Garden

How to make natural, DEET-free bug repellent

A simple recipe for brewing up your own natural, non-DEET bug repellent using a few drops of essential oil, water and vinegar.

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Credit: Flickr / Limbo Poet

A simple recipe for brewing up your own natural, non-DEET bug repellent using a few drops of essential oil, water and vinegar

Make your own natural insect repellent, quickly and easily, so you can avoid using highly poisonous DEET products.

What you need:

➢ Spray bottle
➢ Lavender, citronella, eucalyptus or
tea tree oil
➢ White distilled vinegar
➢ Water

Add 10–15 drops of your chosen essential oil and about a tablespoon of vinegar to the spray bottle, then fill with about 1–2 cups of water. Shake. Spray. Make sure the smell is what you want. Relax.

While this application does not last more than an hour, the refreshing spray feels nice to reapply, and the essential oil scent lasts far longer than the slight vinegar smell. Plus, you won’t be applying a registered pesticide like DEET to your skin. Bonus!