Why use essential oils for bug bites and repellent?
No one likes insect bites. They’re itchy, sore, distracting, and can look pretty nasty, too. But for many of us, the alternative of using bug sprays isn’t so appealing either.
Traditional insect repellents and bug sprays often contain harsh synthetic chemicals such as picaridin or DEET which are not only harmful to the environment but can also cause serious irritation to our breathing and damage to our skin. Oh, and they normally smell pretty awful too.
Natural insect repellents and bite treatments such as essential oils can be a great alternative, protecting your skin while also respecting the ecosystems around us.
So, by using essential oils for bug bites and insect repellent you can soothe those itchy bites while also deterring any nearby bugs – killing two birds (or should we say bugs?) with one stone.
In this article on essential oils for bug bites and essential oil bug repellents, we’ll cover:
- What are essential oils?
- How to use them for itchy bites and bug repellent
- The 7 best essential oils for bug bites and repellent.
Note: While essential oil bug repellents can act as effective insect deterrents, in high-risk areas for insect spread diseases such as Malaria, Dengue Fever, or Lyme Disease, we recommend always using a repellent with approval by health organizations such as the EPA or similar.
What Are Essential Oils?
First things first – what are essential oils?
Whenever you peel an orange, pluck a stalk of lavender, strip a sprig of rosemary, or sniff a rose, the lovely fragrance that fills your nose is the essential oil of the plant.
Essential oils are liquids containing the natural fragrant essence extracted from flowers, leaves, bark, roots, fruit peel, berries, and other natural sources.
Essential oils are named so because these liquids capture the plant’s unique fragrance or “essence” by concentrating their unique aromatic compounds through the process of extraction.Commonly, once extracted these essential oils are mixed with a neutral carrier oil or blended with other essential oils for reasons including reducing toxicity, prolonging shelf life, or optimizing their desired health effect.
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How to use Essential Oils for Bug Bites
There are four main different ways to use essential oils for bug bites.
First, the most effective use is in the form of an ointment. In this method, dilute the essential oil of choice in a carrier oil such as coconut, jojoba, or castor oil, then apply directly to the bite.
Second, you can use them as a spray. To do so, dilute your chosen oil in some distilled water and pop it in a spray bottle. Third, you can use them in the form of a compress. To do so, soak a flannel, cotton ball or bandage in warm water, pop a few drops of the oil on, and then apply to the bug bite.
Fourth, you can use them in the form of a soak. Here, introduce a few drops into a bowl of warm water or the bath and soak the bite area (depending on the volume of your bath you might need a lot of the essential oil for the water to be an effective concentration).
Some general rules to follow when using essential oils for bug bites is to always make sure that they are diluted to the correct ratio. Most essential oils are too harsh in their pure form and can cause skin irritation. Each oil requires a different dilution ratio, so be sure to check this before use.
How to use essential oil bug repellent
Similar to using essential oils for itchy bug bites, there are various ways to use essential oil bug repellent.
First, you can use them in the form of a spray applied to the skin, to clothes, bedsheets or as a room spray. For this method, simply dilute the oil in distilled water to the recommended ratio. If intended to use on the skin or fabrics that touch bare skin, the spray will have to be more diluted.
Second, you can diffuse them into the room. For this method, simply pop the oil into your aromatherapy diffuser or reed diffuser and allow the scent to fill the room.
Third, you can apply them topically to the skin by diluting them into your body moisturizer or in the form of an ointment, as stated above.
The Best Essential Oils for bug Bites and Repellent
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#1: Tea Tree Oil
Benefits:
Often used in acne skincare products, Tea Tree oil is well-known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. These make it great for having a cooling, anti-inflammatory, and soothing effect on bug bites, as well as preventing them from infection.
As well as a treatment for bug bites, emerging studies indicate that tea tree oil also has powerful insect repellent properties.
For example, this study found tea tree oil to not only be a repellent but a natural insecticide. Hence why Tea Tree oil features so often in head lice treatments!
#2: Citronella Oil
Benefits:
Citronella is a well-known essential oil bug repellent, commonly used in commercially produced insect repellent sprays, candles and now infused into mosquito nets.
While not as effective as DEET sprays, studies have shown citronella to provide about 90 minutes of effective deterrence of mosquitoes and other insects when applied topically.
And what’s more, these studies have shown citronella oil to also have strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, helping to calm and soothe those itchy bites.
#3: Thyme Oil
Benefits:
Thyme oil is recognized as being one of the best essential oils for repelling mosquitoes, with these studies showing up to a 91 protection rate for up to 90 minutes.
And it’s not just mosquitoes. Much research evidences thymes’ insect deterrent properties to stretch to mites, midges, and more.
As an oil for soothing bug bites, a number of other studies have shown thyme oil to have powerful local anesthetic effects, blocking the sensations of burning, itching, and soreness on our skin.
#4: Cinnamon Oil
Benefits:
Cinnamon oil not only smells incredible but also acts as a potent insect repellent. Studies have shown that the oil not only deters mosquitos and prevents oviposition, but actually kills insect eggs.
Another study found cinnamon oil to be highly effective and for both soothing the skin through reducing inflammation and itchiness – perfect for insect bites.
In fact, studies have shown the insect deterring properties of cinnamon to be so effective that the oil is now being used in food packaging to keep food and other goods safe from pesky bugs.
#5: Lavender Oil
Benefits:
Best known for its calming effects on anxiety, lavender oil has so many benefits – effective bug repellent being amongst them.
Lavender oil has been shown to repel mosquitoes and offer over 90% protection for up to 4 hours, including preventing egg-laying.
As a treatment for itchy bug bites, lavender has analgesic, antifungal, and antiseptic qualities. This means that in addition to preventing mosquito bites, it can help to calm and soothe skin irritated by bites.
#6: Chamomile Oil
Benefits:
Chamomile is universally recognized for its calming and soothing powers from everything from your stomach to skin to mind. And as it turns out, these alleviating effects can also relieve itchy bug bites.
Research has shown chamomile oil to reduce the itchiness, redness, and soreness of insect bites, with others evidencing it to speed up healing. This study found chamomile emollient to be more effective than prescribed hydrocortisone cream.
As an insect repellent, a number of studies show chamomile to provide up to 72 hours of protection against mosquito bites, and 100% protection against oviposition (egg-laying).
#7: Lemon Eucalyptus Oil
Benefits:
Lemon eucalyptus oil has been used since the late 1930s as an insect deterrent and is amongst the best recognized essential oil bug repellents.
Since then, there have been numerous studies evidencing lemon eucalyptus oil to offer over 95 percent protection against mosquitoes for around three hours.
Indeed, these studies have shown lemon eucalyptus oil to be so effective that it is now approved by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an effective repellent for midgies and mosquitos.
Multiple studies have also shown eucalyptus oil to have anti-inflammatory and very mild analgesic (pain killer) properties, making them great for relieving soreness and itchiness of bug bites.
