Re: Catnip oil as mosquito repellant?

Generally speaking it's always best to use dried herbs in oils & salves. The fresh herbs have a lot of water/moisture, which doesn't mix with the oil and can easily 'spoil' or become moldy, etc. On the other hand, if the oil is going to be kept in the fridge and used quickly, you can give it a try with the fresh herbs. Whichever way you do it and whatever you end up with should be useful as long as you keep it 'fresh'.

For starters (and to speed things up a bit) I'd probably pick a few catnip plants and hang them in the shade to dry. After only a couple days a goodly percentage of the water/moisture will have 'evaporated' and the leaves will be very wilted and starting to dry. That should remove enough of the water for your home-use purposes. When 'dehydrating' it, leave the lid off of the jar so water can evaporate, and be sure to keep the final product refrigerated.

I 'tincture' our oils in the dehydrator right around 95 degrees F. You can sit a jar in a sunny window or in a pot of hot water (just be sure to shake it a lot).

Herb to oil ratio - after the 'swelling' (when using dried herbs), the jar is 1/2 - 3/4 herbs with 1/4 - 1/2 "float").

Also, vinegar is a decent mosquito repellent all by itself (and would work as a menstruum for the catnip). So you might consider making a quick vinegar solution (just fill a blender with fresh catnip, cover with vinegar, macerate, let it sit a day or two, strain it and put it in a spray bottle). Again, keep it in the fridge, as the water content would be high.

If I were making an oil, I'd experiment with it before I made a batch of any size. I'd take around a cup of fresh leaves and about the same amount of oil, macerate it all, let it sit for a day, strain some, and see if it worked first. Then if it worked (and I liked it), I'd make a bigger, 'more perfect' batch.

Also-also...have you considered just bruising the leaves and rubbing them on your skin? I'd *definitely* try that before mixing up any herbal potions :)

Healthiest of blessings!

Uny

Oh yes, that IF#2 'mud' works beautifully (as does plain bentonite), so be sure to make 'mud dots' on your bites :)