Herbal Insect Repellent Without DEET

From the CDC website:

“What is DEET? DEET (chemical name N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is used as the active ingredient in many insect repellents. Insect repellents that contain DEET offer the best protection against mosquito bites. DEET is designed for direct application to skin to repel insects, rather than kill them. Products containing DEET currently are available to the public in a variety of liquids, lotions, sprays, and impregnated materials (e.g., wrist bands). Concentrations of DEET in products that are designed for application to skin range from 4% to 100%.”

Approximately 120 products containing DEET in various concentrations from 30 different companies are registered with the EPA.

There are many issues with DEET, ranging from skin rashes and breathing issues to motor impairment.  DEET is a highly toxic chemical and should be avoided!

Here is a great summary of the issues with DEET and why botanical repellents are just as effective and much safer:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-it-true-that-the-deet/

A simple web search for recipes for herbal insect repellents returns many results.  It is relatively easy to make an herbal insect repellent using distilled water, glycerin and essential oils.

I make an insect repellent that is based in olive oil.  I prefer this because I can mix the dried herbs and heat the oil gently to extract the medicinal properties.  Thus the oil is infused with the properties of the herbs.  I believe this creates a more effective product, but it is greasier than the ones made with water and glycerin.  Also it takes more time and effort to infuse the oil, strain it and bottle it.

For natural insect repellent recipes that you can easily make at home, you can start with this link:

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/07/natural-homemade-insect-repellent-recipes.html

If anyone wants my recipe or just to purchase the finished product from me, let me know.  I will eventually put up products on this site but I am focusing on the content first.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great day!