Bug Off!! Home made insect repellant.

Spring has sprung, and while we come out of our home hibernation from the winter, so have the bugs!

If you are like me, and really do not like to use chemically laden products on your body, then these months are tough.   I have a pretty good essential oil spray recipe for mosquito control that I will share today.  

Mosquitoes are the biggest nuisance of the warmer months.  I still do not understand why God created these pesky little creatures!  There are a few things we can do to make ourselves a little "less appetizing" to them.  First, switch to an unscented detergent and fabric softener during the summer months.  Any floral/sweet smelling fragrance just attracts them more.  This also goes for your perfumes, shampoo, etc. etc. the more unscented products you use, the better.

I make a home made bug spray for mosquitoes using witch hazel and apple cider vinegar.  I do not mind smelling a little like salad dressing.  Compared to the smell of OFF! and the other DEET sprays, it really isn't much worse!  Here is the recipe I tend to use (granted, I mix up the combination of EO's depending on what I have on hand at the moment....)   


 Into a spray bottle, mix together:

• 1/2 cup witch hazel, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 30-50 drops of essential oils. Choose any combination of citronella, clove, lemongrass, rosemary, tea tree, eucalyptus, cedar, catnip, lavender, or mint.
• Shake ingredients together and spray over uncovered portions of your body.  Reapply as needed.

Enjoy these warmer months ahead! 

LICE!!.....not so very nice!

Any blogger moms out there will probably agree that they dread the school nurse calling to say "Come pick up your child, they have lice".  Just thinking about it makes my head itch!  

Every year around this time, word gets out around school that the dreaded lice epidemic is spreading around classrooms faster than the flu.  Now, the thought of this throws me into a sheer panic.  Not because lice is a b!itch to eradicate without using harmful/toxic chemicals; worse, my daughter has hair down to her waist!!  It's hard enough to comb it with a wide-toothed detangling comb, never mind a nit comb!!

Since my daughter has had long hair since birth; I have been using a homemade spray to help detangle her long locks and keep away these nasty little buggers.  So far, I have had great success with it and wanted to share.

Lice-Away Spray:

Purchase a small spray bottle at the dollar store, add some unscented or mildly scented hair conditioner (filled to about 1/4 full) try to use the unscented if you can--artificial scents will only hinder the "job" of the essential oils,  Add the following essential oils:

10-15 drops tea tree 
10 drops lavender
10 drops lemon
10 drops geranium
10 drops thyme
10 drops rosemary
10 drops pine

Don't be worried if you do not have all of these oils on hand.  I ran out of the pine essential oil when I mixed my last batch and just used the others.  I would say that the tea tree is the one "must have" of the bunch though, they really hate that stuff!  

Add water and fill to (almost) the top, give it a really good shake and spray away!  If you find that there is too much conditioner for your liking, then add less next time.  The conditioner is being used mostly as an "emulsifier" for the essential oils (to  keep them blended in the water)--without it, they will just float at the top and not be effective at all.  

A wise hairdresser once told me that lice absolutely loathe any "product" in the hair.  They prefer nice, soft, clean hair to build a house in.  This may explain why the elderly rarely suffer from infestations (not to suggest they are dirty people, but older/wiser hair is very textured, not at all soft and sleek).  If you find the smell of essential oils offensive or off-putting, then try applying some gel, pomade, textured mousse to your child's head daily and this may be enough to keep them away also...Just a suggestion.

A quick note:  I know that essential oils can be on the "pricey" side, but they are really worth purchasing and having on hand.  All of these listed oils have many, many uses for beauty and in the home.  You can also blend this recipe into some coconut oil and use it as a mosquito repellent/black fly repellant in the warmer months.