Make your own homemade repellent, protect yourself against insects and enjoy summer fun without worries

Although we currently do not have particularly summer-like weather, we believe it is only a matter of a few days before the sun shows up in its summer mode. Until then you can get ready and use this time to make your own natural repellent, not only for yourself, but also for your pets.

There are three basic procedures

Oil base

– this is suitable especially for animals that you take out into nature or that you have in the garden, where there is a high probability of the occurrence of insects – annoying flies, mosquitoes or ticks. To make an oil-based repellent we need 50 ml of quality vegetable oil – almond, olive, argan, apricot and others. Into the oil we drip a combination of essential oils, for example:

5 drops of lavender
3 drops of clove
5 drops of eucalyptus
5 drops of citronella


The most practical application is with a dropper, because getting through a thick layer of fur to the skin of your pet is not easy at all. Of course, an oil-based repellent is also suitable for people.
TIP: if those little bloodsuckers have already managed to get you, but the season is not over yet, make a repellent using a calendula macerate – calendula will at the same time help heal the wounds already formed after bites.

Alcohol base

– has the great advantage that you can use it not only on the skin, but also on clothing, because it does not leave stains. However, it evaporates much faster. To prepare this repellent you need alcohol (for example our 99.9% IPA). You use 1/3 alcohol, into which you drip a combination of your favourite fragrances, and top up the rest with water. Shake and the repellent is ready! :-) The ideal form in this case is a spray bottle.



The third form, and at the same time the most natural one, is:

Herbal base

- here you need to proceed as follows: put the herbs into a mixture of water and alcohol and leave to macerate for 2 weeks. A repellent prepared in this way is preserved by the alcohol and therefore basically has no expiry date.

Let us say, however, that getting hold of herbs such as teatree, eucalyptus, cedarwood or geranium is not that easy, and therefore the ideal solution is to use essential oils, which are a highly concentrated source of various kinds of herbs.

Which fragrances to use then?

As a rule, cinnamon and clove have the strongest effects in repelling insects – these two should form the base. You can add fragrances such as lavender, peppermint, lemon, lemongrass, teatree, eucalyptus, cedarwood, geranium, rosemary, etc.
WE RECOMMEND, however, to first try the repellent on a small area of the body to prevent an allergic reaction.

As you can see, it is neither time-consuming nor financially demanding. And then there is that feeling that you know what you are putting on yourself, your children or your pets. So get to making it and let us know which combinations have worked for you.

We drew the recipe for the oil-based repellent from the website www.zahrada.sk