Bug repellant soap

[unmouton]

There is a homemade soap in my area (in Missouri) that is sold in quite a few stores and at farmers markets and street stands. It doesn't have an ingredients label, it is advertised as lye/glycerin soap, and it repels bugs beautifully. If you wash up with it right before you go out to do yard work, mosquitoes and ticks rarely bother you. Does anyone have any guesses as to the secret ingredient? It doesn't have much of any kind of distinct smell so I'm not even sure if its an EO or what it could be!

 

[IanT]

could be a combo of neem oil, citronella oil, and tea tree oil

either of the three or all three combined will help as bug repellant.

in addition, vitamin B1 taken orally will prevent mosquitos from attacking by interrupting the CO2 transmission from your body, it basically acts as a mask. 1 or 2 tablets will last about 1-2 hrs, and can be taken up to 3 times per day

 

[Barb]

oregon trails sells a scent combo called bug off.

since soap is a wash off product i wonder how much of the scent actually stays with you. if i washed with it, the scent wouldn't stick, i have yet to find a soap fragrance that i can still smell on my skin after drying off, which requires me to layer my fragrances. soap, lotion, body spray.

yet the hubby and one dd can use the same soap and smell like the soap for hours afterwards.

 

[unmouton]

Thank you Ian, I will give the citonella and tto a try! Neem oil smells too weird for me, so I'll probably leave that one alone

And Barb, I was thinking the same thing as you; soap washes off, so I don't understand what this soap does to repel bugs. I would think EOs would wash off too, but I'm going to make a 1lb batch and see what happens!

 

[IanT]

yeah i cant stand the smell of neem oil... UGH.. .i use it on plants to keep the flies and other pests away without using chemicals and MAN does that stuff staaaaaaaaaaaank! i got it on my fingers/hand once and i swear i couldnt get the stink off of me for the next few days...... pppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu



but that being said it IS and awesome oil to use...i think id need to scent it with something really really strong cause i get a gag reflex when i smell it now lol... yeaaaaah....

 

[barefootbody]

Personally, I don't like the smell of Tea Tree Oil much either. Haven't smelled the Neem stuff, so I don't know.

What part of Missouri are you in? I'm in Hillsboro, S of STL.

 

[unmouton]

I go to school in Springfield, but I'm from STL! The soap I'm talking about is all over lake of the ozarks and tablerock lake. Small world

 

[barefootbody]

What are you studying in Springfield?

I lived in South STL for many years, and still go to STL (to party) a lot.
What part did you grow up in?

Have you ever been to that soap shop in Jeff City?

I'm going to the Ozarks next weekend. Any ideas of what shops carry that soap? I wouldn't mind looking at the label.

BB sells a EO blend for bugs that contains citronella, nepetalactone (concentrated catnip), lavender, and black pepper essential oil.

Barefoot