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20 Non-Toxic Natural Homemade Mosquito, Ant
& Tick Repellents By: Jennifer Tynan
20 Non-Toxic Natural Homemade Mosquito, Ant
& Tick Repellents
Copyright 2016 ©
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission. Unauthorized reproduction of this work is
illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded,
or posted on the internet without the author's
permission.
This book is not meant to take the place of medicine or
medical advice from a professional. The contents in
this book do not make guarantees in anyway and have
not been reviewed or approved by the FDA like the
commercial chemical products. No natural or over the
counter chemical bug repellants are 100% effective in
preventing bites. So, be sure to also use preventative
safety like proper clothing and securing your
environment. As always nursing, pregnant women, and
children should consult with your trusted doctor before
consuming. These are natural herbal recipes that have
been handed down from grannies and are believed by
some people to make bugs stay away.
Table of Contents Introduction
Chapter 1 – How to keep Mosquitoes and Ants Out of
Your House
• Ants, Mosquitoes, Tick: Prevention First
Chapter 2 – Benefits of Using Natural & Homemade
Products
Chapter 3 – Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Products
Chapter 4 – 10 Recipes for Natural and Homemade
Mosquito Repellents
• Natural Mosquito Repellent Spray
• Essential Oil Blends
• Lavender Mosquito Repellent
• Mosquito Repellant: The Kitchen Grab
• Clove & Thyme
• Neem & Jojoba Bug Away
• The Repellant Bomb
• Catnip, Mint, & Citronella
• Garlic & Vinegar
• Blazing Bug Spice
Chapter 5 – 10 Recipes for Natural and Homemade
Ant Repellent and Killers
• The Marigold Solution
• The Traditional Peppermint
• Tea Tree Oil Spray
• Jam Ant Bait
• Orange Peels to Kill and Repel Ants
• Simple and Natural Ant Repellents
• Soap, Water, and Magical Dirt
• Protein Baits
• Peppermint & Spearmint Sprigs
Chapter 6 - Tick Repellent
Chapter 7 - Bonus: 2 Recipes to Sooth Poison Ivy
• Jewel Weed Soap
• Plantain Salve
Bonus Preview of 90 Homemade Soap & Bath Recipes
If you enjoy this book and find the information useful
you may find other recipe books by Jennifer Tynan
enjoyable.
About the Author: Jennifer & Hannah Tynan are the
owners of Thermal Mermaid and artisan soap and
bath company. They spend their time making
homemade household products that focus on
chemical free or nontoxic ingredients. For more
recipes than insect “go away” sprays and salves check
out their other books or visit Thermal Mermaid
directly online.
90 Homemade Soap & Bath Recipes:
Thermal Mermaid's Artisan Soap Makers
Book
Introduction So, you’ve found yourself a bit curious about
getting your hands on mosquito and bug repellants
without the fear of spraying yourself and your child in
toxic chemicals. No one can blame you for that. How
can something that kills a living thing on contact not
possibly do some kind of damage to you or one of your
little ones. Your fear isn’t unfounded.
Natural repellents might be a better solution to
ease your worries about chemical exposure. The
recipes found in the following chapters are all natural
remedies that have been known for hundreds of years.
Each one may have different results depending on the
recipe and the type of bug you are trying to repel. Many
work well enough to keep you comfortable on a warm
summer night so that you can stay out and catch
lightning bugs with the kids or watch fireworks without
being eaten alive.
Each of these recipes are simple and can be
made at home with basic ingredients that you can find
at your Walmart or grocery store. Some ingredients can
be harvested from your back yard depending on where
you live, and a few recipes are a little more advanced.
For those who really want to get their hands into
creating a useful product, some ingredients can be
found online with a simple search.
To keep your home clean, it’s really important
that you don’t have ants always lurking around your
house. It’s important to get on top of this problem at
the peak of the season to prevent being taken over by
entire colonies. It’s a little known fact that ants and
carpenter bees can do as much to the interior of your
home as termites. The recipes in this book will not only
protect your body from biting things, but also repel
pesky ants from your living area.
Of course, before we get into the recipes you can
make to repel bugs, when it comes to ants, the best
prevention is to keep food out of their reach. This
doesn’t just mean your food. This means their food.
Aside from keeping crumbs off the counter or floor, you
need to make sure your toothpaste and mouthwash is
wiped out of the sink and off the bathroom counter top.
Nothing prevents ants like starving them. Now,
mosquitoes are another story. You are the food, so we
need to take additional precautions.
This book includes 10 ant repellant recipe ideas,
9 mosquito recipe ideas, a natural tick repellant, and 2
bonus poison ivy soothing recipes that you will find at
the end.
Chapter 1 Ants, Mosquitoes, Ticks: Prevention First
Ants:
There are many different kinds of ants. Some
bite, some do not. Some are tiny. Some are very large.
Some are black, and some are red. No matter what kind
you have. You don’t want them. They all need to go. It’s
as simple as that. What are ants attracted to? Sugar.
Ants are primarily looking for food. In fact, nearly
every ant you see wandering around has been sent out
to look for food.
What are the easiest basic ways to keeps ants out of
your cupboards?
• Spray soap water on your floor and counter tops
to keep food scents off the surface to keep them
from moving into your house.
• Crush mint leaves or mint tea leaf sprigs and use
them to kill or repel ants. Twist the leaf breaking
it so that it gives off a stronger smell and tuck it
into your cupboards and in the spaces below
your sink. Ants hate the smell of peppermint
and spearmint.
• Mint apple jelly mixed with an even part of
borax can be left on the counter. This will
eventually kill ants after they’ve gone back to
their nests. The sugar in the jelly will draw them.
They will eat the mixture, and the borax will
poison them soon after.
• Pouring soap directly into crevices and cracks in
your counter tops will neutralize the sticky sugar
that may draw ants into places that are hard to
clean. Ants don’t like soap and it will often act as
a barrier that they will try to avoid. Watch,
sometime, if you put liquid soap on the counter
top and watch ants walk past. They will usually
do an about face and look for a new path away
from the soap.
• Bitter cucumbers are a food that ants despise.
Cut a cucumber up to small diced pieces or
puree is into a wet slop. Leave the puree or
pieces in the corners of your cabinets, window
sills, or door ways.
• You can also destroy the whole colonies with
this simple method. Take a small pitcher of
water, a tablespoon of borax, and a cup of sugar
or honey. Soak a bag full of cotton balls in the
solution. Take a plastic cup and make holes in it
to allow the ants inside the container. Put these
cotton balls in the container. The ants may get
stuck and die inside the cup. Those who find
their way back out will carry these baits to their
colonies and the whole colony will die with the
smell of the bait or upon eating it.
Mosquitoes:
Mosquitoes are the little flying bugs that transmit
viruses and bacteria when they land on people to suck
their blood. Dengue fever and Malaria have been
afflicting the human population in devastating ways for
hundreds of years. In recent news, the Zika virus had
been ravaging the warmer South American areas by
infecting pregnant woman who have babies with a
condition that prevents the baby’s brain from
developing. This results in a live birth of a baby with
only a cerebellum and void of the rest of the brain. This
disease is transmitted through mosquitoes.
• Mosquitoes breed and stay in areas where water
is still or in places that have dirty moisture. So,
the first thing you should do to keep yourself
safe from mosquitoes is to keep your house free
from stagnant water. This means buckets laying
around with rain water that may have collected
as well as vernal pools.
• Make sure your window screens shut properly
and are fee from holes. Don’t open your house
in those summer nights without the proper
protection.
• Planting certain vegetation around your yard, in
your gardens, and set on your window sills will
help keep pesty bugs away to a degree. Beetles,
mosquitoes, and ants hate marigolds, lemon
grass, and mint. You can put these plants
around your open windows to repel bug, and
also you can border your garden with these
plant to deter the kind of bugs that will eat your
fruits, like pesky tomato grubs.
Ticks:
In the last three decades ticks have become almost
as deadly as mosquitoes. It’s true that ticks aren’t
responsible for the massive numbers that mosquitoes
have wiped out in the human population, but ask
anyone afflicted with Lyme Disease if they think it’s
just as important to prevent a tick bite as it is a
mosquito bite.
• Ticks usually don’t come to you the way
mosquitoes do. You go to them by tracking
around outside, picking them up on your
clothes, and bringing them inside.
• Ticks will suck the blood of both your children
and your dog, so check your pets after they’ve
gone for a romp in the back yard on a summer
day.
• When hiking or walking into the woods wear
loose layers that cover your skin and hang on
your body. Wear pants that cover your ankles
and tuck into your boots if you can.
• If you’ve been walking in tall grass, make sure
you thoroughly check each other for ticks. We
typically recognize a tick immediately, but the
ones that carry Lyme disease, the deer tick, are
tiny. Before it’s engorged, it’s no bigger than a
fleck of pepper. Help each other for tick checks.
The tick on the left is the deer tick, known for
transmitting Lyme disease. The tick on the right is the
common dog tick.
Chapter 2 Benefits of Using Natural & Homemade
Products
Natural medicine has been a first line of defense
in the home for centuries. It makes far more sense to
make an attempt at healing minor problems than to
run to a doctor for every bump and bruise. Natural
medicine was often the only resource over the years for
people in rural areas. Everything from the common
cold to high blood pressure have been known to be
eased by household remedies and care.
Reasons why you might consider natural
remedies:
• As long as you don’t have any known allergies,
natural remedies don’t have any harmful side
effects. Pharmaceutical drugs have been known
to have adverse effect in some patients and
sometimes unexpected by the person expecting
to become well.
• Some herbal medicines utilize the body’s
natural healing process by providing vitamins
that strengthen the immune system, or provide
nutrients to someone who may be lacking their
vitamins or minerals.
• Home remedies are often cost effective. Most
things you can make to keep the nasties away
are ingredients you can pick up on your next
grocery stop. You also can get access to herbal
remedies over the counter and don’t need to rely
on permission from a pharmacist to use them.
• Natural remedies are widely understood. Many
of these solutions are things that have been used
for hundreds of years. There is very little
unpredictability in mixing mint oil with ants.
The ants will invariably turn around and walk in
the other direction, and then you can wipe the
oil off your table. We know this because it
worked in the 1930’s as well as in the 1730s.
Chapter 3 Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Products
All “over the counter” insect repellents contain
chemicals and pesticides. Let’s talk for a moment about
the most common and more feared chemical that we
find on the store shelves in bug sprays.
DEET - N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET)
This is the most common and the most effective
product in bug spray. For decades this has been a topic
of controversy that was made popular in the 1950’s by
environmentalist Rachel Carson in her book Silent
Spring. Before this time, DEET was widely sprayed
over farm crops and was the chemical that single
handedly saved millions of people in equatorial regions
from Malaria. Rachel Carson claimed that the neuro
toxicity damaging people by having it exposed to the
water supply was irrevocably dangerous. Her study led
to the banning of DEET in the United States and in
many places in the world.
Even more recently Dr. Abou Donia, a Duke
University pharmacologist, found that “rats treated
with an average human dose of DEET (40 mg/kg body
weight) performed far worse than control rats when
challenged with physical tasks requiring muscle
control, strength and coordination.” And “neurons to
die in regions of the brain that control muscle
movement, learning, memory and concentration.” This
is a quote found at Duke.edu
How does DEET hurt adults and children today
if it’s not in the water supply? DEET can be absorbed
topically. Some studies show that up to 56 percent of
DEET can be absorbed through the skin and of this, 17
percent can wind up in the blood stream. Children are
known to more readily absorb chemicals through their
sensitive skin. Other ways DEET enters the body is
through inhalation or eye contact. The controversy
comes into play when we look at the number of people
affected by DEET from toxicity compared to the
massive numbers of people saved from disease.
Today DEET is found in small quantities in your
bug spray and thought to be harmless in these
amounts, but there are very strict warnings about not
putting this on your children. When deciding for
yourself whether or not you want this chemical on your
skin. Think about the area you are in. Is the area a high
risk for Lyme disease or other types of bacteria
transmitted through the blood from a bite. If so, you
may want to use a strong chemical to protect you.
However, if you are in a place where there are not many
dangerous diseases threatening you and you want to
avoid the irritation of a bite, you might want a more
natural solution.
Remember, when you use chemical bug spray,
you are putting something on your skin that
kills some life on contact.
Chapter 4
10 Recipes for Natural and Homemade
Mosquito Repellents
1. The Basic Recipe - Our first “mosquito be
gone” spray is based on essential oils that these
pests hate.
• 2 ounces of boiled water
• 30 drops of Citronella Oil
• 30 drops of Peppermint Oil
• 2 ounces of witch hazel
• 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil
• 1.5 ounces of Vodka
• 1 ounce of Jojoba Oil
Directions: Take a spray bottle that holds at least 4
oz. of liquid. Add the water, vodka, and witch hazel.
Next, add the jojoba oil and shake well. Then, add your
essential oils and shake again. Spray this mixture
immediately onto your skin or clothes. Keep the
mixture out of direct sun light, and away from extreme
temperatures. You will need to reapply every few
hours. Make sure to shake well every time before you
spray. The water and oils will separate over time. This
is ok, and will not hurt your mixture. The water is
added to get a more even spread across your skin and
fabrics. So in order for it to work best you will need to
shake well.
2. Blend number 2 - There are a handful of
essential oil blends that pack a wallop on bugs.
• Rosemary oil (12 drops)
• Lavender oil (12 drops)
• Lemon Eucalyptus oil (40 drops)
• 4 ounces of witch hazel
• Cedar wood oil (12 drops)
Directions: With a small cosmetic spray bottle, mix
all of your essential oils. Add the witch hazel and shake
well. Apply this to your skin and clothing. Spritz on
your neck and head. It is safe for your face as well. Not
all essential oils are safe for pets. Make sure you check
with your vet before rubbing oils on your dog or cat.
What is harmless to humans is not always harmless to
your pet.
3. Lavender Vanilla Mosquito Repellent - is
the most popular recipe because of its pleasing
fragrance to people and repellent qualities to
those pesky “no see ems”. Many essential oils
can have a strong pungent or sterile smell. Many
of these can be expensive. Make sure when you
purchase an oil that you’ve never smelled before
you purchase it in person or in a small amount
if you are ordering it online.
• 15 drops of Lavender essential oil
• 4 Tbsps. of real vanilla extract
• ¼ cup of lemon juice
• 1 cup of boiled water
Add these ingredients into a cosmetic spritz
bottle and shake well. Make sure the mixture is shaken
completely before each use. You can apply directly to
your skin and clothes, but avoid direct contact with
your eyes.
4. Mosquito Repellent: The Kitchen Grab –
Another option with easy to grab kitchen
supplies.
• 6 ounces of apple cider vinegar
• 6 ounces of boiled water
• 2 drops of Castor oil
• 10 drops of Cinnamon Oil
• 15 drops Eucalyptus oil
• 15 drops Citronella oil
• 10 drops of Lemongrass oil
This is another easy recipe. This time our recipe
is a little more oil heavy. The scent will be strong, so
with this recipe you can spray it into a wash cloth, and
drape it over the backs of your outdoor patio chairs.
This way your guests can have the benefit of bug
protection without the need spray everyone down. To
make this recipe add your liquids and oils in a spray
bottle and shake well. Oils and water can separate. Just
shake well before each use.
5. Clove and Thyme recipe for mosquitoes and
bugs that fly (and bite!)
• 4 drops of Thyme Oil
• 8 drops of Lemongrass
• 16 ounces of rubbing alcohol
• 3.5 ounces of whole cloves
• 3.5 ounces of sweet almond oil
This recipe will not be made as quickly as the
other recipes. You will have to give yourself a few
days to create in infusion of the clove as it needs to
steep into the carrier liquid. Usually, we use oil to
create a tincture, but in this case, you will soak all
of the cloves in the 16 ounces of rubbing alcohol. Let
this soak for four days, stirring every morning and
evening. After 4 days, strain the alcohol into a spray
bottle and add the oil Shake well before use. Spray
onto skin or clothing.
If you are camping, it may be worth it to make
up a big batch of this natural insect repellent. It can
be used in several different ways.
• Put a few drops on a paper towel and place it
near your pillow at night.
• Put a few drops on a ribbon or paper strip
and hang them around the deck, tent, cabin,
or window.
• Use in combination with your regular lotion
and rub onto skin before your trip. Put a few
drops of essential oil blend with three
teaspoons of coconut oil, olive oil, or
grapeseed oil or other regular lotion.
6. Neem and Jojoba Oil Bug Away. Neem oil
is a vegetable oil that is pressed from the seeds
of a tree. Trees and wood is a natural
antimicrobial and repellent. Jojoba is called oil,
but is, in fact, a wax. This is a luxurious oil that
moisturizes the skin beautifully. If you don’t
have any jojoba oil on hand you can substitute
pure Vitamin E which has a similar consistency.
• 2 tbsp. of Vodka
• 2 tbsp. of Grapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp. of Jojoba oil
• .5 ounce of Eucalyptus oil
• 5 ml Neem Oil
• 2 ml Liquid Soap (organic)
• 1L Distilled Water
Add the water into a spray bottle first. Then, add
all the other ingredients. Screw the top on the spray
bottle and shake well. You can use this on clothes
and skin. Avoid contact with eyes, sensitive places,
or broken skin. The alcohol in the vodka may cause
stinging if rubbed in the eyes.
7. The Repellent Bomb – Here are all the
essential oils that are known to chase away the
cooties. If you have tried any of these other
recipes with hit or miss luck, you can always
make a spray with all the known essential oils
that are known to work.
• 20 drops of Citronella oil
• 20 drops of Eucalyptus oil
• 20 drops of Tea Tree oil
• 20 drops of Peppermint oil
• 20 drops of Cypress oil
• 20 drops of Rose Geranium oil
• 20 drops of Bergamot oil
• 20 drops of Lemon oil
• 20 drops of Cinnamon oil
• 16 ounces of witch hazel
Combine witch hazel with oil of choice. In this case you
can use as many or as few as you like. Subtract 3 ounces
of witch hazel for every oil you want to omit. Mix in
essential oils. Combine thoroughly. Rub or spray the
natural insect repellent onto skin or clothing, using
care to avoid the sensitive eye area.
8. Bug repelling essential oils Catnip, Mint,
and Citronella – This is also harmless for your
pet so if you happened to spray down the
counter with this oil mixture and see your cat
wallowing on its back like a crazy stoner, you can
laugh at him and not worry.
• 3oz Vodka or Witch Hazel/Distilled Water
combo
• 30 drops of Citronella Essential Oil
• 10 drops of Catnip Essential Oil
• 10 drops of Mint Essential Oil
• 3 drops of Thyme oil
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 1 cup of boiled water
For 3oz of distilled water or witch hazel use about
40 drops of essential oil, place in spray bottle, shake
and have at it. Remember, you need to re-shake the oil
and water each time you use it. For a good
aromatherapy scent add the oils while the water is hot,
but not while it is still boiling. You don’t want your oils
to burn off. Wafting the oils into the air while the water
is hot will also give you that citronella candle effect.
9. Easy Garlic & Vinegar Mixture – Mosquitos
hate both garlic and vinegar.
• 1 Garlic with peeled cloves.
• 4 oz. of Vinegar
• 12oz. of Rubbing alcohol
The essential oils that can be added for a nicer smell:
• Cinnamon oil
• Lemon eucalyptus oil
• Citronella oil
• Castor oil
This mixture is easy and light. You can spray your
clothes and your skin, but also the room that you’re
sitting in. The lightness of the recipe with float in the
air if used with a good spray bottle. Boil the garlic down
in water and mash it into a paste so that the oils seep
out. Add the vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Add any
other oils at your pleasure, but it is not necessary for
efficacy.
10. Blazing Bug Spice – Some spices are good for
repelling bugs. Just make sure that you stick to
oils. For example, some people will add natural
homemade mustard along with mustard oil
extract. Occasionally, you will find people who
recommend this, however, using store bought
foods with additives and sugars to your mixtures
will only draw bugs. That’s definitely not what
you want.
• 10 drops of Mustard oil
• 10 drops of Cinnamon
• 10 drops of Basil oil
• 30 drops of Peppermint oil
• One mashed Garlic clove
• 5 ounces of Witch hazel
Mash the garlic clove into a finely diced and pureed
state and mix into the witch hazel. Mix well and add the
oils to the mixture. Shake this mixture and let it sit for
a while to allow the garlic and witch hazel to fuse. Shake
well before use, and for sure, don’t spray this in your
eyes. It works great when spritzed into the collar of
your shirt. Of course, you’ll be safe from vampires as
well so this recipe is a double bonus.
Chapter 5
10 Recipes for Natural and Homemade Ant
Repellent and Killers
1. Marigold Insect and Fly Spray Recipe:
Marigolds repel all sorts of unwanted pests.
Typically, you plant marigolds around the perimeter of
your garden to keep leaf eating grubs off your plants
and herbs. This is a very effective way to plan your
garden and many people who rely on their back yard
gardens know this trick.
Luckily marigolds work well inside the house just as
well. Just go outside and cut a few of the flowers and
bring them inside. Cut the entire plant. You want the
flower, the leaves, the stem and all. The greener the
better. It holds more juice. Cut the flowers up into
small pieces and put them in the blender with two cups
of water.
Pour the fly spray into a glass jar for 24 -48 hours,
capped tightly, and allow the natural chemical
compounds in the marigold to be drawn out into the
water. When you walk by it, shake it once or twice. You
can spray this in under your sink and in the corners to
keep the ants away. You can even sprits your other
plants to keep the tomato grubs away.
2. The Traditional Peppermint Repellent -
When it comes to ant repellents it is more common to
mix your essential oils with water and alcohol. Since
you are probably not rubbing this on your skin and are
wiping it across your counter top, you probably don’t
want to use a carrier oil. It would make cleaning the
kitchen a drag. In fact, the alcohol promotes a sterile
environment. Mix these three ingredients into your
spray bottle, and shake well.
• 16 ounces of Water
• 1 ounce of Vegetable Glycerin– This is not
necessary to repel your insects. In this case
vegetable glycerin helps the water and
peppermint oil stick together. It will keep your
mixture in a desirable state, but if you don’t use
it just be sure to shake your bottle well before
each use.
• 40 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil– Research
has shown that peppermint essential oil does in
fact ants and even mice. Peppermint is a
pleasant smell and the more popular selection in
all of the natural products.
3. Tea Tree Oil has many purposes send away
pests is only one of its known uses. Many people
claim that tea tree oil is also good for soothing
and clearing rashes. This is an oil that is
commonly used in homemade soap for its
country folk medicinal purposes. This insect
repellant is multi-functional, it would not only
keep ants away from you, it would also keep
other insects away. To prepare this mixture
follow the following instructions:
• 1 cup of boiled water
• 1 cup of vinegar
• 25 drops of tea tree oil
• 15 drops of lavender oil
• 1 tsp. of witch hazel
Add all these ingredients into a small cosmetic
spray bottle. Cap the top and shake it well. Thoroughly
mix the oils and water together. Immediately spray to
use. When reapplying makes sure the bottle is shaken
well again.
4. Jam Ant Bait – This is a way of killing ants and
spreading the poison back to the colony.
• 1 cup of borax
• 1 cup of apple jelly, jam, maple syrup, or
honey
To kill the ants in your home mix the borax with
your sugar food. Make a paste and put a small dollop
on a folded paper towel. Put the sticky paste in the
corner of your floor or a low place where the bugs have
easy access. Make sure people won’t stumble across the
paste. You don’t necessarily want this tracked all over
the house. The sugar will stick to the floor and what
may look like a cleanup on the first wipe over may turn
into a dirt magnet over a few days.
If you stick around and watch the ants carry the
paste away don’t worry. Borax doesn’t work
immediately. This is good; it gives the ants time to take
the paste back home and share it with its ant family. It
will kill more than you think.
Keep this away from children and pets. Don’t
leave the paste where your puppies can come by and
lick it up.
5. The Orange Peel Solution - Another useful
ant repellant is citrus. Orange peels will not only
repel ants; it will kill them.
This is a very simple recipe that you can make in a
matter of minutes.
• A blender
• A pot of boiling water
• A pile of orange peels
Boil the water and add the orange peels. Allow
this to continue boiling until the peels are soft and
deteriorated. This may take 20 minutes. Add the
water to the blender and mix until it is smooth. You
can boil the water again to make it scalding for a
stronger effect if you want. Pour the pot of water on
the ant hill or at the source if you think they have
nested behind a cupboard. The citrus will kill many
if not all.
6. The Kitchen Repellant – The following is a
favorite because it will make the scout ants run
and the ingredients are commonly found in the
spice cabinet in any kitchen.
• 4 oz. of Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp. of Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. of crushed Basil
Crush the dried basil leaves into a powder. Mix the
lemon juice, cinnamon, and crushed basil powder into
a single mixture in a spray bottle. Mix well and spray
directly on the source of the ants. Spray along any
suspected entrances. This will repel and create a
barrier that will make the ants look for another place to
gain access to their path.
7. Soap, Water, and Magical Dirt
Diatomaceous earth is lethal if you are a tiny living
creature. Make sure you find the food grade product.
First spray down the floor or counter with hot soap and
water. Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth in a place
where your ants are known to congregate. When they
come into contact with the white powder like material
their bodies will be badly injured with the reaction of
the diatoms. This is completely harmless to human,
kids, pets, and all animals. In fact, you can even eat it
to get rid of intestinal worms and parasites. This
doesn’t work instantly. It can take anywhere from 7 –
14 days for you to notice your ant problem to disappear.
8. Protein Baits – Sugars aren’t the only types of
foods that draw an ant’s attention when it comes
to collecting food.
• 2 TBS Boric Acid (Borax)
• Peanut Butter or Bacon Grease
Mix and set out in dollops on pieces of paper
towel. As we mention in the jam recipe Boric Acid
can be harmful if swallowed. If you have kids or pets
in the home who could get into the paste, set the
bait in covered yogurt containers with the lids
snapped on and with a few holes poked in the sides.
You could also use glass jars sealed with lids–just
poke holes in the top lid. For strong attraction,
smear a bit of non-poisoned bait on top of the lid so
they’ll find it easily.
9. Peppermint & Spearmint Sprigs -
Fresh peppermint and spearmint can be grown
in your garden or in little pots in your window
sill. Ants hate the smell of fresh mint and an easy
solution that will stop them in their tracks is to
pinch a peppermint leaf from a live plant. Twist
the sprig so that it breaks and releases its oil.
You can put a few finger nail imprints into the
leaf and leave the fresh leaf in the window sill,
or under the sink. The leaf will send all the ants
away and confuse their sense of smell so that
they can’t find the pheromone trails left by other
ants.
Chapter 6 Tick Repellant
A tick’s system of transportation relies mostly
on their sense of smell. They can’t jump or fly, so they
do something called “questing”. They climb to the end
of a reed or stick and stick their front legs in the air and
wait for a nice warm-blooded animal to walk by. They
will cling onto anything moving pat and then crawl to a
nice warm safe place to sink its mouth for a blood
drink. This is good because when you find a scent that
a tick doesn’t like you can use this and it will be sure to
pick up on the smell with its keen smelling organs.
Rose Geranium Oil is an Essential Oil the Ticks
Hate
Rose Geranium is one of the essential oils with
strong scent that will repel all the pests, but ticks are
especially known to hate Rose Geranium oil and this is
an effective weapon in preventative disease to keep the
dreaded deer ticks away. There are two types of rose
geranium oil. In order to get the most potent type in
repelling ticks, you want to find the one with the
botanical name Pelargonium capitatum x radens. The
more popular rose geranium oil under the name
Pelargonium graveolens is a part of the same family,
but not the same species.
Most essential oils need to be diluted with water,
alcohol, or witch hazel as you’ve learned by now.
However, rose geranium does not fall require this step
if used in small doses. All you need is a few drops to do
the job, a little goes a long way. You can make it as
simple as placing a drop on each ankle and on the
wrists, then a drop or two on your clothing and in your
scalp at the back of your head. Geranium oil is also safe
for dogs, and they only need a small amount. One drop
behind each shoulder blade and at the top of the base
of the tail. Be careful to avoid the face and nose. You
don’t want to overwhelm a creature with a powerful
sense of smell. You can keep this in a tinted brown jar
with an eye dropper if you want to use the oils this way.
However, like the recipes that you’ve just read
about. You can dilute the geranium oil in alcohol and
apply it with a spray bottle for more even coverage.
Also, you can add any of the other essential oils to
compound the efficacy for other biting insects. Your
other oils do need to be diluted, so If you choose to do
it this way you must use the spray bottle method.
Tick Repellent in the form of dust
Another effective parasite dust can be made from the
following herbs:
• Powdered Rosemary
• Powdered Rue
• Powdered Wormwood
Harvest these herbs and tie them up to dry them
out. When they are thoroughly dried pulverize them
into a fine dust. You can even put the dry leaves into
the food processor. Mix the herbs in equal parts in a
shaker top jar and store in a cool, dark place. Dust your
coat with this powder before venturing into tick
infested areas, working it into the coat with your
fingers. Dust your camping gear such as sleeping bags
and fabrics. You can even store the sleeping bags when
not in use with a fine amount of herb dust. This way it
is thoroughly worked into the fabric when it’s time for
use.
Spray Based Recipe
• 2 oz. apple cider vinegar, witch hazel or vodka
• 2 oz. water
• 20-40 drops geranium bourbon essential oil to
Make
Because oils don’t mix well with water, add your
geranium oil to the apple cider vinegar, witch hazel or
vodka first. Add a squirt of liquid soap if desired and
allow it to sit for a couple of minutes before giving the
mixture a stir. This will disperse the geranium oil in the
liquid. Add water and pour into a spray bottle. Shake
well before use. Spray on skin or clothes before going
outside.
You can also add geranium oil by the dropper full to
your normal baby lotion or massage oil and rub it into
your skin. Your hair will carry the fragrance also if you
add the essential oil by the dropper into your hair oil or
frizz management hair product.
Chapter 7
Bonus – 2 Recipes to sooth Poison Ivy
The two bonus recipes in this book are a little
more advanced than the previous 20. The recipe first
recipe for soothing poison ivy is a homemade soap
recipe. This assumes you know the basics of cold
process soap making. If you do not, we recommend
that you stop here and read about the basics of cold
process soap making including the important safety
precautions included. This is because a major
ingredient in homemade soap is lye. Lye is a household
chemical usually found in the form of drain cleaner
known as Drano. If you are unfamiliar with working
with lye it is important to take a step back and become
familiar with these precautions. Lye can burn or create
blindness if used improperly.
For complete instructions on lye safety and soap
making in the cold process method we recommend our
soap & bath book: 90 Homemade Soap & Bath Recipes:
Thermal Mermaid's Artisan Soap Makers Book
If you are familiar with soap making, then the
following recipes will be great additions to the summer
medicine cabinet when the kids come inside from play
with rashy irritations due to romping through itchy
plants
1. Jewelweed Cold Process Soap
This is an advanced recipe meant for those who
already know the basics on how to make hot
process soap. There are safety precautions that
must be followed in making a lye and water
solution.
This is the one recipe where you may have to do
a little foraging. Jewelweed isn’t exactly found in
the grocery store, and if you live in the north east
United States you’ll have to go outside and find
some between May and October. Jewelweed is
nature’s soother to poison ivy. If you make this to
sell, you make not make claims that any of your
products “cure” anything. You can however call
your soap “Poison Ivy Soap”
• 10.64 oz. of Water
• 3.77 oz. of Lye
• 12 oz. of palm oil
• 8 oz. Of castor oil
• 6 oz. of coconut oil
• 2 oz. of cocoa butter
• 1 cup of jewelweed petals and leaves
• 1 cup of pureed plantains
• 1 tsp. of orange mica
• 1 tsp of titanium dioxide
First make a tea with your water and 1 cup of
jewelweed leaves. Simmer the water. The recipe calls
for 10.64 oz. You will need to start with twice as much
as you will lose water in evaporation. Simmer your
water to make an infusion with the jewelweed. Take the
water off the heat and place it in the refrigerator
overnight. Let the plant soak in the water for as long as
possible, perhaps overnight, but at least until the water
is chilled.
Make your lye solution, and set it aside to cool.
(If you do not know how to do this we recommend that
you first learn the basics of cold process soap making
found in our first book.)
Mix your oils. Blend the lye and oils and use
your stick blender until you get a light trace. Add your
pureed plantains. (Plantains have also been noted to
have properties that sooth poison ivy) Split the batter
into two parts. In one part add a tsp of titanium
dioxide. It is best to first mix your white titanium
dioxide in a little oil so that it is smooth and free of
lumps when you add it to your batter. In the second
part add your orange mica the same way. Pour the two
parts in your mold and give it a decorative swirl with a
spoon or chop stick. Set this soap aside for 24 hours
before cutting. This soap will be cured in 4 – 6 weeks.
2. Plantain Soothing Salve
Makes about 1 cup. You can scoop these into 8 2 oz.
jars with screw top lids that you can get at any craft
store or online at your local soap supplier. If you want
to use bigger jars, 4 4 oz. glass mason jars work well
and are available at your local grocery store.
• 1 cup fresh plantain leaves gathered from an
area that has not been sprayed with chemicals,
chopped
• 12 ounces of olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons of beeswax pastilles (or natural if
you have a local honey bee keeper)
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon tea tree essential oil, optional
A note on preservatives:
When making homemade cosmetics you can get
mold and bacteria growing in your product anytime
water is introduced. If there is not water in your
product, then there is not mold and no need for a
preservative.
Preservatives are sometimes a topic of controversy.
Often times the whole reason for making things at
home is to avoid preservatives and chemicals. There
are a few ways to tackle this.
The first way is to skip the preservative. If you are
making a product to sell at a farmer’s market or give as
a gift, this is highly discouraged. Microbial growth in a
product can be dangerous by encouraging skin
infections, but it can even be fatal to a person who has
a compromised immune system.
If you are making a product for your own
personal use you can forgo the preservative, but be
aware you need to treat your product like food. Don’t
let it sit in a wet or warm area. Keep it in the fridge if
possible and throw it ways after a few days.
The second solution is to use a natural
preservative. Grapefruit seed extract is a well-known
natural preservative, but it may alter your final
product. Also, the shelf life of your product may be
lengthened, but will not last as long as long as a
commercial product.
The third choice is to buy a chemical
preservative from your local soap supply store. There
are chemicals like Garmabin that are commonly added
to homemade products to ensure the prevention of
unwanted contaminates. I personally choose to add
preservatives if I am making a large quantity and want
my product to last a few months. I personally feel
confident with the common preservatives offered by
soap suppliers. They have been around for a very long
time, and I am satisfied with the studies on these
products.
Here are ways to limit the amount of water introduced
to your product
• Dry your leaves as completely as possible, a food
dehydrator is a great way to do this
• Make sure your jar is also very dry and wiped
down with rubbing alcohol
• If you are making a tincture, make sure to fill the
jar all the way to the top with grapeseed oil. This
will inhibit condensation and prevent water
from collecting.
How to make Plantain Salve:
You will need the plantain greens for this recipe.
These are the leaves attached to the fruit. If you can’t
harvest them yourself, you can find them at your local
grocer. If you don’t have luck finding them in your area,
you can order them online. Chop the leaves and chop
them in a food processor. Take the leaves and place
them in a clean mason jar. Fill the jar with coconut oil
until the leaves are covered. Pull out your crock pot and
set it on warm. It should be on the lightest setting. Lay
a kitchen towel inside the crock pot and fill it about half
with water. Let the water heat with the mason jar
inside. Let this tincture fuse for about 24 hours. You
can leave it longer if desired. Keep an eye on the cloth,
that the wet towel is not set on anything that can burn
like outlets or plugs.
Take a peek at your oil blend. Give it a mix with
a whisk or stick blender but not too much so that you
don’t get splinters of plant in your salve. Take the
mason jar out and strain the oil through a cheese cloth
filtering all the green plant particles out of the oil. If
any do get though they will tend to settle to the bottom.
Your plantain oil is ready to be turned into salve.
Gently heat your beeswax. If you are careful you
can do this in the microwave, but it has to be in short
bursts. Once it has thoroughly melted blend the wax to
the oil. Mix well and allow it to cool. Now, add any
essential oils you have chosen for fragrance. Blend
evenly, and pour your salve into its jars before it
becomes to firm. Let your product sit and thicken. Cap
your finished plantain salve and label them for your
friends.
Additional Tips and Thoughts
• Use precaution and thoughtfulness when
using and ingredients that might be new
to you. Make sure you do a skin test for
allergies before rubbing any unknown
oils into your skin.
• Essential oils that are safe for humans
may have different effects on pets. Check
with your vet before applying any
unfamiliar products on your pet.
• Pregnant, nursing women, and children
should always consult with a doctor
before using chemicals or essential oils.
• Perishable products can spoil. Do not
consume spoiled or rotten food or
products.
• Store your products carefully to prevent
cross contamination and store properly
away from food products so they cannot
be mistaken for each other.
Sneak Preview
If you found the information in this book helpful,
please explore a sneak peek at our first publication.
90 Homemade Soap & Bath Recipes: Thermal
Mermaid's Artisan Soap Makers Book
The Artisan Soap Makers Book is more than just
a ‘how to’ on soap making for the beginner. It is a step
by step introduction of creating an item that can be
prepared, packaged, and sold for the purpose of
building a small hobby business. The information in
this book will provide hands on step by step
instructions on how to make detergent free bath
products at home, but the ultimate goal of this book is
to provide the properly motivated type to have access
to ideas that will allow them to run a small business
with a low barrier to entry and provide a potential
income so that one can be a little more self-sufficient
tomorrow than they are today.
What you will find in this book:
1. A step by step guide on soaps and bath products
made at a quality that one can sell in their
community.
2. A description of the bare bones cheapest way to
make the basics for the beginner.
3. Over 100 recipes that you can use and tweak to
make your products
4. A breakdown of everything you will need to get
started.
5. A dictionary and explanation of all the possible
ingredients you can use and how to use them.
6. Where to sell your products and how to prepare
yourself to run a business.
7. Thinking about your profit. How to price your
items.
This guide has an additional workbook available
where you can write down your recipe pages and
calculate costs. See the paper back copy version of
this book to get the attached workbook. It will save
you time and help you see the big picture in your
business when you can see your calculations on
pages side by side.
How to Use this Book
Soap making has become an increasingly
popular hobby in the last few years, and one will find
many great books on the shelves with hundreds of
homemade recipes. This book is meant for the
beginner who is looking for an affordable start up
business and finds soap making in their realm of
interest, and will hold your hand with explanations on
how to create a product and how to start a business
from almost nothing.
This book is meant to be a resource to be kept
for easy access, but it will also go one step further than
an average soap “cookbook”. This resource will show
you how to break down and record your recipes so that
you know exactly how much you are spending on each
individual product you create so you know exactly how
much you need to price each item at in order to run
your business. This book is for the heart of the business
man, not the at home mom looking for an afterschool
activity with the kids. If you are the latter, simply go
over to your local craft and hobby shop and find the one
or two small shelves with melt and pour glycerin and
plastic disposable molds and read the back of the
package for instructions. You can make a few bars of
soap with the kids for fun and be cleaned up in less than
an hour. If you are interested in making this a small on
the side business that could turn into something else,
read on.
90 Homemade Soap & Bath Recipes: Thermal
Mermaid's Artisan Soap Makers Book