I live in the great state of Texas where we have mosquitos the size of golfballs. When I first had my son I decided fairly quickly that I didn’t want to use anymore chemical crap on him than absolutely necessary so I looked into making my own bug spray. I looked over some recipes online and decided to try this one from Jenae at Icanteachmychild.com  http://www.icanteachmychild.com/make-it-natural-mosquito-spray/  I altered it a little and this is the formula I came up with:

BUG SPRAY

a bottle of Witch Hazel
12-15 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
12-15 drops Citronella Essential Oil
12-15 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
15-20 drops of Lavender Essential Oil (or a few more to make the smell tolerable)

I recommend using gloves when handling essential oils to avoid getting any excess oils on your hands (I promise you do not want to walk around for the day smelling like citronella).  Mix the ingredients listed above in a glass container and pour the mixture into a METAL or GLASS spray bottle(s). Essential Oils can eat through plastic over time so I alwaysrecommend using metal or glass.

CAUTION:  This formula is Not recommended for use in babies under 6 months old!  There is little research of essential oil use on babies and children so it is best to use your own judgement and do your own research to decide if you feel comfortable using essential oils on yourself or your child.  Lavender, Tea Tree and Citronella Essential Oils are generally regarded as safe for babies 6 months and older. Lemongrass is generally regarded as safe for children 2 and up.  I always recommend to test the product on an adult first (um, that would be you) before use on a child. I also recommend to do a patch test of the product on any new users by testing the product on a small area of skin before slathering it on your whole body, you know, just in case.

General Safety:

• Keep out of reach of children and pets
• If swallowed immediately contact poison control and do not try to induce vomiting.
• If product gets in eyes flush with milk than water
• Keep away from heat 
• Do not leave in direct sunlight

For more safety tips go to https://www.naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/safety/#general

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