This year I would like to avoid contracting any mosquito-borne illness, if possible. And as it seems that Argentina is having a particularly high volume of mosquitos making the rounds I am so glad that I prepared this homemade repellent ahead of time.
Insect repellent can be easily made with distilled water, alcohol, and essential oils. Lemon-scented ones such as citronella, lemon grass, and (of course) lemon seem to work the best to ward off insect bits and their bothersome presence. When I was backpacking I would often make such DIY repellents with one or two essential oils that I had on hand.
Now that I have an apothecary and the time + energy to make my own preparations I have been macerating fresh herbs in alcohol in order to extract their essential oils and aroma that way. For this formula I was inspired by the herbs that were blooming at the moment which were: lemon verbena, roses, mint, and a native plant called palo amarillo.
Mint and lemon verbena in particular imparted their insect repelling scents and the other two flowers/herbs were more for their skin healing properties. The humidity of summer can lead to fungal infections on the skin and so I thought that adding two herbs for repelling and two (rose and palo amarillo) for healing would make a well rounded skin treatment.
The Recipe ~
I started out by filling my clean glass jar nearly halfway with the fresh and dried herbs I had gathered. I used fresh mint, fresh lemon verbena, fresh palo amarillo, and a combination of dried and fresh rose buds. This type of herbal preparation is called a liniment and as it is meant for topical use only, any herb that is helpful to the skin can be used. I have made one recently with echinacea for disinfecting wounds, for example.
Then, I poured over 70 % grain alcohol until the jar was full and screwed on the lid. The herbs should macerate in the alcohol for 30 to 40 days though more is alright.
In my case the herbs macerated for over two months. To tell you the truth I had so much going on that I forgot about the jar of herbs and was surprised to find that the alcohol had turned a vibrant green while macerating in the herbs.
Lastly, I separated the herbs from the alcohol using a fine cloth. I like to use cloth rather than a metal filter because you can really squeeze every last drop out of the herbs using a cloth. The herbs I composted and the alcohol I got into bottles right away.
Each bottle I filled about 60 % with this bright green alcohol and the rest with distilled water. I screwed the lid on tight and labeled them. As we are having a very intense mosquito season I plan to gift these to friends right away. The rest of the liquid I transferred to a smaller glass container, labeled it and put it in the back of my apothecary to refill my personal repellent bottles when they run low.
Natural remedies are kinder on the body and also prone to dissipate faster than industrial ones. I spray this on my ankles and wrists about every 30 minutes and also try to wear long sleeves, especially in the evenings. Even more helpful than as a repellent this spray has been great for disinfecting the mosquito bites and rashes that I already had from scratching the bites. After washing my arms or taking a shower I spray on this herbal liniment and my desire to scratch goes away immediately.
If you, dear reader, are interested in making a similar type or repellent I really recommend it! Just use the herbs you have on hand be it mind, lemon peel, or lemon verbena! Be sure to research that each and ever herb is safe for topical application and maybe add a few drops of essential oil to each bottle for extra aroma and mosquito repelling powers.