essential oils insect repellant

Every summer since I was a kid, my legs have looked like this. Until last year when I made my own essential oil insect repellant. Here's a recipe for you to use.

I am allergic to mosquito bites, so I need a good insect repellant, but I hate pesticides of any kind. Pesticides are the only known cause of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which killed my mother.  So I don’t like to wear insect repellant with any pesticides like DEET in it.   
 
What to do?  I mix my own essential oil insect repellant, which I found to be very effective, and much better smelling than store bought bug sprays.  
 
I mix 5-10 drops of as many of the following oils as I can in a 2-ounce dark glass spray bottle, which you can get here:

geranium	lemongrass	rosemary	basil
lavender	catnip	bergamot	vetiver
arborvitae	patchouli	cypress	melaleuca
eucalyptus	clary sage	cedar wood	citronella
peppermint	thyme	litsea	lemon eucalyptus

You can also add any of the following that also have some repellant properties:                  

lemon	clove	birch
cinnamon	douglas fir	ylang ylang

The more oils you use, the stronger your repellant will be.  You must put these in a glass container because the essential oils are strong enough to break down plastic, and it needs to be dark to keep the sunlight from breaking down the oils.  
 
Because essential oils alone can irritate the skin, you need to add a little carrier oil to the mixture. Add about 10-20 drops of a light oil, such as fractionated coconut, almond, or avocado oil, to the bottle.  The lighter this oil, the better, so that it won’t clog the sprayer.  I use fractionated coconut oil, but I have that on hand.  
 
In addition, you may want to add 5 drops of glycerin.  
 
Fill the rest of the bottle with witch hazel.  This will thin the spray, keep the sprayer clear, and distribute the oils evenly on the skin.  About half of your mixture should be witch hazel.

Shake well before use, and reapply frequently.  

Caution: citrus oils can make your skin more sensitive to light.  And some of these oils may not be pet-friendly.  
 
So go mix up your own repellant, and enjoy the great outdoors.