How to Make Natural Outdoor Fly Repellent

Tired of fly sprays and unwanted chemicals they contain? Now you can make your ouwn fly repellent. It is a very easy sollution to keeping flies away from your home or outdoor dining area and you can do it yourself.

Steps

1. Clean out a small tin with a lid.
2. Take a clean piece of cloth or a small piece of dish sponge able to fit into container. Saturate it with one of the following oils :
• Lavender oil - lavender is considered to be particularly effective against flies
• Citronelia oil (dilute with water first)
• Eucalyptus oil (dilute with water first)
• Pennyroyal oil (dilute with water first, likely more effective against mosquitoes but also considered to work against horse-flies)
• Lemongrass oil (dilute with water first)
3. Place the cloth in the tin and shut the lid. Allow to sit for 24 hours
4. Use. Whatever u need to use the tin, remove the lid and place on the entertaining table. Make as many as you wish to put around the entertaining area to deter flies.
5. Replenish the oil after each. Once open to the air, the strength weakens and needs to be topped up.

Tips

• Wiar gloves when handling the saturated cloth, especially if you are handling food and/or have skin sensitives.
• You can amplify the effect of the essential oils by using candles. Simply add a few drops of the chosen essential oil (or use different ones at different ends of the table) into the melted wax area of a burning candle. The odour will waft out as the candle burns.
• If you are familiar with combining essential oils to produce scents, try a combination of the above suggested essential oils for a pleasant odour and possibly a more powerful fly dissuader.
• Note that lavender oil can be used freely without needing to dilute with water. Water dilution should follow the instructions accompanying the essential oil. Providing you do not wear the oil, dilution at a ratio of 1 part oil to 3 parts water will likely prove sufficient for most oils but know the properties of your oils before making assumptions. If you intend to wear any of these oils as a repellent, the advice here does not apply and you should seek information from the appropriate source.

Warnings

• Always read the warnings accompanying essential oil products and do not use if you are pregnant, have a poor immune system or allergies unless you know the oil to be safe.
• Always keep essential oils out of the reach of children. Many are toxic if ingested, especially pennyroyal. Containers should be kept out of reach.
• As with any herbal remedy, you are the best judge of whether or not the herbal solutions are doing what you seek from them. If not, experiment with different types until something meets your needs. Sometimes the effectiveness of oils is dependent on local conditions.
• Pennyroyal is a known toxin. It WILL cause spontaneous abortions. DO NOT use Pennyroyal around pregnant women or dogs. THE EFFECTS CAN BE VERY DISGUSTING AND SUDDEN.

Things You'll Need

• Small tin with lid. Ideal tins include confectionery tins, cough drop tins, candle tins, etc.
• Small piece of cloth, for example, calico, cotton, handkerchief, etc; or cut a piece of dish sponge down to size.

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