How to properly make and use yarrow as a broad spectrum insect repelling herbal tincture which has a reputation for being stronger than DEET.
My family recently spent the day at the Blizzard Beach waterpark at Disney World. Although we had a great time (I highly recommend Blizzard Beach over Typhoon Lagoon, by the way), the shady spot we chose to leave our towels and cooler seemed to be attractive for a few horseflies as well. I really wished I’d brought along a small spray bottle of yarrow as my Plan B.
The annoying appearance of these horseflies was surprising to me as Disney World is nothing short of incredible at keeping insects of all kinds away from areas where guests congregate. We’ve never had to use any sort of insect repellent anywhere on the enormous Disney World property in all the years we’ve visited, even for nighttime activities at the woodsy campground.
My husband and I have speculated for a long time on how this is accomplished so effectively because Florida is definitely in the running for insect capital of the world. Given that Disney World was basically constructed on a swamp, this makes the feat even more impressive. No doubt a chemical cocktail of immense proportions is used, but it isn’t near where the people hang out, as I’ve never even smelled the residue of spraying, and I have a pretty good nose for those sorts of things.
For whatever reason, however, this one spot where we were at Blizzard Beach seemed to elude the Disney World bug eradication police. Horsefly bites are extremely painful in my experience, and if you wish to avoid the very effective, but highly neurotoxic effects of insect repellents made with DEET to keep them at bay, I highly recommend an easy homemade tincture of yarrow.
Yarrow Herb
Note that crushing yarrow leaves and stems and rubbing them on yourself does not really work very well (neither does citronella, by the way). The yarrow potency needs to be concentrated via tincture.
Herbalist extraordinaire Susun Weed of the Wise Woman Herbal series of books says that the United States Army studied yarrow and found a tincture of this herb outperforms DEET in repelling ticks and mosquitoes.
One thing is for sure: avoiding the use of DEET containing insect repellents on yourself and your children no matter what is a wise parenting decision.
This stuff is so highly toxic – possibly worse than even spraying neighborhoods for mosquitoes. It isn’t worth it to ever use it in my opinion.
It has been known to cause seizures in young children even at low potency. In addition, a review of the scientific literature turns up 17 cases of DEET-induced toxic encephalopathy in children (1).
How Often Yarrow Should be Used to Repel Insects
The one drawback is that yarrow tincture does not remain effective as long as DEET. So, it needs to be reapplied often. I was unable to find a source for this study, so you will have to try it and see if you agree.
Ms. Weed suggests spraying yourself with yarrow tincture every 20-30 minutes if the insects are heavy. If not, every couple of hours should be sufficient. Yarrow works for repelling horseflies and other insects that are bothering your horse when you are riding too.
How to Make Yarrow Tincture
The best tinctures are made with freshly picked plants. Buying a commercially prepared tincture from the store made with dried plants is not as potent.
Fortunately, finding fresh yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is not that hard as it is a common plant that grows wild all around the world in temperate regions. Â It has lovely, long-lasting flowers that may be white, yellow, red, or pink. Susun Weed suggests the white or pink yarrow varieties as the best ones to tincture. She recommends picking the flowers, flower buds, seeds, stalk, and leaves from the top third of the plant.
Preparing the yarrow tincture is performed as follows:
- Discard any damaged yarrow plant material
- Do not wash any of the yarrow with the exception of the roots and only with water and if necessary.
- Coarsely chop the yarrow plant parts except for the flower and buds.
- Fill a jar to the top with the chopped yarrow. You don’t leave an inch like when you are fermenting food and drinks.
- Pour in 100 proof vodka or vinegar. I would suggest vodka as a better choice because a tincture made with a vinegar base will make you pretty smelly if you spray yourself with it. Also, use potato vodka if there is a gluten sensitivity in your home.
- Cap the jar.
- Label the jar with the date and type of plant used (yarrow).
- The next day, top up the liquid as the level will go down slightly as the plant material absorbs the liquid.
- Leave for a minimum of 6 weeks.
- Strain the tincture into a spray bottle and it is ready to use.
How to Use Dried Yarrow for a Tincture
If you absolutely cannot source fresh yarrow to make this insect repellent tincture, you can use dried yarrow. Just know that it will not be as potent and you will most likely have to respray yourself more often to achieve satisfactory results.
Note that powdered yarrow is not suitable for tincturing. You can only use the dried yarrow root, as the dried flowers, buds, stems, and leaves will not retain enough potency after drying.
Place two ounces of the dried yarrow root in a pint jar. Â Add 10 ounces of 100 proof vodka.
Cap and label as described above.
Top up with more vodka over the next week as necessary.
Leave for 6 weeks and then strain it for use.
Note that a properly made yarrow tincture is appropriate as a broad-spectrum insect repellent, but especially for mosquitoes, ticks, horse flies, and deer flies.
References
Wise Woman Herbal Series
Herbal Adventures with Susun Weed
Herbal Pharmacy: Making a Tincture
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Hi, Yarrow is a good additive, but best combined with some other natural products for best and lasting effect, tried to make up a few myself, without much success, and hubby loves vodka way too much ‘to dab on the outside’, so did some searching and came up with this great combination that works real good on the ids too: http://thesolidbarcompany.com/collections/bug-bars
Don’t know about Florida but we sure have had a bad season, and it’s still ongoing with, all sorts of flying bugs over here on the NM/TX
Best of luck y’all, R x
Hi – I’m giving this a try… I ran into a retired chemist that said Everclear (190 proof) is more effective and quicker at creating tinctures. He said the folks he knows creating various tinctures use that all the time with success.
One question I have is it appears the color of my tincture after only 2 days is quite green. Will this color mellow out, or be an issue with clothing; or even temporarily stain the skin?
Thanks!
I have just gathered a whole bunch of yarrow but I only have vodka that is 40% alcohol. 100 proof is 50%. Can I still use this vodka?
Thanks!
Is there any way to speed up the process for making the yarrow tinture seeing the summer is here or will I have to wait next spring so I have it ready for next summer.I love all your posts you share a lot of info
Thank You
Blessings Jocelan
Can you use rubbing alcohol? If this is topical and not to be ingested.
Does this work for ticks as well? That’s my main concern these days!
Could you substitute witch hazel (purchased from the drug store) for the vodka?
That might work. I’ve never tried it to be sure though. If you make it this way, please check back and let us know how it goes.
The Yarrow here is still budding. Should I wait for some flowers for more potency?
No, would make it now as it takes a few weeks to achieve proper potency and summer is a-beckoning 😉
Can I use a tincture brough in a pharmacy ?
Probably not strong enough … but worth a shot to try it.
I will try this, but i am going to use vinegar because I discovered many years ago by accident that there is nothing better for discouraging those nasty black beach flies than a spray of vinegar on your skin. It also needs to be reapplied frequently but works wonderfully.
Vinegar will work great to tincture the yarrow .. you will just smell a little funny 🙂 If you’re camping, though, no worries.