Benefits of Using Essential Oils in Maggie’s Farm Pest Control Products

Essential oils offer many benefits. One of the things we love about them is that they can be highly effective at controlling bugs in your home, lawn, and garden. Our Maggie’s Farm insecticide sprays are formulated using plant essential oils as the active ingredients. We've gathered information about essential oils and the benefits of using them in pest control products. 

What Are Essential Oils?

Natural essential oils are highly concentrated plant oil extracts. Extraction methods vary, as do areas of the plant where the oils are extracted from, but typically, essential oils are extracted from the most fragrant areas of the plant. The plant oils are extracted through a distillation process or through other methods such as cold pressing. Essential oils produced via chemical methods are not considered true essential oils.

A plant's extracted natural oils capture the natural fragrance and aromatic effects of the source plant. Because essential plant oils come right from nature, many mistakenly assume they are gentle and are not potent. Natural plant oils are very potent, especially against insect pests, and should be handled with care.

What Are the Benefits of Essential Oils?

Essential oils are often associated with aromatherapy, which is a holistic therapeutic treatment that uses the oils to promote health and well-being. They are also used in other ways, including adding flavor and/or fragrances to foods and beverages, household products, cosmetics, soaps, and perfumes.

We also use essential oils in the production of our Maggie’s Farm Simply Effective™ Pest Control products. Most people hate bugs, and so do plants! Plants have their own built-in defense to keep pests away, and their best defense is their built-in oils.

Using plant oils in pest control products provides several advantages:

• Earth-friendliness: Essential oil-based insecticides don’t linger in the environment as long as synthetic insecticides.
• More family-friendly: Plant-based insecticide sprays are safe to use around children and pets when used as directed. 
  

Fragrance of the Essential Oils Used in Maggie’s Farm Products

The plant oils we use in our products are specifically chosen to help you in the ongoing battle against bugs.   

Because of the natural fragrance of many plant oils, we understand that some people might be sensitive to them and that others may simply not like certain fragrances. We formulate our products to make these fragrances as pleasant, soft, and non-lingering as possible. We recommend testing in a small indoor area before using in a larger area.

Note that the fragrances we use are not harmful and generally dissipate quickly after product use. We do not use any artificial fragrances, dyes, or preservatives in Maggie’s Farm products!

Essential Oils in Maggie’s Farm Products

There are more than 90 essential oils commonly used, and each has its own unique aroma and benefits. The plant essential oils we use are approved by the EPA for use in minimum-risk pesticides. When blended correctly, they are very effective at killing pests as well as providing a residual repellency for continued protection. Check out the essential oils used in the creation of Maggie’s Farm Products. 

• Thyme oil has been used since Ancient Egyptian times, coming from a plant native to the Mediterranean region. Thyme is used to flavor foods and for various other purposes. It is also an effective insect killer. 
• Rosemary oil is best known for its distinctive citrus-like, herbaceous scent. It belongs to the Mint family, which includes basil, myrtle, lavender, and sage, all excellent bug repellents.  
• Cinnamon oil is a familiar scent and flavor, used in many dishes, candies, and desserts. It has a strong fragrance potent for killing and repelling insects.
• Peppermint oil is a combination of water mint and spearmint that was discovered in England in the mid-1700s, and its scent is particularly offensive and lethal to bugs. Peppermint oil also soothes and relieves insect stings and bites.
• Citronella oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals. It has long been a staple for repelling bugs by masking scents that are attractive to them, making it difficult for bugs to locate targets (you!). The essential oil is extracted from the leaves and stems of different species of lemongrass. Citronella, diluted with something like coconut oil, is also a great relief for bug bites. 
• Lemongrass oil is closely related to citronella, and its sweet and lemony aroma is uplifting and refreshing. Unless you happen to be a bug. 
• Clove oil is pungent and aromatic and has been used for thousands of years. It is frequently used as a spice and to flavor many common medicines. 
• Corn oil is known best as cooking oil, but it is also effective at blocking your skin emissions so pesky mosquitoes can’t find you as easily.
• Soybean oil is also known as a cooking oil, as well as for various other purposes, including controlling several types of insects.  
• Wintergreen oil is known for its use in making various medicines and for being effective at controlling bugs.
• Geraniol is a plant chemical that naturally occurs in many essential oils, such as geranium oil and citronella oil. It has a scent similar to roses and is often used in perfumery. It is also very effective at controlling bugs.

Do Essentials Oils Stain? 

Most essential oils do not stain because they are not actually oily. The essential oils used in our Maggie’s Farm products are not known to stain. We have tested them on several different surfaces and materials, but it is impossible to test on all types of surfaces and materials. We recommend doing a small spot test on a surface before applying on a larger scale, to be certain.

Can You Safely Use Maggie’s Farm Products Around Family and Pets?

The ingredients used in our EPA-exempt products are all classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as “minimum-risk,” and are approved as food additives or classified as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the US Food & Drug Administration.

All Maggie’s Farm products can be used safely around family and pets when used as directed. The only Maggie’s Farm product that is for applying directly to a person or pet is Maggie’s Farm Natural Insect Repellent. Before using our Natural Insect Repellent on humans or animals, apply to a small area to make sure no reaction occurs. Natural essential oils contain components that some people may be allergic to. While reactions are very uncommon, you want to be sure before you apply to a large area of skin. Natural Insect Repellent can be applied to dogs, horses, and other animals, but it should not be applied to cats, birds, or reptiles. 

Don’t ever apply essential oils directly to cats unless your vet says it’s okay. Cats (and especially kittens) are sensitive to some plant oils, and especially to wintergreen oil. When using a product with wintergreen oil in your home, keep your cat away from the treated area until the spray dries. The Maggie’s Farm products that contain wintergreen oil are Home Bug Spray, Spider & Insect Dust, Mosquito Fogger, Ant & Roach Killer, Flying Insect Killer, and Yard Bug Spray. 

As an added precaution, we recommend that caged birds be removed from rooms, and fish tanks need to be covered before applying any Maggie’s Farm product until the fragrance dissipates. 

Check out our article on safe application around pets here. 

If you have additional questions or concerns about the plant oils we use in our effective but earth-and-family friendly pest control products, please use our contact form to connect with us. 

How do you like using Maggie’s Farm pest control products? We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below.