In the early 1900's rat catchers would make use of peppermint oil by blocking their holes and with rags soaked with peppermint, and drive them with ferrets through the remaining holes into bags. Herbs and essential oils use in pest control continues in today's home, minus the ferrets.

Neem branches

When you venture outside, especially in peak mosquito season, choose your insect repellent carefully. While it is important to minimize the risk of being bitten, many commercial products contain dangerous and toxic chemicals such as DEET. The same thing goes for your home garden. While we don't like the competition from those pesky insects that want to munch our herbs and veggies before we have a chance to harvest them, no one wants to spray poisons all over the food we feed to our families. Thankfully there are natural, organic alternatives for the backyard family garden.

Try some of these effective and great smelling herbal insect repellent formulas for yourself and see for yourself what a better choice they can be for your family. See also: Natural treatment for bug bites and rashes

Herbs Used for Insect Repellent

Basil * Bay Rum * Cajeput * Catnip * Cedar * Cinnamon * Clove * Dill * Eucalyptus * Feverfew * Garlic * Geranium * Hyssop * Lavender * Lemongrass * Neem * Patchouli * PennyRoyal * Peppermint * Rosemary * Rue * Sage * Sandalwood * Tansy * Tea Tree * Thyme * Vetiver * Wormwood *

Basil For: Insect repellent
Profile	For a quick insect repellent, just rub some crushed basil leaves on your skin, or add the essential oil to a outdoors blend

Catnip essential oil For: Repelling mosquitoes
Profile	Researchers at Iowa State University found nepetalactone, the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor, is ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET.

Chrysanthemum For: Natural insect repellent
Profile	Pyrethrins, derived from the flowers of chrysanthemum, and rotenone from the roots of derris, cube and cracca plants, are good contact insecticides. . Fleas Fact Sheet. (), Ohio State University EXT

Feverfew For: Flies, gnats and mosquitoes
Profile	To protect against flies, gnats and mosquitoes, and especially bees bathe exposed skin with a double strength standard brew of Feverfew and let dry.

Garlic For: Homemade insecticide
Profile	Crushed garlic is a good addition to any homemade insecticide spray. Garlic cloves, placed in the ground around plants will deter slugs. Garlic is a natural pesticide against mosquito larvae.

Geranium oil For: Plant insecticide
Profile	Spray house and garden plants with geranium oil diluted in distilled water to discourage larvae from feeding

Lavender oil, flowers For: Sachets, insect repellent
Profile	Use lavender sachet bags to protect clothes against moths. Also flies and mosquitoes dislike the fragrance, use the oil in insect sprays, or add the cut flowers to flower vases.

Lemon ecualyptus oil For: Mosquito repellent
Profile	Oil of lemon eucalyptus Eucalyptus citriodoraprovides provides protection against mosquito bites, according to the CDC

Lemongrass, citronella For: Pet care, flea shampoo
Profile	Add 1 to 2 drops (depending on your pets size), of lemongrass or citronella essential oil to your pets shampoo. It added a fresh clean scent and discourages fleas. Also a good mosquito repellent.

Neem oil For: Garden insecticide, pest control
Profile	In the garden, neem stands out as a highly effective, but non-toxic insecticide. Neem contains more than 25 active compounds that combat insects.

PennyRoyal Oil For: Natural insect repellent
Profile	Pennyroyal has been used as a natural insect repellent for centuries. A little goes a long way. Linalool (Demize), a citrus peel extract, is a natural, fast-acting flea killer, giving short residual control. Other botanicals include d-Limonene (Flea-Stop), citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, pennyroyal oil, balsam, lavender oil, calendula, comfrey, rosemary, tea tree oil and yucca. . Fleas Fact Sheet. (), Ohio State University EXT

Peppermint oil For: Insect repellent - ants
Profile	Ants dislike peppermint, you can prevent them from entering by scenting cotton balls, spraying along shelves,and entryways Valerie Ann Worwood, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy (1993)

Red cedarwood oil For: insect repellent
Profile	Red cedarwood is very good insect repellent, effective against mosquitoes, moths, woodworms, leeches and rats.

Tea tree oil For: Mosquito or chigger bites
Profile	For quick relief from mosquito or chigger bites, rub tea tree oil on them. Tea tree is generally safe to apply directly to skin, but do an allergy test first.

Thyme flowers For: Sachets, insect repellent
Profile	Place sprigs of thyme among clothes or linens to dispel musty odors and deter insect pests. Both the leaves and flowers can be used to stuff sachets.

Wormwood For: Pest repellent
Profile	This bitter herb has strong pest repellent properties, use as a companion plant in the garden, or infused in oil for topical skin applications.

Insect Repellent Information

• Home Cleaners :
  By combining the antibacterial power of herbs and essential oils, you can clean and freshen your home without all the toxic crap that lines the store shelves.
• Pet care :
  

  Non toxic, effective ways to treat pet problems such as fleas, coat and skin health, and calming obsessive behaviors in dogs, cats and other domestic animals