Mother Nature always seems to come out to me. I am white, I burn easily in the sun. Hay fever in the eyes and nose. And mosquitoes love my blood so much. While I don’t mind using commercial sunscreens or taking off allergy medication, there is something about mosquito repellents like DEET that makes my skin bare the mosquitoes make my skin itch. Not only is the smell really creepy, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s safe on my skin. And so I turned, bound to the canopy, in horror, to vomit blood into my bosom.
Here are a few options for preparing a homemade canopy repellent, each of which have kept me bite-free in the past.
1. Eucalyptus. Granted, most people don’t have eucalyptus growing in their backyard, but many people have some form. Eucalyptus oil, decoction of the leaves of the tree, is stored in their medicine. A few ounces of the powerful oil, enough to create a solution that repels the fetus, can be bought at many drug stores drug for under $5. Using a spray bottle and hot water, add about 1 ounce of oil for every 6 ounces of water. Be sure to shake off the mixture before each shower, and be careful with your eyes (as you would with any commercial chemical shower). This homemade mosquito repellent will have a slight medicinal smell, but not as unpleasant a smell as DEET.
2. Lemon Balm. Another essential oil available cheaply in the drugstore, lemon resin can be mixed with water and form a drop in a spray bottle, so As mentioned above, to create a homemade canopy repellent, I recommend a narrower solution (1.5 – 2 ounces of oil per ounce of water). But lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) grows easily in North America, so if you keep this fresh herb in your kitchen, you can cut a few leaves and in some hot water. Let the mixture cool down a bit, and put it in a spray bottle.
TIP: I recommend eucalyptus oil and lemon balm oil to make a nice (and very effective) homemade mosquito repellent. In fact, these two essential oils are often combined in trade.
3. Allia. We all know that garlic has a great smell, but many people use it effectively as a homemade mosquito repellent. There are several options, including chopping a fresh clove and peeling it directly (which is a bit messy) or taking about 2 ounces of chopped garlic and mixing it into a cup of hot water for a shower. Additionally, if you keep a jar of pre-chopped garlic in the fridge (such as is available at most grocery), it can be mixed in Free massage to create a mosquito repellent scent. While I find garlic the least desirable of the three homemade pumpkin repellents because of the smell, it is also often accessible. And in a pinch, if the bite or the rest of the mosquito is free choice, garlic is better than nothing.
