I was sitting outside on my patio here in gorgeous San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. Unfortunately, one of the downsides about San Blas is the enormous number of bugs. Surrounding the small town are a series of rivers and jungle habitat, which is prime breeding ground for bugs.

In our travels through Mexico, my girlfriend has been a little bothered by mosquitos, but up until now, the bugs weren't causing me too much trouble.

Two hours ago, it was 6 am and I was out on this patio writing a Steem post. Although it's gorgeous outside, I was getting eaten alive by these horrible bugs. My legs were so itchy and when I felt them, they were almost entirely covered in bumps from the ridiculous amount of bug bites.

# Getting rid of the itching

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The things that were biting me were these tiny, flying black bugs that you can barely see. They're too small to see while flying and you can barely see them when they land on you; they're much smaller than a gnat​. 

I couldn't stand it anymore! I went inside to grab essential oils - some for the itching and others to repel them away.

My go-to essential oils to help with itching are lavender, lemon, and peppermint. This time I chose lemon and lavender. Both are great for helping with itching and lavender also helps repel bugs. 

![IMG_4512.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSwDZUfVepbVAqYzyQCjNNaXVF8xqtMNMkXb1b8Jr3Hiw/IMG_4512.JPG)

I put some almond oil in my hand (as a carrier oil) and added a couple drops of both lemon and lavender. Taking that oil mixture from my hand, I spread it all over my legs. The urge to scratch them went away almost immediately. Yes! Finally some relief!

# Repelling the bugs

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In addition to the lavender oil that I just rubbed on my legs, I wanted another line of defense. Afterall, it's gorgeous outside, and our Airbnb is tiny with no place to work except for sitting on the bed in a position that's terrible for my posture.

I grabbed the trusty oil diffuser and added exactly 1 drop of three different oils that are known to work well for repelling insects.

![IMG_4513.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVVKvnNyHdbuRBnDAEQpewkSvgmqcnRAYXZy1iGNomUKR/IMG_4513.JPG)

- Peppermint oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Citronella oil

Just a couple hours ago, I had 10 bugs biting me at a time, constantly. But now, I have the diffuser running next to me, and I haven't had a single insect touch me.

Once again, essential oils came to my rescue! Now, I can finally write Steem posts in peace.

![IMG_4511.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmehTm6y6QJZrsf7uNjamDuNK3geiFQbnxwbNBkSHVTVv9/IMG_4511.JPG)

If you found this helpful, check out my Steem blog @shenanigator