Oil
Lavender mosquito spray
Mosquitoes find you by smell. The carbon dioxide you breathe out, the lactic acid in your sweat, the heat from your skin. A repellent works by laying another scent over the top, so they lose the trail.
Lavender, citronella and peppermint do exactly that. They are mild enough to use on a child over three, and they smell of a summer evening rather than of chemical.
Be honest about expectations: it lasts an hour or two, not a whole evening. Take the bottle out to the terrace and spray again when the mosquitoes find you again. They will.
Ingredients
- 100 ml water
- 1 tbsp lavender oil or 20 drops lavender essential oil
- 10 drops citronella
- 5 drops peppermint
Equipment
- Dark spray bottle
- Funnel
Method
- 1
Mix 100 ml water with 1 tbsp lavender oil and a few drops of citronella or peppermint oil in a spray bottle.
- 2
Spray on skin and clothes.
Dosage
Shake well before each use, water and oil separate.
Spray on skin and clothes before sitting out. Reapply after 1-2 hours, or when you can tell they have found you.
Spray cushions and the table edge as well. The scent in the air around you helps.
Shelf life
3-6 months in a dark bottle.
Safety
Try the spray on a small area and wait a day before using it all over. Essential oils can cause contact dermatitis.
Not on the face, and not near eyes or mouth. Spray onto your hands and dab if you want some on your neck.
Not for children under 3 years. Peppermint can cause breathing problems in small children and must not be used near their faces.
Not during pregnancy without speaking to your midwife.
Lavender oil can make skin more sensitive to sunlight in some people. Spray in the evening, not before a day in the sun.
Essential oils can be toxic to cats and dogs. Cats are particularly sensitive. Do not spray near the animal, and do not let it lick your skin while the spray is wet.
This spray is for mosquitoes. If you are going into long grass or scrub where there are ticks, use the tick spray with lemon eucalyptus instead. It is the only one with documented effect on ticks.
For severe swelling, a rash over the whole body, difficulty breathing or dizziness after a bite: call the emergency number. That is an allergic reaction, not an ordinary mosquito bite.
How the herbs work
Mosquitoes track us through carbon dioxide, lactic acid and body heat. The scent compounds in lavender, citronella and peppermint mask those signals, so the mosquito cannot follow the trail to you.
Citronella is the best studied of the three and it works, but briefly. It evaporates quickly, which is why you must reapply after an hour or two.
Lavender contributes both deterrence and relief if you are bitten anyway. Linalool in lavender eases itching and inflammation in the skin.
Peppermint is the sharpest of them and contributes most to the overall scent cloud.
None of them contains PMD, the compound that works against ticks. That is why this spray is for mosquitoes and not for woodland walks in long grass.
The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.