Recently I went up to Yosemite with my family, and I was attacked by mosquitoes. I don’t know about you, but no matter how much beautiful scenery I take in, I hate being covered in red bumps for it.
I’ve used bug spray, and it works, but I always forget to reapply it. It seems like no matter what I do, my arms and shoulders end up covered, especially during the summer.
That’s why I figured wearing a more continuous bug repellant may be a good idea, so I looked up bug repelling bracelets and necklaces to use on the rest of my trip!
I noticed significantly less bites after using this, and it smells delicious.
Here’s how to make it. What you’ll need is:
For the spray
- 1/4 cup distilled or boiled water
- 2 teaspoons of witch hazel
- 2 teaspoons of vodka
- 25 drops peppermint essential oil
- 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
- 10 drops clove essential oil
- Spray bottle and/or a bowl to soak the jewelry in.
For the jewelry
- 4 different colors of thread
- Scissors
- Tape (if you want to hold the jewelry down on your work station)
For a bracelet, cut 4 36-inch threads of different colors. For a necklace, make these threads longer, probably at least double or triple that size.
Fold all of these threads in half, then tie a loop at the top where the fold is. Divide the thread into 2 symmetrical groups. Taking the outside color threads, braid them inward. Repeat with all of the colors.
Keep doing this until you reach near the bottom, then tie a knot. Add the bug repellant, either by soaking or spraying it on.
If you want to add some extra protection, you can add some beads made of air dry clay or lava stones. These soak up the essential oils in the bug spray and keep them a little longer than the string does.
What are your tips for staying bite free?