03 Aug Essential Oils; Nature’s Best Insect Repellents
Essential Oils have so many different uses and have been used for years in Aromatherapy for massage, diffusion and as an ingredient in many body and skincare products. But did you know that some Essential Oils are fantastic natural repellents to fend off unwanted insect visitors from ants to mosquitos. What we love about using the oils in this manner is that it’s non-toxic to the creatures and environment – they just dislike and therefore avoid the scent. It also means you can be sure you’re not using any synthetic chemicals which could potentially be unsafe around children or your pets. Of course, it’s important to remember that Essential Oils are very concentrated and can be quite potent and should therefore only be used sparingly and stored safely away from children and pets.
Keep Home Invaders at Bay!
One of the best fragrances to repel all insects from spiders to ants, are mints such as Spearmint and Peppermint Essential Oils. A great way to use these oils is to add them to a cleaning solution that you can wipe around entry points in your home like doors and windows. A simple but effective recipe is 250ml water, 250ml white vinegar and 10 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil. Wipe or spray (mix well first) this mixture around window frames, doors and even extractor fans as a barrier the insects won’t want to cross…This will also leave your home feeling very fresh! If you’re not a fan of the minty scents, you can use the same recipe but substitute the mint oils with Citronella Essential Oil which has a fresh citrussy aroma which ants also detest. If you’re not a fan of spiders or daddy long legs either, these oils, plus most citrus Essential Oils will also do a good job of discouraging them. Lemongrass and Citronella are also great for discouraging dogs from relieving themselves on your property – these oils diluted into water and sprayed onto brickwork or shopfronts, or used in window cleaning solutions can be an amazing dog deterrent for homeowners and shopkeepers to try.
Occasionally, slugs and snails can make their way into your property through little gaps in doorframes and floorboards. There are some natural physical deterrents you can create to discourage them such as a barrier of crushed eggshells, or strips of copper tape, but you can also try wiping a little bit of Eucalyptus or Cedarwood Essential Oils over their entry points. Be aware that some Essential Oils may damage varnish, some plastic or paint surfaces as they are naturally a little corrosive to some materials. Therefore, always use diluted/sparingly; two or three drops of an oil diluted in water on a cotton ball wiped over a door threshold will be sufficient for a few days’ worth of protection. If slugs are a problem in your garden, Essential Oil wiped around the circumference of a flowerpot will discourage them – the oil may be absorbed by the pot if its porous like terracotta and may leave an oil mark so you could wipe the oil around the inside of the pot’s lip to hide this a little.
Keep your Bins Fly and Maggot-Free.
There’s nothing worse than finding unwanted wriggly visitors in your outdoor bins over the summer months or having a bin that has started to smell. A super-simple way to keep your bins fresh is to pop a few cotton-wool balls at the bottom of the bin (beneath the bin bag itself) saturated in Essential Oils – something fresh and punchy like Eucalyptus or Tea Tree would do the trick. And always wipe the lids and top of the bin down with some of these oils too – mixed with white vinegar, and this will be a powerful deterrent to flies looking for somewhere to lay their eggs. The best thing about these simple recipes is that you can rest assured that they’re not going to be dangerous or damaging to wildlife.
Beware Long Grasses…
Over the last few years, the UK has seen a rise in tick bites. Scientists think this is possibly due to climate change as an increase in temperature will mean ticks will be more prevalent as they love warmer climes. The best way to avoid a bite is to completely cover exposed skin before walking in long grasses or anywhere rural, but a great second form of defence is to repel them with scents they hate. Ticks actively avoid the smell of Lemon, Orange, Cinnamon, Lavender, Citronella, and Peppermint, and you can source these scents as Essential Oils: Ticks will naturally avoid latching on to anything that smells of these scents. A great way to therefore protect yourself is to dilute any of the aforementioned Essential Oils in a lotion or cream and applied to skin. Mix a single Essential Oil (or up to four) in our Body Lotion Base, adding 1 drop of Essential Oil for every 5mls of lotion, and apply it to your exposed body parts for a natural insect repellent.
Our Prevention Hand Spray can also be used as insect deterrent too,; it was originally developed as an on-the-go instant cleanser and combines a synergy of Essential Oils including Eucalyptus, Lemon, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Helichrysum. The combination of these Essential Oils is naturally antibacterial, and the recipe also offers moisturising properties due to the addition of natural Glycerine. According to studies, ticks particularly hate the smell of Peppermint and its insect repelling properties can be enhanced further by combining it with Tea Tree Essential Oil, two of the ingredients found in our Prevention Blend. You can use the Prevention Spray for all the family and it’s suitable for use on your arms, neck and particularly ankles and legs if you’re out walking. Make sure to avoid broken or super-sensitive skin and give it a good rub in after application and you will need to re-apply your blend every 3 hours or so for it to remain effective. (Avoid using on under 5s, and avoid if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding).
Airbourne Visitors
When eating outdoors in the late evening you can almost certainly expect a night visit from fluttering moths. As they are attracted to light, you should place your diffusing weaponry around the light sources. Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Lemon and other citrus Essential Oils seem to be the best for keeping moths at bay so add a few drops to a diffuser’s water or an oil burner. This should also ward off any mosquitos and hopefully prevent being bitten.
However you choose to use Essential Oils this summer, they are so versatile. Our 10ml Essential Oils and Essential Blends are ideal to take away with you and fit neatly into a handbag or make up case for adding to lotions and creams on the go, or you can pre-blend them with carrier oils or base lotions before you go away for a ready-to-use option. There are further ideas for uses and dilution ratios on our website and social media pages, so be sure to check out all our handy hints and tips there too!