Essential oils for mosquito bites

Add your essential oil mix to a bath

If you have been bitten repeatedly, you may want to soothe your skin in a bath that has added healing benefits. Add a few drops of your diluted essential oil mix into the hot water as you relax, and then apply it again topically to problem areas once you’ve gotten out and toweled off.

Create a spray

Create a hot or cold compress using a cotton pad or washcloth. Add a few drops of your essential oil/carrier oil mix and lay it over your throat to help relieve some of your pain.

Make an ointment 

Creating your own personal salve with the most effective essential oils for mosquito bites is another option. Do so by combining the essential oil you’ve selected with a carrier oil and using that or by adding a few drops of oil to your store-bought or homemade moisturizer or lotion. This method keeps the essential oil on your skin longer and is therefore more effective than diluting it in water.

Why use essential oils for mosquito bites?

Essential oils may well be able to provide you with some relief from the discomfort mosquito bites cause. These natural products work to target itching and inflammation and can take much of the misery of bug bites away.

Knowing what essential oils are good for mosquito bites and using them correctly may also help you to resist the urge to scratch. This, in turn, helps to prevent further itching as well as infections, as scratching can open the wound and allow bacteria to enter your bloodstream.

Top essential oils for mosquito bites

The best essential oils for mosquito bites have antimicrobial, pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties. They may also speed up the healing process and can work to repel these bugs in the first place. This means that using them may help you avoid getting bitten at all.

These are the best essential oils to use on mosquito bites:

Chamomile

An aromatic European plant belonging to the daisy flower, chamomile is added to a range of skin products because of its palliative effects. Using chamomile essential oil can reduce skin wound pain and itchiness and may speed up recovery, making it the perfect essential oil for mosquito bites.

Lavender

This aromatic evergreen shrub belongs to the mint family and is a very popular option for treating bug bites. Lavender essential oil has soothing properties and relieves pain. It can be used to treat mosquito bites and is often recommended for spider bites as well as bee stings due to its wound-healing properties, so it’s a very handy addition to any medicine cabinet.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass essential oil has antimicrobial effects which can help prevent the spread of certain diseases carried by insects. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and, because swelling can be a major source of pain and itching from mosquito bites, using it on your welts can bring a lot of relief.

Lemongrass is also one of the best mosquito repellent essential oils. It has numerous studies showing its effectiveness in repellent mosquitoes across species. Luckily, it smells great too!

Mint

Mint oils, like peppermint essential oil and spearmint essential oil, are excellent options for treating mosquito bites. The cooling sensation they deliver can reduce irritation, and their aroma also repels mosquitoes, working to ensure you don’t get bitten again. These oils will help you to deal with itchiness, decreasing your urge to scratch and removing the risk of a more serious infection occurring.

Rosemary

The anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and antimicrobial qualities of rosemary essential oil make it another amazing option for treating mosquito bites.

Interestingly, this evergreen aromatic shrub also belongs to the mint family and has more uses than just a culinary enhancement or insect repellent. It is popular in perfumery and is used as an emblem of remembrance in certain cultures.

Tea Tree

Tea tree essential oil has a well-earned reputation for its anti-itching, anti-swelling and anti-pain qualities. Because it is antimicrobial, it’s also excellent at preventing bacterial infections so it’s one of the best essential oils for mosquito bites.

Tea tree essential oil can actually be used to treat a range of different insect bites, including those from bees, fire ants, mosquitoes, spiders and ticks.

Science-backed data

There’s been a marked interest in plant-based insect repellents in recent years. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for products that protect them without doing them any harm, or causing any harm to the environment.

Scientific research into this sector is on the rise, which means that there are now provable hypotheses as to why essential oils work.

These are just some of the studies that offer a science-based perspective on the subject:

Tea tree oil’s anti-itching properties

Tea tree oil may be able to help you with the discomfort and itching associated with mosquito bites as well as act as an antibacterial and repellent agent.

Research on dogs conducted in 2014 showed that tea tree oil was adept at handling pruritic dermatitis (or dry, itchy skin) in dogs. This is a result that many people using tea tree oil to combat the urge to scratch insect bites attest to as well.

Chamomile and its effect on skin healing

When compared to a 1% hydrocortisone cream for skin irritation, it was found that chamomile healed lesions far more quickly while also reducing inflammation, itching and pain.

The anti-inflammatory effects of lavender

A 2012 study revealed that lavender has significant anti-inflammatory effects on a cellular level. A review published in 2020 concluded that lavender essential oil does indeed speed up wound healing of the skin. This explains why it's such a popular option when it comes to treating insect bites of all types.

Rosemary’s anti-inflammatory qualities

Rosemary has been shown to reduce skin inflammation and accelerate wound healing in mice. Combined with peppermint, its topical application was also shown in mice to reduce osteoarthritis pain and inflammation. These qualities of rosemary all make it ideal for use on mosquito bites.

Peppermint’s anti-inflammatory benefits

Five gracious human volunteers tested the ability of peppermint oil to repel mosquitoes. Amazingly, peppermint oil prevented 100% of bites over the first 2.5 hours while mosquito bites were recorded on the arms treated with just ethanol.

An in vitro and in vivo study on diabetic wound healing found that peppermint oil had antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects while accelerating wound healing.

Peppermint oil has also been shown to improve inflammatory muscle pain in rats when applied topically, showing that it can help reduce pain.

Finally, peppermint oil was shown to reduce chronic itching in human volunteers over 2 weeks compared to a placebo.

Lemongrass for repelling mosquitoes and their after-effects

Lemongrass has been thoroughly studied for its ability to repel mosquitoes and, according to one study, worked as well as a commercial formulation, performing at 50% repellency or higher for 2-3 hours.

A 2017 in vitro study confirmed that lemongrass does indeed have anti-inflammatory effects in human skin cells, and another study of the same year discovered that applying lemongrass oil topically for a month reduced pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

What to keep in mind when using essential oils for mosquito bites

Knowing that you can use essential oils for mosquito bites can bring you much relief from the discomfort these bites are so famous for. It can also make you feel better about using them on yourself and your family as opposed to sticky, stinky sprays or medicated ointments.

However, although essential oils are incredible natural remedies that can replace certain pharmaceutical and chemical treatments, you need to ensure that you use them correctly.

If you’re planning on applying oils directly to your skin, you need to do a patch test first. Pure oils must always be diluted with a carrier oil, and then you can swab a small spot on the inside of your arm to test it. If your skin doesn’t react, you should have no problem using a diluted mix of the oil on your body.

If you experience any type of allergic reaction when using essential oils for mosquito bites, you should always stop using them at once. You also need to be sure that, in the case of mosquito bites, that’s what you’re actually treating.

Your body’s reaction to a mosquito bite can mimic symptoms of very dangerous, venomous bites from other creatures, especially spiders, for example. Welts that initially appear as simply itchy and troublesome can become very painful very quickly and can make you seriously ill.

If you’re unsure whether you’ve been bitten by a venomous spider or a mosquito, it’s best to consult your doctor as soon as possible, preferably before use.

If you’re going to use essential oils on children or pets to either repel mosquitoes or to relieve itching from mosquito bites, check out our guides first to see which essential oils are safe to use on children and our furry friends - since we all know both are prone to licking themselves or putting their fingers in their mouths!

Effective blends of essential oils for mosquito bites

One of the many reasons essential oil use is on the rise is that they're so versatile. You can use these oils on their own and in blends, and for a variety of different purposes.

Experiment with your own mixtures when you start using essential oils for mosquito bites, and check out these combinations exclusive to Volant too:

Date Night

Don’t let these pests ruin a romantic evening out or in! Volant’s Organic Date Night blend contains several different essential oils, including lavender, which makes it a contender for a blend that will soothe itching, irritated skin.

Focus

Volant’s Organic Focus blend contains multiple essential oils to help keep your attention on the task at hand. The fact that it contains cinnamon and rosemary essential oils, however, also makes it a good choice not just for repelling mosquitoes but also for treating itchy bites.

Sleep

As difficult as these critters can make it to get some rest, our Organic Sleep blend, which includes lavender and Roman chamomile, will help you get your 40 winks.

These two essential oils are natural aids in the fight against mosquito bites and, in combination with frankincense and Palma rosa, will help you settle down for the night.

Essential oils for mosquito bites FAQs

What essential oils are good for mosquito bites?

Choose from essential oils like chamomile, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, spearmint and tea tree to treat your bug bites.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are fat-soluble substances within the various parts of the plant that give it its aroma, protection from invaders, attract pollinators and help it heal and grow. They are extracted into liquids that evaporate quickly when exposed to the air. They have powerful healing and mood-altering effects in humans.

Are mosquitoes attracted to essential oils?

On the contrary! Many people use essential oils for mosquito bites and as a repellent and to deter them from biting at all.

Do essential oils prevent mosquito bites?

Some essential oils, like peppermint or lemongrass, can prevent you from getting bitten by mosquitoes.

How do you use essential oils to repel mosquitoes?

You can apply a dilution of essential oils and carrier oil topically to your body to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects and to treat mosquito bites.

In summary

As you’ll now no doubt agree, using essential oils for mosquito bites is an excellent idea. Whether you’re looking to repel these bugs, thus preventing them from biting you at all, or need to address the discomfort they’ve left you in, there are several oils that can help.

Scientific research confirms that using essential oils for mosquito bites is an effective remedy and that, if used properly, they can definitely reduce a variety of symptoms.

Soothe that itchy, burning feeling of mosquito bites with Volant’s 100% pure, organic essential oils. Mosquito bites don’t have to be the bane of your existence - there are natural solutions that work.

If you have any questions about using essential oils for mosquito bites don’t hesitate to contact us at support@volantaroma.com. We’ll gladly assist you!