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Great Essential Oil Blends for Repelling Those Bugs!
It’s that buggy time of year again, and we always love to tell folks how effective essential oils can be as mosquito repellents on the body and inside spaces – AND how to choose and blend the best oils. (See blends at the bottom 🙂 It’s great to know that several essential oils are [...]
June 8 2011
It’s that buggy time of year again, and we always love to tell folks how effective essential oils can be as mosquito repellents on the body and inside spaces – AND how to choose and blend the best oils. (See blends at the bottom 🙂
It’s great to know that several essential oils are effective at repelling mosquitoes, and Catnip essential oil has been tested as 10 times more effective than DEET, the chemical found in many over-the-counter “unnatural” formulas. The reason this is good to know is that DEET has been called a safety concern for children (which really means “everyone” doesn’t it?)
An Iowa State research group, which had previously found catnip essential oil repels cockroaches, presented the report at the 222nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Below is a quote from Science Daily as to how the experiment was done:
Researchers put groups of 20 mosquitoes in a two-foot glass tube, half of which was treated with nepetalactone (our Catnip essential oil is 80% neptalactone). After 10 minutes, only an average of 20 percent — about four mosquitoes — remained on the side of the tube treated with the oil. The same tests with DEET (diethyl-m-toluamide) resulted in approximately 40 percent to 45 percent — eight-nine mosquitoes — remaining on the treated side.
Repellency of DEET and neptalactone were compared on a scale from -100 to +100. A rating of zero means half of the insects would stay on the treated side and half on the untreated side. In the tests, catnip ranged from +49 percent to +59 percent By comparison, at the same doses, DEET’s repellency was only about +10 percent in this bioassay.
Researchers says nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than DEET because it takes about one-tenth as much nepetalactone as DEET to have the same effect. Most commercial insect repellents contain about 5 percent to 25 percent DEET. Presumably, much less catnip oil would be needed in a formulation to have the same level of repellency as a DEET-based repellent.
Woo Hoo! So you actually need less catnip oil than deet in your formula. AND, we’ve also just added Eucalyptus Citradora, which is also a very popular insect repelling essential oil. Like Citronella, it has a very high level of cintronellal, but not quite that same lemony-grassy scent. Use of either is a personal preference.
Blends and Recipes
So you have many ways to use catnip and other oils to repel bugs during the Summer. You can make a lotion or a water (or even partially-alcohol) based spray, or simply let the oils run in a diffuser in your home.
Body Sprays and Lotions
If you’d like to make an effective body spray, you’ll need to add a little “tween”, a naturally derived compound that helps oils and water stay mixed. You’ll find it on our mixing bottles page. Some folks say use an equal amount of Tween in your recipe as you’re using essential oils, but we’ve found we can use much less (perhaps 1/4) if we don’t mind shaking the bottle before we use it. So, here’s 3 recipes you can try, or make up your own and see what ya get. If you want to make a lotion, use any uncented cream for your base, like our organic jojoba/coconut. You won’t need Tween if you’re mixing in a cream base. For each one ounce of total liquid, use the following:
Recipe #1 1.5ml Catnip Oil 1.5ml Eucalyptus Citradora Oil 0.5ml Peppermint Oil(use only 7 drops if the spray will be used on children under 12) add perhaps 10 drops of Tween (don’t be offended by the smell — it actually is almost undetectable in about a day) and fill the bottle the rest of the way with water and/or alcohol (some folks find the alcohol mixes better, but we use water).
Recipe #2 1.0ml Catnip Oil 1.5ml Geranium Oil(A VERY popular ingredient in natural mosquito repellents) 1.5ml Citronella OR Eucalyptus Citradora 0.5ml Peppermint Oil(again use only 7 drops if the spray will be used on children under 12). The peppermint is not really a requirement, but we think the menthol may add repellent action.
Diffusing in your home
Because of the relatively high cost of catnip essential oil with a high concentration of neptalactone (like ours), you may choose to go with either none at all, or perhaps 1/10th of your entire formula being catnip, the rest being whatever you like to smell! We recommend Eucalyptus Citradora, Citronella, Geranium, and a little Peppermint. ALL these oils have been noted effective, and we think experimenting at home is fun. So for best long-term results, make a note of what you put in your diffuser each time along with the results. You’ll make your own finest critter-repelling creation!
ANANDA CONTINUES JUST DIFFERENTLY You will soon see a slight change to our website. We have decided to transition the online store to a resource and information site.So while you can not purchase products, you can still have access to the incredible depth of information!We have 16 years of research, and useful tidbits about Essentials oils, CO2 extracts, Carrier Oils and […]
 In Eternal Memory of Eric Cech, Ananda’s Founder “The best business model I can hope for is one that will run out of business.” – Eric Cech Eric’s business mindset was otherworldly. He admitted in casual conversation to his wife Anita one day: “The best business model I can hope for is one that […]
We Want You To Know – We Have Heard You.  Your sentiments are  important to us. We are considering our next steps with YOU in mind. Dearest Ananda Customers~ Many of you have asked us if this closure is permanent, or if there is any way we may be able to remain open, or make […]
It Comes with the Greatest Pleasure To let You Know… that…Because of YOU Ananda has Managed to Survive one of the Most Uncertain Times of its Tenure ~ We can not thank you enough for your enormous patience, understanding and support. From your incoming calls, comments on social media, direct messages across various channels, emails […]
Here are a small fraction of the heartfelt responses we have received following the notice of our business closure and liquidation sale. We offer all of you a deserved shout out for being the improbable, Â most essential, significant, factor in creating the Dream you are voicing to us: Hope for a Sustainable Future and Provider […]
Thank You For your Support Since 2004 The Ananda Apothecary is Closing Business SAD BUT TRUE As previously disclosed, The Ananda Apothecary has been greatly affected by to the global health situation. Bottom line is, we were increasing growing slim on product with no resupply any time soon. We are unable to get goods […]
*Â SPRINGÂ CLEANING SPECIALÂ * *OFFERS VALID APRIL 24 – MAY 2, OR UNTIL SUPPLIES LAST. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. WE’RE GIVING OILS AWAY Get Yours Today! WITH ANY PURCHASE THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET GETÂ UP TO THREE OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE OILS FREE *We have limited supplies due to overseas shipping restrictions. Order now while supplies last. ALSO […]
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