DIY Bug Bracelets [made with Essential Oils]

While summer has us spending more time outside because of beautiful weather, it brings with it bugs that sometimes cause us to run back inside. Not anymore – make these DIY Bug Bracelets with essential oils to enjoy your time outside bug bite free!

This post is in partnership with NOW® Foods. All opinions are my own.

While my family definitely finds ourselves spending more time outside during summer  – in the backyard, camping, at the beach, in the park – we definitely find ourselves swatting away mosquitoes and other biting bugs. I always find it so weird that my oldest daughter and I seem to get bitten more than anyone else.

I TRY to remember to use bug spray, but sometimes we’re in such a hurry that we just forget. But when those pesky bugs start biting, I am sure to remember then!

We’ve had great success with wearable bug bracelets also, but remembering to buy those before we’re planning to be outside is also something that slips my memory often.

While I was watching the girls run around the yard the other day, adorned in their cute jewelry and bracelets, I had a light bulb moment – how about DIY Bug Bands?! They already love wearing fun, homemade jewelry so they loved the idea and decided it was time to get to work!

While I had cute wrap bracelets and anklets in mind, Sophia is SO into braiding everything right now [her hair, the dog’s tail, and bracelets] so she wanted to make her bug bands into braided bracelets. I love seeing her creativity come out in every craft project she tackles.

Make your own chemical free DIY Bug Bracelets with essential oils.

Ready to make your own DIY bug bracelets? They’re SO easy and customizable. All you’ll need is a couple of items:

• Leather or faux suede cord
• Citronella Essential Oil
• Tea Tree [or Melaleuca] Essential Oil
• Carrier Oil [I love using Fractionated Coconut Oil and Jojoba Oil for my EO projects]
• Glass Bottle with Dropper

Essential oils are very concentrated so no matter your project, I always recommend diluting with a carrier oil. For this Bug Band oil, I filled my 1 ounce glass bottle with fractionated coconut oil and 5 drops of Citronella essential oil and 5 drops of Tea Tree oil.

In addition to leather strands, you can use this oil on other surfaces to make different types of bug bracelets like: charcoal stones, felt pads, dried clay. You could even drop the oil mixture on different cloth type materials that will be around you outside [but be sure to test a spot first to make sure no stains will be left behind].

More chemical-free bug repellent ideas:

While these are our new favorite way to prevent bug bites, there are lots of other chemical-free bug repellent ideas that I also commonly use.

Diffuse Bug Ban in outdoor diffuser – While browsing nowfoods.com the other day, I saw they had a new essential oil, Bug Ban. Since I am obsessed with trying every essential oil they make love all of their essential oils, I definitely wanted to try it. I had originally thought about using it in our bug band oil, but directions and precautions say this oil is to ONLY be used in a diffuser.

We leave a small diffuser outside on our front deck and when we go camping, I pack it up and take it with us. It works GREAT!

Line your deck with bug repellent plants

Citronella is a great plant to have in pots around your deck and porch, but you might be surprised that there are other plants that can help deter pesky bugs too like lavender, rosemary, and basil!

DIY Bug Spray – In addition to making your own bug bracelets, you can make a homemade mosquito repellent spray too. It takes a few more ingredients, but is definitely doable and a great alternative to sprays your buy from the store that have tons of chemicals.

If you love DIY projects and like to have things on hand, this Bug Bite Soothing Roll-on isn’t a bad idea. While these ideas will help you not get bit, sometimes it does happen.

If you do get bit, make this roll-on from NOW® for relief – it definitely sounds soothing and has just a few ingredients and essential oils that you probably already have on hand!