Crap I've Made

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

I know I’ve already shared all of my super Top Secret tips and tricks to camping in the great outdoors in my Tired Mother’s Guide to Camping with Kids, but I also wanted to share my recipe for Homemade Mosquito Repellent that is not only good for camping but excellent for use all summer long.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always disliked spraying my kids with drugstore mosquito repellent products. When I read the label, I feel like they’re full of unknown crap and the over the counter sprays tend to leave their skin feeling sticky and gross. Not a good combination of feelings on hot summer nights.

I decided to try my own hand at a more natural, homemade option.

Now, I should definitely disclose that I don’t normally use essential oils for anything in my home other than to put in my cute lil’ diffuser that I absolutely love as a “cover up the baby poop smell” air freshener. That’s it. I’m not rollin’ it on my armpits or behind my ears or any other place that may be unmentionable. I purchased a set of 6 cheapo oils on Amazon for like $9 to use in said diffuser. This was literally the only time I’ve bought and used essential oils for any purpose.

I’ll definitely be using them a bit more now when I need to make a new batch of this mosquito repellent, though. Most of the oils in the recipe are fairly common to come across. I’ve seen them at the grocery store and at most drug stores. I did need to order the citronella oil online as that was the only ingredient I didn’t have on hand. (Yes, that absolutely means I had a huge bottle of vodka in our garage fridge. Don’t judge me, Karen. Sometimes alcohol makes me a better mother…)

I promise you that this DIY Bug & Mosquito Repellent is clean, fresh and doesn’t leave an oily residue. Plus, you can make it in under 5 minutes (and it’s cheap to make – once you buy the initial supplies, you have plenty to make many additional batches!)