How to make your own Mozzie Repellent, plus Organic Bug Spray Review

Last updated on December 2nd, 2023 at 04:19 pm

Now you know, I am all about biodiversity and respecting nature, but I really don’t see the value in mosquitoes! I seem to be a bit of a magnet for them, and am only spared when my two daughters are around – especially the elder – who are even stronger magnets than I am!

So one day last December, when we had an evening BBQ to attend and I just knew the mozzies were going to be out in abundance, I made myself up an awesome bug repellent lotion. This lotion has since been tested at the coast on not only me and my kids, but on my cousin and her kids too. It worked a charm.

There are only two problems with it. One, while it’s a lovely moisturising lotion, it is quite oily – so when I hear a mozzie buzzing around my head in the middle of the night, and therefore lather the bug lotion on my face and arms and hair – well, I do need to wash that hair early the next day! And I end up with a pretty oily face too.

On the upside, as a general body lotion it is divine, if pretty strongly scented.

The other problem is a more serious one. I was in such a hurry to go out the day I made it, that I didn’t measure or write down the ingredients! So, I can only give you estimates of how much of each oil I used. If you try it, do let me know what works for you!

Luckily I have another bug spray that solves both these problems, which I will review below. But first–

How to Make an Awesome Natural Mosquito Repellent Body Lotion

NB If you’d like a printable of this recipe, just tag me here and I’ll send you one. 🙂 (Or if you’re not on facebook you can use my contact form here.)

You will need

½ cup shea butter (pictured above)
½ cup coconut oil
Essential oils of

• Lavender
• Tea tree
• Orange or lemon (or both) (or use this blend which I love of grapefruit, bergamot and lime)
• Rosemary
• Peppermint (optional)

Directions

1. Liquefy the shea butter and coconut oil over a very low heat. The way I do this is to put them in a glass jar, and put that jar in a bowl of boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Renew the boiling water as required. In this case, for ease and speed I mixed them in the jar I was going to keep them in, but that is certainly not essential.
2. Add 150 drops of essential oils. My blend was roughly 80-100 drops lavender oil, 30-40 drops tea tree oil, and perhaps 10 drops each of orange, rosemary and peppermint.
3. Blend thoroughly and pour into jar/s (if necessary) and leave to set.

To use

Apply liberally, especially over lower legs and feet where mosquitoes love to bite. Reapply when the scent fades.

Remember essential oils are powerful and have contraindications and cautions, especially for use in children.

Now, if making your own mosquito repellent is not your thing, or you want a spray instead, you could try this:

Bug Another from Biologika – A Bug Spray Review

Now let me say up front that I was sent this spray as a gift for the purposes of review. It’s not something I normally do, but I’d just made my own bug lotion, so I was interested to try it. I was quite clear that I would review it honestly, which I will always do on this blog!

Bug Another also uses essential oils to repel insects. Their formula includes: citronella oil, lavender, oil, lemon myrtle oil, peppermint  oil and sage oil. All the essential oils are certified organic. (See below for the full ingredients list).

Now, before I agreed to try Bug Another I asked for the full ingredients list, and checked it against Safe Cosmetics Australia’s nasties list – when it came out A-Okay, I said yes to trying it, and I was glad I did.

The pros

1. Mostly importantly, it seems to work. When you don’t get bitten, it’s sometimes hard to know if you would have been otherwise, but I tried it at evening BBQs, as did the kids and a few friends, and all reported a lack of bites. I didn’t try it in a setting with clouds of mosquitoes, but I did see a few around, and dusk is generally the worst time for them (or the best time perhaps, if you are trying out a new bug spray!).
2. It’s a spray not a lotion. This means it’s quicker to apply, can be applied to clothes as well, and doesn’t make your hair greasy in the middle of the night!

The cons

It does have ethanol in it, which some people prefer to avoid (even if, as in this case, it is organic).

Also, I personally really dislike the smell of citronella, which is its main active ingredient.  I think I overused that stuff in my 20s. So to me, it does smell like bug spray, whereas my bug lotion is a strong smell, but not overly medicinal.

However, all the other people I tried it on (child and adult alike) said it smelled just fine to them, and the smell wasn’t strong enough for me to avoid using it.

Full ingredients list

Purified Water, Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Organic Ethanol, Coco Glucoside, Organic Citronella Essential Oil, Organic Lavender Essential Oil, Organic Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil, Organic Peppermint Essential Oil, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Organic Glycerin, Organic Sage Essential Oil, Organic Rosehip Extract

Final word

I will continue using Bug Another, and will likely buy another bottle of it next summer. I’ll keep using my homemade lotion too though.

You can buy it online here (and no doubt elsewhere).
{By the way, were you expecting an announcement of the winner of the last giveaway today, and maybe another giveaway too? I don’t mean to disappoint you – Go Here Now.}