DIY: Mosquito repellent

Here an Anopheles stephensi female is gorged with blood and
beginning to pass unwanted liquid fractions of the blood
to make room for more of the solid nutrients in her gut (Wikipedia)

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There are two main reasons to make your own mosquito repellent or buy an herbal one: avoid using products with DEET and keep the damn mosquitoes and whatever off.  This year, here in Alaska, they are particularly voracious and the stings itch for days, if not treated.  You can buy products that are supposed to relieve the itching, but I found one of the best treatments is dabbing on a little witch hazel.

Stories about DEET abound.  I've heard fishermen report that contact with DEET-containing repellent took the varnish off their fishing rods.  The CDC's ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) site has an article on its Health Effects in Humans. And Wikipedia's article on DEET is very good.

There are many recipes for herbal repellents online.  Most of them use essential oils.  Here's a site, Mountain Rose Herbs, selected at random to illustrate how essential oils may be offered.  Be careful of the term aromatherapy, many products offered are a mixture of oils, blended with a specific purpose such as stress relief, aphrodisiac, purification, and so on. Amazon has a good selection; best to search for the oil specifically by name.  Another thing to keep in mind is that some essential oils should be diluted with a carrier oil, which can be olive or grapeseed oil--so follow the recipe.

Inhabitat has a collection of  "Homemade Insect Repellent Sprays and Lotions." Wellness Mama offers a variety of recipes, including ones that use dried herbs. 

Here's a recipe I found a while ago, but haven't tried yet.

Ingredients:
1/2 liter of alcohol
100 gram of whole cloves
100 ml of baby oil or similar (almond, sesame, chamomile, lavender, fennel, etc)

Preparation:
Leave cloves to marinate in alcohol four days
Stir every morning and evening
After 4 days add the oil
It's now ready to use.

How to use:
Gently rub a few drops into the skin of the arms and legs.
Observe the mosquitoes fleeing the room.
Repels fleas on pets too.

One of my favorite ready-made repellents is Herbal Armor, which can be purchased at Amazon.

I find that these natural repellents last about half-an-hour, then must be refreshed.

Also, I couldn't resist including the Russian sculpture below.

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Valery Chaliy, mosquito sculpture, Laughing Squid

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-- Marge