bug repellent soap recipe

There have been a few names for this bug-repellent soap recipe, and mine was ‘Entomophobia’ or fear of insects. Customers loved the name. I’ve seen other names such as Bug Off, Buzz Off, Citronella Bar, Bug Me Not. One customer who bought one of these bars came back the next day to get 3 more. She said that she had placed her bug repellent bar on her nightstand and that alone kept the mosquitoes from attacking her all night. So she was here again to get bars for the rest of the family. Below are spritzer ideas!

Bug Repellent Soap Recipe:

Basic #1 recipe:
51.2 oz Olive Oil or an Olive/Canola blend
6.2 oz coconut oil
6.2 oz Palm oil
23.4 oz water
8.6 oz lye crystals
for this scented bar, add:
1 tsp eucalyptus essential oil
3 1/2 tsp citronella essential oil
1 1/2 tsp lemongrass essential oil
1 tsp tea tree essential oil
1 tsp cedarwood or cedarwood Texas essential oil
1 tsp peppermint essential oil
Other:
1 oz castor oil, added at trace
2 T Neem oil, added at trace, may need to melt in a cup of base first
for a natural colorant:
1/4 tsp yellow iron oxide powder, mix the oxide color in one cup of base first then add back to pot and mix in.

Note that Neem oil smells horrible! And Cedarwood Texas smells like burned wood – just in case you think there is something wrong with your oils, lol.

Here are some creative examples for your bug-repellent soap recipe:

The first image shows nice and simple packaging and they’ve made a soap without a colorant:

The second image is also an all-natural bar without the colorant. Again nice and simple packaging:

The third image is also an all-natural bug-repelling bar, in a box with a window, good packaging when selling to retail stores:

4th image is another great-looking bar, with another great name:

This Osana bug repellent bar, or mosquito repellent bar, states all natural. Yet the first thing that suggests to me that it isn’t, it the color. You may be able to conjure up a color like that with natural colorants. Also, I looked at the site and cannot find an ingredient list. I know we don’t want to give our top-secret recipes or ingredients away, but people need to know.

As a spritzer, spray, or lotion? Yes, you can….

These very same essential oils from this bug-repellent soap recipe, in these amounts, could easily be added to a spritzer of water in an 8 oz bottle. These essential oils are perhaps not strong enough for traveling in the jungles of the rainforest but should help. Another essential oil that would almost ensure no bugs would be Cedarwood Texas essential oil. This is strong and smells like burnt wood, but has more strength in repelling bugs. If making a spray for dogs, I would definitely add it. I would spray this on my hair and clothes and reapply a couple of hours later.

Jump over to the page with all the bug-repelling plants you could have around the house. Then jump over to a page with more details on making spritzers.

Make your own bug-repellent spritzer spray! It’s easy and all-natural.

If interested in a lotion, again these very same essential oils from the bug-repellent soap recipe could be added to a lotion that you make, or a store-brand one. Doesn’t really matter which store brand, they basically all use nasty petroleum as their oil base.

If you do get bit too much, consider making this special soap to help keep the bites clean and your skin anti-septic, Tea Tree soap recipe here.

Here’s a link to the Johnson and Johnson site where they talk about the ingredients in Off, always good to know.