a tight lid, cover and keep on lowest setting for several days to make an even stronger infused oil.
Then, strain the dried herbs out of the oil using a small mesh strainer or cheesecloth and pour the oil back into the double boiler. The oil will probably be reduced by almost half and you should have about 1/2 cup of the infused oil. If you have more, save it for next time!
Add the butter(s) and beeswax to the double boiler and stir until all have melted. Remove from heat, add the Vitamin E oil and any other essential oils and pour into molds. These are the molds I used but I also love these Sunflower ones and these heart ones, which would both be great for gifts. There are also simple flower molds and actual bar shaped ones.
Leave in the molds until completely set (overnight is best) or you can speed up the process by placing in the fridge.
To use, rub the bars on exposed areas of DRY skin to protect against mosquitoes. Note: If you are pregnant, check to make sure any herbs you use are safe for pregnancy and omit the ones that aren’t.
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 part)
1/2 cup beeswax + 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup fresh or dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried whole cloves
2 tablespoons dried or fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 cup dried catnip leaf
1 (or more) tablespoons of mint leaf
1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil to preserve.
10+ drops lavendar essential oil
10+ drops lemon essential oil
Using a double boiler or glass bowl on top of a small saucepan, heat about 1 inch of water (in bottom pan) until starting to boil. Place the dried rosemary, cloves, thyme, cinnamon, catnip and mint in the top part of the double boiler and add the coconut oil (can also use almond, olive or other oil but you will need to add more beeswax later on to get the bars to firm.
Cover the bowl or top part of the double boiler and keep the water at medium/high temperature for at least 30 minutes or until oil has adopted a darker color and smells strongly of rosemary. Alternately, you can fill a crock pot about half full with water, put the coconut oil and herbs in a glass mason jar with a tight lid, cover and keep on lowest setting for several days to make an even stronger infused oil.
Then, strain the dried herbs out of the oil using a small mesh strainer or cheesecloth and pour the oil back into the double boiler. The oil will probably be reduced by almost half and you should have about 1/2 cup of the infused oil. If you have more, save it for next time!
Add the butter(s) and beeswax to the double boiler and stir until all have melted. Remove from heat, add the Vitamin E oil and any other essential oils and pour into molds. These are the molds I used but I also love these Sunflower ones and these heart ones, which would both be great for gifts. There are also simple flower molds and actual bar shaped ones.
Leave in the molds until completely set (overnight is best) or you can speed up the process by placing in the fridge.
To use, rub the bars on exposed areas of DRY skin to protect against mosquitoes. Note: If you are pregnant, check to make sure any herbs you use are safe for pregnancy and omit the ones that aren’t.
4/6/13
Moth Repellant Sachets
I had a mother in law that used to throw a ton of moth balls all over the attic every year, not understanding that not only did it make the kids' asthma flare up badly, but that I was allergic to them. None of us could wear clothes that she stored without washing them ten or more times and sunning them for days. Normal cedar balls work great, but can be hard to find sometimes.
Ingredients:
50/50 rosemary and mint
or
1 part dried lavender, 1 part rosemary, 1/2 part dried lemon peel, 1 tablespoon cloves
or
1 part whole cloves, 1 part whole peppercorns, 2 – 4 cinnamon sticks broken in pieces
or
1 part dried lavender, 1 part dried lemon peel, 1 broken cinnamon stick
or
1 part cedar shavings, 1 part thyme
or
1 part peppermint, 1 part spearmint, 1 part rosemary, 1/2 part thyme
Any combination of the above should do you just fine. You can make sachets to stash in drawers, trunks or hang in closets out of pretty cotton fabrics, plain cheesecloth, muslin, linen or clean nylons. Replace annually.
Ingredients:
50/50 rosemary and mint
or
1 part dried lavender, 1 part rosemary, 1/2 part dried lemon peel, 1 tablespoon cloves
or
1 part whole cloves, 1 part whole peppercorns, 2 – 4 cinnamon sticks broken in pieces
or
1 part dried lavender, 1 part dried lemon peel, 1 broken cinnamon stick
or
1 part cedar shavings, 1 part thyme
or
1 part peppermint, 1 part spearmint, 1 part rosemary, 1/2 part thyme
Any combination of the above should do you just fine. You can make sachets to stash in drawers, trunks or hang in closets out of pretty cotton fabrics, plain cheesecloth, muslin, linen or clean nylons. Replace annually.
Personal Insect Repellant
Remember when using any type of essential oil to do a test spot on your skin first to see if you have a reaction. This is an outdoors spray for picnics and such. It is not water repellant and will need to be reapplied if sweating heavily or after 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 cup vodka
2 T. aloe vera juice
2 tsp. favorite conditioning liquid oil (soybean, olive, castor, etc.)
1 1/2 tsp. essential oil blend
Mix well in a spray bottle. Reapply often.
Ants: peppermint oil, tea tree oil
Chiggers: lavender oil, lemongrass oil
Flies:geranium oil, lavender oil, lemongrass oil
Fleas: lavender oil, lemongrass oil, rose geranium oil (not for use on cats), rosemary oil
Gnats: patchouli oil
Lice: cedarwood oil, peppermint oil, tea tree oil
Mosquitoes: catnip oil, citronella oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil
Moths: cedarwood oil
Ticks: lavender oil, lemongrass oil, patchouli oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil
***Cheap vodka works well. Since it's used in so many DIY recipes, it's handy to keep a big jug of the swill around. Don't waste the good stuff. If you're leery about using vodka, you can substitute rubbing alchohol, but it needs to be applied more frequently and needs special care taken around the eyes.
Ingredients
1 cup vodka
2 T. aloe vera juice
2 tsp. favorite conditioning liquid oil (soybean, olive, castor, etc.)
1 1/2 tsp. essential oil blend
Mix well in a spray bottle. Reapply often.
Ants: peppermint oil, tea tree oil
Chiggers: lavender oil, lemongrass oil
Flies:geranium oil, lavender oil, lemongrass oil
Fleas: lavender oil, lemongrass oil, rose geranium oil (not for use on cats), rosemary oil
Gnats: patchouli oil
Lice: cedarwood oil, peppermint oil, tea tree oil
Mosquitoes: catnip oil, citronella oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil
Moths: cedarwood oil
Ticks: lavender oil, lemongrass oil, patchouli oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil
***Cheap vodka works well. Since it's used in so many DIY recipes, it's handy to keep a big jug of the swill around. Don't waste the good stuff. If you're leery about using vodka, you can substitute rubbing alchohol, but it needs to be applied more frequently and needs special care taken around the eyes.
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