Natural Insect Repellent

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Natural

Mosquito Repellent

by

Barbara Pleasant | May 2, 2006

Since

the 1999 appearance of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in North

America,

it's more important than ever to keep these pests at bay. You can outsmart

mosquitoes with this homemade, Earth-friendly solution.

*Herbal

Insect Repellent*

2 1/2

teaspoons total of any combination of the following essential oils: basil,

cedarwood, citronella, juniper, lemon, myrrh, palmarosa, pine, rose geranium

and/or rosemary (available at health food stores)

1 cup

190-proof grain alcohol (available in liquor stores)

Place

ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Transfer to

small bottles for storage. To use, rub a small amount on any exposed skin (test

first to be sure your skin will not be adversely affected by the repellent) or

dab it on clothing.

Experiment

a little to find which essential oils work best with your body chemistry. If

you're lucky, you also will like the way they smell; otherwise, add a few drops

of peppermint oil to fine-tune the fragrance.

*If you

are bitten,* follow this advice from James Duke, Ph.D., author of " The

Green Pharmacy. " Plantain (Plantago, various species) is one of the best

herbs to treat bug bites.

Plantain

You

probably won't need to plant this home remedy because it is a very common weed,

often growing in compacted soil along sidewalks and driveways. To use the plant

as first aid for a mosquito bite, crush a few leaves and rub them on the bite.

Visit

the University of California's Weed Photo Gallery

<http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/weeds_common.html>

for help identifying plantain.

 

Some

anti-itch drugstore medicines to use include Calamine lotion. Doctors generally

recommend pain relievers, ice packs to treat insect bites and stings. Get

Mother's Tips by E-mail

 

Comments

on " Natural Mosquito Repellent "

I have

been making plaintain ointment and have found many uses for it.

Not

only is it the best I've ever found for stings and bites, it works great for

burns, cold sores and shingles. I've seen results from all the uses above. I've

also read that it works well for ring worm. In the past

I've

make mullein oil for earaches. It worked well, than I read that plaintain

worked well for earaches. I made up the plaintain oil and it does work wonders.

If I could only have one weed or herb to use I think I would choose the humble

Plaintain.

Posted

by: kweston | May 8, 2006

 

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