Natural Insect Repellent That Actually Works!

Living in the wild means dealing with insects. Insects such as mosquitoes and ticks not only can make life miserable but they can spread a number of diseases that can lead to your death. Dealing with biting insects without the benefit of modern DEET chemical repellents can at first appear to be a very grim situation. But luckily nature has provided a great alternative. Not just a crappy, this will have to do, alternative but one that actually works and works well.

Ticks can be dealt with using Sulfur but that is not something you are likely to be able to get on your own. In steps Beauty Berry. The leaves of Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana) which is a deciduous shrub of the Southeastern USA contain a natural insect repellent that you can use to protect yourself from these pesky insects. For more information on identifying Beauty Berry and some of its other uses such as a food supply visit Beauty Berry Jelly!

Don't for a second think that this is just bunk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Products Utilization Research Unit found that extracts from beautyberry leaves could match DEET for repelling mosquitoes and ticks.

You can expect the crushing leaves and rubbed them on your body or clothing to repel insects for two to three hours.

Since you may not always have a Beauty Berry Bush handy an even better method is to crush up a bunch of the leaves and place in a jar. Cover with rubbing alcohol and let this setup for a while with a top on the jar and then remove the crushed leaves. Now you have a great insect repellent that you can both save and bring with you in vials for use.

As great as this works it will need to be reapplied every couple of hours. More frequent applications will be required if you are working and sweating a lot.