Best Flea Repellent for Humans: 5 Perfect Ways to Prevent Flea Bites

If you’re living with fleas, getting your hands on the best flea repellent for humans is a must.

Fleas breed at an alarming rate and when you’re surrounded by the whole extended family of Olympic jumpers who take a bite out of your skin every time you walk past, it can feel like you’re going out of your mind.

Sure, you want to get a battle plan together to get rid of these pesky fleas once and for all…but how are you meant to think with a clear head when you’re covered in insanely itchy flea bites?

The worst part is that you’re not supposed to scratch these bites since excessive scratching can further damage your skin and result in a secondary bacterial infection. Resisting the urge to scratch, of course, requires superhuman willpower since flea bites itch like wildfire and spend all their time on your skin begging to be scratched.

So what’s a poor human to do?

Simple: Prevent flea bites from ever happening in the first place.

6 Best Flea Repellent for Humans

If you’re wondering how you’re going to do that when you’re living with a flea infestation – this is where picking up one of the best flea repellents for humans comes in handy. Here are our top picks!

3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent Lotion

3M’s Insect Repellent Lotion is some pretty heavy duty stuff. Plus, it has the advantage of providing controlled-released protection for up to 12 hours, which makes it perfect to use if you’re getting flea bites while you sleep. No one wants their beauty sleep interrupted for a flea repellent re-application.

Wondering how well it holds up against fleas? Well, it does contain a lower percentage of DEET than similar products but it’s undoubtedly effective. After all, this insect repellent is designed for jungles and tropics, where it protects against fiercer, blood-thirsty creepy crawlies, so preventing flea bites at home is not an issue.

Extra perk? A little goes a long way so the bottle will last you awhile – hopefully, until you’ve killed all the fleas currently living in your home.

Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard

If you’re on the hunt for a flea repellent for humans that actually feels and smells like it’s for humans – meet Avon’s Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Avon’s original Skin So Soft developed a sort of cult following back in the day for its ability to ward off bugs and now the company has upgraded on their formula by adding an extra insect repelling ingredient: Picaridin.

Picaridin is a low-odor, longer-lasting and safer alternative to DEET. Extra perks? It doesn’t feel sticky on the skin. It also won’t irritate your skin or eyes, making it perfect for flea-sufferers with sensitive skin.

What it does do is provide protection against flea bites by acting as an effective flea repellent. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that it makes your skin “oh so soft” in the meanwhile.

Bugs Be Gone Essential Oil Blend

Don’t love the idea of applying a pesticide product on you and your family’s skin? Understandable, especially if you’ve got children around.

Lucky for you, there are all natural flea repellent options for humans, such as Amrita Aromatherapy’s Bug Be Gone Essential Oil Synergy Blend. This stuff is every bit as natural as it looks, composed of a DEET-free blend of flea-repelling essential oils like Lemon Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Peppermint, Catnip and more.

Each of these essential oils work great alone but when combined, they’re at maximum efficacy to protect you and your family from flea bites – without any chemicals!

Wondercide Insect Repellent Spray

Here’s another wonderfully natural and effective – albeit strongly scented – natural flea repellent for humans and pets. Wondercide Insect Repellent Spray uses a potent combination of cedar oil and lemongrass to ward off fleas and flea bites.

In case you’re wondering what exactly cedar oil does – it’s a natural oil that’s made from cedar that has the ability to affect functions such as heart rate, movement and behavior in fleas. It not only blocks the octopamine neurotransmitter receptors in fleas, which causes fleas to be repelled from the area, but can also suffocate fleas on contact.

It’s also beneficial for the skin as well, being anti-fungal and soothing. You’ll find it in everything from dry skin salve to acne treatments and it proves itself useful for flea-affected skin as well, helping to alleviate itching and irritation from flea bites.

No Bite Me Bug Repellent Cream

The aptly-name No-Bite-Me is a relative newcomer to the market, but it’s blown away much of the competition for a couple reasons. For starters, it’s all natural. Instead of using DEET or other chemical insect repellents, this brilliant cream uses an effective blend of 16 essential oils such as cedar, mint, rosemary and lemongrass to keep fleas away for up to 4 hours at a time.

This is great news if you’re in need of a flea repellent for your home since applying DEET for a couple hours when you’re out is fine but you probably don’t want to be slathering yourself and your family in it when you’re at home.

Instead, you can use this cream which has all natural and organic locally sourced ingredients (and is 100% handmade in the USA) to keep fleas off you and your family.

The best part? The cream is also great for soothing and relieving any flea bites you already acquired – so it does double duty.

DIY Best Flea Repellent for Humans

The best flea repellent for humans may be one that you make yourself – this gives you the flexibility to choose which ingredients work best for you and your household as well as the freedom to leave out scents that you just don’t care for.

Plus, DIY flea repellent isn’t hard to make at all! You just need a combination of some of the most effective, natural flea repellents. Here are your top picks:

• Lemon eucalyptus oil – get it here!
• Cedarwood oil – get it here!
• Peppermint – get it here!

The above essential oils repel fleas but they should not be used directly on the skin so you’ll want to dilute it with distilled water, witch hazel or a carrier oil (i.e. olive oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, walnut oil).

A good dilution rule of thumb for a daily flea repellent you’ll be using directly on your skin is to keep the essential oil concentration at just 10% of the total solution. That means 90% of either water, witch hazel or a carrier oil and just 10% whichever essential oil(s) you choose.

If you’re using a 100ml bottle, mix 90 ml of your carrier liquid and 10ml of essential oils. If you’re using a 200ml bottle, mix 180ml carrier liquid and 20ml of essential oils. Then shake well, and voila! You’ve just made yourself the best flea repellent for humans!