With summer upon us, sunscreen and bug sprays are on the shopping list.
For the sunscreen, you can check out this post.
Today, we’ll focus on bug sprays.
Like many other products, we want to look for ingredients we understand.
Avoiding complex chemicals, especially DEET.
Some common eco-friendly ingredients include citronella, eucalyptus oil, and rosemary extract.
Light Green Alternatives
These brands have better bug spray ingredients, but the packaging is less eco-friendly.
- Murphy’s – This brand is B Corp certified and offers sprays, balms, and candles.
- Natrapel – Long-lasting bug sprays made of plant-based ingredients.
- Sawyer Products – This company offers insect repellents, sunscreen, and first aid.
Dark Green Alternatives
These brands have improved both the bug spray ingredients and the packaging.
- Badger – This brand has traditional sprays and a bug balm in a metal tin.
- Aunt Fannie’s – While this brand has traditional packaging, they also offer biodegradable mosquito repellant wipes.
DIY Green Alternative
The extremely simple DIY solution is to spray on a mixture of water and vinegar.
A more complex recipe is to put the following into a spray bottle:
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup witch hazel
- 40 drops of essential oil: Any combination of tea tree, citronella, rosemary, lemongrass, eucalyptus, peppermint, or bergamot.
Just spray it on before going outside.