EO in soap as bug repellent?

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Are there any EOs that you can put in a soap that will help repel bugs? I know citronella is supposed to, but it stinks and that is one smell I can't work with. I was wanting to come up with something before spring gets here that will help keep the little flying mouths back a little bit, but be a scent that doesn't repel family and friends. Anyone have any advice?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

You could try Lemongrass...smells better than Citronella but has some if the same properties.

 

[paillo]

Also Eucalyptus Lemon, bugs are supposed to hate the stuff (I don't much like it either, but mixed with some Lemongrass it has a nice, fresh scent).

 

[chicklet]

I think I read this on a blog months ago - cant give credit cause I can't remember - this soaper swore by this blend of oils:

Equal amounts of
Peppermint
Cedarwood
Rosemary
Lavender
Geranium rose

I've never made it - last time I checked, geranium rose was sky high.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Thanks, I will look into both of these.

 

[Badger]

A soap maker I used to get soap from in New Hampshire uses a mix of eucalyptus, basil, lemongrass, catnip, and cedar in her bug repellent soap. Sadly, I do not know the proportions.

I also found this list of EOs that are helpful with keeping away insects...

• CEDARWOOD (Juniperus mexicana)
• CITRONELLA (Cymbopagon nardus)
• LEMONGRASS (Cymbopogon citratus)
• PENNYROYAL (Mentha puleglum)
  
• TEA TREE OIL ( Melaleuca alternifolia)
• GERANIUM (Pelargonium graveolens)
• CATNIP (Nepeta cataria) – Preliminary studies have shown catnip oil to be 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitos!
• EUCALYPTUS OIL (Eucalyptus globulus)

That was from an article by Tony(a) Lemos. Hope it helps.

 

[gratia]

I don't know how well it would work in soap maybe a lotion? But brableberry had one called bug be gone. I bought some but never used it. Check to see if they still have it maybe?

 

[deb8907]

I use a blend of citronella and eucalyptus essential oils. It smells good, but is a natural bug repellant.

 

[judymoody]

I make a bug repellent EO blend that seems to work pretty well but in solid lotion bars, not in soap. I don't think that enough of the scent would last if it were in soap. I suppose you could also make up a blend and put it in an oil or cyclomethicone-based spray but I have yet to try that. My blend has lemongrass, cedar, eucalyptus radiata, and a bunch of other stuff in it. It actually smells pretty good. I'd go sparingly on the citronella, - it doesn't smell so great.

Oregon Trail has a bug off EO blend which a lot of people like.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Maybe a lotion bar is the way to go rather than soap. I was thinking that if anise can be used for hunter's soap, something should work for convincing bugs you are not a tasty meal.

 

[2lilboots]

Doesn't the s-m-r site have a recipe for a bug-repelling soap?

 

[Skatergirl46]

I was thinking about doing a batch of soap (HP), and adding the EO blend at the end after the cook. Some of it should stay around after you rinse off. It's worth a try anyway.
**Just a note about using CATNIP (Nepeta cataria) EO - apparently big cats like the scent too, so don't use it if you plan to be out in their territory. :O **

 

[Robert]

I was thinking that if anise can be used for hunter's soap, something should work for convincing bugs you are not a tasty meal.

I'm afraid blood-sucking insects don't have much sense of smell, and what they do have is geared toward finding, not avoiding.

Mosquitos smell carbon dioxide to get into the vicinity of animals, and then use infrared vision to find where to land. The commonest mosquito repellent, diethyltoluamide, isn't a deterrent scent so much as a nerve gas that blinds them. Ticks & gnats I know less about.

The defenses plants have to keep bugs out of their vital parts that work by chemical means are poisons. Some bugs have developed the ability to smell them to avoid them. Animals AFAIK have no similar defenses against biters.

And yet citronella is known to work. It may be that blood sucking insects have conserved an ability to recognize one or more constituents of citronella from ancestors that ate plants. So there might be a few other substances like that, but they're likely to be insecticidal oils from the green parts of plants. So just as a hunch I'd try terpenes & terpenoids as a class of candidates for scented insect repellents.

 

[ocean_soul]

A soap maker I used to get soap from in New Hampshire uses a mix of eucalyptus, basil, lemongrass, catnip, and cedar in her bug repellent soap. Sadly, I do not know the proportions.

I also found this list of EOs that are helpful with keeping away insects...

• CEDARWOOD (Juniperus mexicana)
• CITRONELLA (Cymbopagon nardus)
• LEMONGRASS (Cymbopogon citratus)
• PENNYROYAL (Mentha puleglum)
  
• TEA TREE OIL ( Melaleuca alternifolia)
• GERANIUM (Pelargonium graveolens)
• CATNIP (Nepeta cataria) – Preliminary studies have shown catnip oil to be 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitos!
• EUCALYPTUS OIL (Eucalyptus globulus)

That was from an article by Tony(a) Lemos. Hope it helps.

Nice list, not sure about the Pennyroyal though. I've read that it shouldn't be used on the skin as it is highly toxic...also it should be avoided by pregnant women as it can cause uterine contractions.

 

[paillo]

I gave up and use bug-repellent EOs in lotion bars, equal parts lemon eucalyptus, lemongrass, and eucalyptus...