"Why are there mosquitoes?" my preschooler asked as he rubbed aloe over his new itches.
"We like bugs - we like butterflies and bees and worms but I don't like mosquitoes. Why were they created?"
Why indeed!! My BuckarooBabies love bugs. Really. They love them. They make little homes for the praying mantis. Build pathways for the scurrying TokTokkies. Count the ladybugs in the lucerne fields. And try to entice butterflies to land on a wilting wild flower in their little hands. My son's new homeschooling subject of choice is the Insect books. Quite something considering he is still a starting homeschooler!! With the heat of summer on us we are plagued day and night by those nasty mossies. The day time is surprisingly the worst. Mosquitoes, as everyone will agree, are most unwanted. And as much as we don't like them - they like us!!
"Can't we make them go away!?" He pleaded.
Mama Natural always has a plan. "Let's make a mossie repellent": I told my BuckarooBabies as they gleefully followed me to my cupboard of Essential Oils.
"Yes! And we can tell those mosquitoes to BUG OFF!!" yelled my eldest. Among all my natural remedies; essential oils and herbs are my favourite. No doubt. I use them every day. In some shape or form.
However Essential Oils come with a WARNING ! Essential oils are so powerful that you need to use them in moderation - and know which ones are safe for small children and animals. Rather default to no essential oils if you are unsure. For under two year olds the only essential oils I use in moderation are the citrus oils, lavender and chamomille. My children are no longer toddler so I could include the best bug repelling essential oils; Eucalyptus and Citronella. However my personal repelling favourite is Lemongrass. I added Lavender to soothe the areas that have already been nailed by those blood sucking critters.
Most of my lotions are made with immulsified Almond Oil. It looks like the commercial petroleum based aqueous. It is NOT. To give this lotion a bit of body I also used Shea Butter. Plus Castor oil which is an amazing oil for delicate baby skin.
While the Shea Butter melted slowly in a double boiler we measured out a half litre spray bottle of spring water. The children had turns counting out the Essential oils and then shaking the bottle. I generally let my nose decide quantities but it is roughly 40 drops Lemongrass, and 20 drops each of Citronella and Eucalyptus. We spray the bedrooms liberally at night. It smells wonderful! To humans. Not mosquitoes.
BUG OFF:
200 grams Almond Oil base
70 grams Shea Butter
2 tablespoons Castor oil
20 drops Lemongrass EO
15 drops Lavender EO
10 drops Rose Geranium EO
10 drops Citronella EO
10 drops Eucalyptus EO
With a stick blender slowly mix the Shea Butter with the Almond Oil base. Then measure out the castor oil and Essential Oils. Make sure it is mixed through properly.
I was rather heavy on the essential oils but we only use dabs on the little BuckarooBabies so this should last the entire season. I also included Rose Geranium to deter ticks. They are nearly as much a plague as mosquitoes.
In sterilized jars scoop out your Bug Off. My BuckarooBabies decided to give little travel containers of the wonderful repellent to their grandparents.
Now my challenge is keeping those enthusiastic little fingers out of the lotion! Not only does it smell wonderful but it is keeping the mossies away. Of course the fact that they made it themselves makes my kiddos all the more zealous about plastering themselves with the stuff!
