Natural Mosquito Repellent

Summertime rolls and those freakin' annoying, biting, bloody mosquitoes bzz and swarm and hover and annoy. Most people by now are quite wary of the dangers of DEET and other synthetic chemicalized products marketed to protect tasty morsels of human skin from being tapped by this summer insect's needle-like proboscis. One popular and effective alternative to these corporately produced, potentially dangerous synthetic brews is citronella, also known as lemon balm.

In the Caribbean and other parts of the world where citronella grass grows wild and free, local residents boil the grasses down, mix them with oil, and then apply to the skin as a mosquito and other insect repellent. Citronella smells good--kinda citrus flavored, hence perhaps the name--and can even be used in cooking; however, ingesting citronella is most likely not an effective way to repel insects. The leaves can be dried and burned like an incense as well to keep the pesky buggers away. According to Jeanne Roses' Herbal, oil of citronella can give hair and skin a healthy sheen and glow. How's that for a bonus? That's right, y'all. You can put this oil in your hair! Don't be squeamish about it. It's better than mousse, especially when used in conjunction with a good conditioner!

Now if you're not a gardener or a hippie, but a tried-and-true red-blooded consumer, you'll be glad to know that there are some ready-made and bottled-up products in nice packaging out there on the market just waiting to be bought, bought, bought! Nature-Cide, although bearing a name that sounds unfortunately like a massive ecological threat, is actually an all-natural insect repellent. The developers have also taken it upon themselves to do some negative campaigning against their competitors who include DEET as the major ingredient in their products, and you can find a nice scare-tactic anti-DEET info sheet on their website. Other non-DEET containing insect repellents include Bite Blocker and the simply (read: unimaginatively) named Repel, which contains an active ingredient of lemon eucalyptus oil.

Essential oils of citronella and lemon eucalyptus should be fairly easy to get from any natural foods store, or online. If using essential oils on the skin, you definitely need to learn about mixing the oil in the right proportions with a carrier oil before applying it to yourself or your loved ones. Essential oils, applied directly to the skin straight out of the bottle, can be very irritating.

Pure vanilla is also an option. You can mix it half-and-half with water and put it on, thereby not only repelling mosquitoes but also making yourself smell like a delicious treat.

Rather than shopping for refined products, I advocate growing your own plants and/or buying essential oils from a local producer, if at all possible. But that's just me, and there's no shortage of natural insect repellents on the market. If you are interested in making your own, the dollar stretcher has an extensive list of (mostly) all-natural repellent recipes and creative tricks.