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Six DEET-free Mosquito Repellants

3. Catnip
An Iowa State University research group showed that the essential oil found in the herb catnip is about ten times more effective than DEET is in repelling mosquitoes in the laboratory.

4. NEEM Seed Oil, or “Neem Oil”
It is extracted from a plant that grows in India. An ingredient in Neem seed oil has also been found to be more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes by researchers at the Malaria Institute in India. Both the U.S. National Research Council and the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association have confirmed this finding.

5. Lavender Essential Oil
It smells great and is a commonly used and effective mosquito repellent.

6. Garlic
Eat lots of fresh garlic—mosquitoes can’t stand the stuff.

Choose a natural mosquito repellent to ward off both mosquitoes and the nasty effects of DEET.

By Michelle Cook of SheerBalance

Updated September 3, 2010

First published August 2009

3 readers liked this story.

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Comments

So make a homemade mozzie repellent composed of essential oils of citronella, lavender, lemongrass and catnip in a carrier oil of soybean oil mixed with neem oil. Then eat lots of fresh garlic all summer. Voilà. Works for me! (Just a note: You should NEVER apply essential oils directly to the skin, undiluted by a carrier oil, with the exception of lavender and/or tea tree. Those two are the only essential oils generally considered safe for an undiluted topical application on normal skin.)

If you wouldn't drink it, then it doesn't belong on your skin or applied to your body. Your skin is your largest organ of your body, and anything used on your skin enters your blood stream directly, unlike foods or drinks ingested through the mouth, which first go through the intestines and stomach where stomach acids have a chance to fight off toxins, and intestines have a chance to break down matter into something more soluble. DEET has been known to cause 3 fatalities purposeful from ingestion, 2 fatalities from dermal exposure (putting it on your skin), and I've also heard of cases where it caused heart problems. Here's an article I found that may be of interest to those concerned with the safety of DEET: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/consultations/deet/health‐effects.html Also, I would like to add lemongrass extract to this list as another natural repellent of mosquitoes. It's been used as such in Thailand for centuries. Thank you to the author of this wonderful article.

I need to correct my previous comment. I was thinking of DDT. DEET is the newer weaker stuff in OFF and other insect repellents that barely work...

Wait, you can still get DEET? I personally think DEET is great. It is the single reason that Malaria is almost non existent in the U.S. and the statistically the likely hood of getting cancer from it are pretty small. The persecution of DEET as a product is in large part responsible for the Spread of Malaria throughout Africa, because international organizations won't use it, despite the fact that it basically rid 1st world countries of malaria with little increase in cancer rates. I'd much rather have a small chance of cancer late in life as opposed to a high chance of malaria early in life. DEET is not a bad thing when used correctly. Where can I get some? I'd use it all over my property. I hate mosquitoes.