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Ideas for the Home

You are here: Home / Seasonal Ideas / DIY Bug Spray with Free Printable Labels

By Lori Greco on May 15, 2017 4 Comments

DIY Bug Spray with Free Printable Labels

Kid Ideas· Seasonal Ideas· Travel Ideas

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This DIY bug spray is an effective and natural remedy using essential oils that’s easy and inexpensive to make.

The weather is finally getting warmer which makes me so happy! Unfortunately with the warmer weather comes the bugs. And that means it’s time to make up some DIY bug spray.

DIY bug spray and free printable labels

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links for products or services we think you’ll like. This means if you make a purchase from one of these links, Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® will make a small commission at no additional cost to you so we can keep the great ideas for the home coming your way. All opinions expressed are derived from personal experience.

This is Lori from Greco Design Company and I’m here today to share a really effective and natural DIY bug spray recipe that’s also easy and inexpensive to make. I get a little concerned about using the bug sprays with DEET so I decided to make my own and I know exactly what’s in it.

I can choose natural and safe ingredients and customize them for my family. No more chemicals and pesticides! Natural is great, but it also needs to work and this does!

How to make natural DIY bug spray with essential oils

Essential oils are a great natural alternative to insect repellents and adding them to a simple recipe helps reduce your chemical exposure. T

here are lots of effective essential oil options out there, but I found this DIY bug spray mixture works for me and seems to repel my biggest annoyances: mosquitos and ticks – but it also works on fleas and flies. You can get an essential oil starter kit here.

Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lavender, and Lemon essential oils - this combination makes DIY bug spray

4 essential oils that repel bugs

1. Lavender

This smells sweet to us but bugs absolutely hate it. It works on mosquitoes, ticks, flies, and fleas.

2. Eucalyptus

According to the Journal of Medical Entomology, Eucalyptus can reduce tick bites and infections.

3. Lemon

Lemon essential oil can work against mosquitos and it adds a nice scent to balance the stronger citronella.

4. Rosemary

This essential oil is known to repel fleas and ticks.

DIY bug spray with essential oils

Basic DIY Bug Spray Recipe

  • 2 oz. of Witch hazel
  • 2 oz. of Distilled water (doesn’t have to be exact, just fill almost to top – leaving room for the oils)
  • 15 drops Lavender Essential Oil
  • 15 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
  • 15 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
  • 15 drops Lemon Essential Oil
DIY bug spray with FREE labels

Pour all ingredients into a 4 oz. spray bottle, shake and use as necessary. This bottle size is perfect to travel with. You can use a plastic spray bottle to avoid the risk of a glass bottle breaking. 

Check the bottom of the plastic bottle to see if it’s #1 PETE or #2 HDPE, either of those types of plastic will work and are chemical-free. I also keep a larger (16 oz.) glass spray bottle filled with bug spray for a quick spray before I head outside. I got the glass spray bottle through Grove, but this one would work too.

Free printable bug spray labels with the recipe

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Once you have the free printable bug spray labels, attach them to your jar(s) with spray adhesive, a glue stick or by printing them on adhesive paper.

DIY bug spray with FREE labels

Tips for Using DIY bug spray

  • Oils and water don’t mix, so be sure to shake the DIY bug spray before you use it.
  • Avoid spraying directly on your face
  • Avoid touching eyes and mouth if you have DIY bug spray on your fingers.
  • This is safe for adults and kids ages 10 and up
  • There are some essential oils that are not safe for pets. According to my research, the ones I listed are safe for dogs, but be cautious. Do not apply it directly to your pets.

I hope you enjoyed this post and find this natural remedy useful against those pesky bugs! Check out these posts for some other essential oil remedies that you’re sure to love!

4 Sugar Scrub Recipes & FREE labels

Lavender & Grapefruit Bath Salts

What’s Next?

While you’re here, you may also enjoy these other Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® –

  • Easy DIY Fly Trap
  • Homemade Antibacterial Cleaner with Just 3 Ingredients
  • All-Natural Homemade Stovetop Air Freshener for Fall

Updated September 2019.

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Kid Ideas· Seasonal Ideas· Travel Ideas

About Lori Greco

Lori is a freelance graphic designer living in the Boston area with her husband, their three kids and a yellow lab puppy. She started Greco Design Company in 2014 when she realized that her love for design was extending beyond the corporate advertising world and into all areas of her life. She shows us some unique but simple DIY projects, gives some great ideas for home design, provides her outlook on current fashion trends, and loves to do beauty and product reviews. She incorporates her graphic design background through her free printables, paintings, signs, art prints, invitations and stationery on her blog and in her Etsy shop. Lori believes in the importance of surrounding ourselves with good, purposeful design that can help streamline our lives and still be affordable. Her tutorials are easy to follow as she shows how you can make anything you set your mind to!

Lori shared her great ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® from June 2015 - September 2019. Follow Lori on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

In this ultimate guide, you'll learn how to make a burlap wreath with ribbon for your home. The FREE eBook includes easy step-by-step instructions plus inspiring craft and decor ideas to make wreaths for fall, Christmas, Easter and other holidays.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Charles Martin M. Ikari says

    May 20, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    I see that you have a picture of ants on the label but make no mention of them in the article. I was wondering if you have seen any proof that your recipe works on ants. More specifically sugar ants?

    Reply
    • Carrie says

      May 21, 2017 at 9:25 pm

      Hi Charles, thank you for taking the time to write to us with your question. This DIY Bug Spray is a topical solution that you spray on your body to repel mosquitos, ticks, fleas and flies. It does not kill the bugs or insects. The bugs don’t like the smell of the oils and it repels them and prevents you from getting bitten. Hope that helps.

      Reply
      • Carrie says

        June 5, 2017 at 10:23 am

        Hi Charles, Lori from Greco Design Company did a little research for you on this issue. Here is what she found:

        “The lemon essential oil is great ant repellant but this spray is definitely more of a topical use, as you mentioned. However, while I was doing my research, I found a good essential oil for ants specifically. Depending on the situation, there’s a way to treat the ants with a spray or an essential oil-infused cotton ball. I have yet to try this concoction but it does seem the following essential oils are a very good ant repellant.
        Thanks!! – Lori

        Peppermint Essential Oil – It works and it smells great too!

        Tea Tree Essential Oil – a great all-purpose oil that can also be used as a disinfectant in homemade cleaners.

        Lemon or Citrus Essential Oil- Citrus oils contain d-limonene, which is toxic to ants. It also masks their scent trails. (Orange, lemon and grapefruit essential oils all contain d-limonene)

        To use: Place a few drops of the essential oils on a cotton ball and wipe on baseboards and other entry points. You can also leave a essential oil-infused cotton ball in cabinets and other areas as needed. Repeat every few days until ants are completely gone, or see below for how to use it as a spray.

        ANT AWAY SPRAY
        Ingredients:
        1/4 cup purified water
        1/4 cup witch hazel
        15 drops peppermint essential oil
        15 drops tea tree essential oil
        10 drops lemon or orange essential oil

        Instructions:
        Pour all ingredients into a small spray bottle.

        How To Use The Essential Oil Spray:
        Shake bottle, then spray around baseboards, entry points for ants and just about anywhere you’ve seen ants. If you’re spraying on a food surface, omit the tea tree oil and add 15 drops peppermint oil. Repeat every few days until ants are completely gone.

        Reply

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