Best essential oils for insect repellent

[gigismom]

Any suggestions for essential oils that work good for insect repellent?  I am specifically looking to discourage ticks, mosquitoes and gnats.  I have a friend who is placing an order for essential oils and I want to make my own repellent this year.  Thanks for the ideas!

Jennifer

[SandyMom]

There is a great recipe here:

Herbal Insect Repellent

I make it and use it every year.

[mbravebird]

Catnip is an old-timer's mosquito repellent that works really, really well. In clinical tests it performs better than DEET. Not everybody carries it as an essential oil, but you can find it.

For ticks, the best repellent is rose geranium oil, which is pretty easy to find.

I mix up a "tick only" spray every year, and then a more general mosquito spray. I find we have to reapply every half hour or so with the mosquito spray, but they work.