Homemade Essential Oil Insect Repellent

Perfect for the summer, try this easy recipe for a homemade essential oil insect repellent in roll-on bottles to deter pesky insects.

When summer gets really hot and buggy, a little insect repellent is a must. Here's an easy craft of essential oils and jojoba oil in a roller bottle to help deter the bugs, especially the mosquitoes.

Years ago, my older sister swore by perfumed lotion as a good way to keep bugs away. I believed her then, and I do now, but I rarely buy perfume anymore. I have made my own perfumed oil with essential oils, and I thought the same idea would work well to keep the bugs away.

Homemade Insect Repellent Oil

The perfume oil blends are probably fine for this, however, I tried doing a little research to see if some essential oils are better for deterring bugs.

It turns out that there is no great evidence that essential oils deter bugs. Especially when you stack them up with commercial products like DEET.

However, for my occasional need at a picnic or out in the garden, I really don't want to put those chemicals on my skin. So, I came up with a recipe that I like, and hopefully, it's strong enough to keep the bugs at bay.

You do need a carrier oil for your base. I used jojoba oil because it's actually a wax and will take a long time to go bad. Other substitute carrier oils like sunflower oil and grapeseed oil are good too because they don't have a strong scent of their own and are very light. However, they will not last as long.

The cobalt blue roller bottles are pretty, and the dark color will help shield the product from exposure to light. You can also buy them in an amber color.

Feel free to use my little label shown above for your own bottles. Just click on the label, and it should open up a PDF of labels for you to print.

If you already love using essential oils, then this is a no-brainer. And it would make a nice gift for someone too.