I can’t remember if I’ve ever actually posted this before I Dirt and I can’t find it anywhere, so I guess at the risk of being redundant, I’ll post it again.

I’m not a fan of using OFF! insect repellents. First of all, I didn’t like using DEET all over Ely when she was little and the other best selling commercial insect repellent was that awful smelling Avon stuff. I’ve never been a fan of flowery-scented perfumes or sprays of any kind, in fact, some of them can send me immediately into an asthma attack if they are really strong and I’m around them for too long.

I started doing some research on plant based insect repellents and came up with several that were mentioned again and again.

Bugs don’t like cedar. Cedar hangars or chips are often added to clothing storage options to deter moths from munching on your sweaters or wool items in summer storage. We also used cedar in our outdoor dog beds for years to keep fleas, ticks, spiders, snakes and rodents out of the dog houses. Cedar oil acts as a natural insecticide. It contains thujone, which is a terpenoid which repels, inhibits or kills insects like cockroaches, termites, some beetles, ants. etc.

cedar leaf- mountainroseherbs.com

Lemon Eucalyptus oil. I had already been using regular Eucalyptus oil in sprays here at home. We had a serious recluse problem when we moved here- I even got bit twice, so I was willing to try anything to ward off spiders that I could. Spiders don’t like Eucalyptus oil, so I sprayed it around beds and under furniture, in closets, etc. It smelled nice and gave me peace of mind.
A few years ago, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a study that found a mixture of 32 percent lemon eucalyptus oil provided more than 95% protection against mosquitoes for up to three hours and approved it as an effective ingredient in mosquito repellent. So I switched to using the lemon eucalyptus, might as well repel spiders AND mosquitoes.

lemon eucalyptus rainshadowlabs.com

Peppermint oil smells like Christmas and I use it in my mop water to make the house smell fresh, so to me it smells “clean” as well. It also works pretty effectively at repelling flies. When I’m outside in the garden, the flies love to hang around and bite any exposed skin they can find. They will torment to death your poor livestock too, but DO NOT spray this stuff on your horses face, as peppermint will burn and sting like crazy if you get it in your eyes.

peppermint oil- healthline.com

I’ve also had friends say they used vinegar in their fly sprays, but I don’t like the vinegar smell, so I skip it. So the spray is very simple:

To a large spray bottle of water (I use an old Windex bottle), I add about 30ml of cedar oil, 10-15 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil and 10-15 drops of peppermint oil. Shake up the bottle to blend it all together.
I spray this all over my clothes before going into the woods or out into the garden. I spray it on my hat, my gloves, shoes, etc. It keeps the ticks, flies and mosquitoes at bay for several hours, it smells fresh and earthy instead of like flowery perfume or chemicals. I even put it on exposed skin- just be careful not to get it near your eyes- it WILL burn. I spritz around the picnic tables with it if we’re going to be sitting out there. I use it in the house to repel sugar ants, spiders and kill gnats. It is hands down the best natural insect spray I’ve ever used. We haven’t bought a can of Raid for years.

Try it out, let me know what you think!

-Belle