• Nigerian Dwarf Senior Does
  • Nigerian Dwarf Does
  • Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
  • Nigerian Dwarf Kids By Year
    • 2019 Goat Kids
    • 2018 Goat Kids
    • 2017 Goat Kids
    • 2016 Goat Kids

Better Hens & Gardens

of Bramblestone Farm

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Publication Credits
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart

Skills for Self-Reliance, Real Foods & Sustainable Living

  • Chickens
    • Basic Care
    • Breeds
    • All About Eggs
    • Feeding
    • Health Issues
    • Housing
  • Farm
    • Farm news
    • Help
    • Structures
    • Wild Things
  • Garden
    • Ornamentals
    • Seeds & Saving Them
    • How To Grow “X”
    • Starting Plants
    • Preparation & Tools
    • Pest Control
    • Varieties To Try
  • Goats
    • Basic Care
    • Conformation
    • Doe & Kidding Care
    • Feeding
    • Herd Basics & Behavior
    • Milk & Milking
    • Supplies & Equipment
  • Honey Bees
    • Feeding
    • Getting Started
    • Hive Management
    • Honey & Wax
  • Homemade
    • Beauty Products
    • Cleaning Supplies
    • Decorations
    • Miscellaneous
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Main Dish
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Vegetables
  • Pantry
    • Quality Choices
    • Canning
    • Condiments & Flavorings
    • Dairy
    • Drying
    • Freezing
    • Root Cellaring

Better Hens and Gardens may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking on links on this page. Learn More

2 Comments

Homemade Lavender Wands (Natural Insect Repellant)

Lavender is a natural insect repellant and homemade lavender wands are an easy and safer alternative to homemade lavender wands mothballs in the home. Plus, most people like the fragrance of lavender.

It should be harvested as it’s blooming for making fresh bouquets, drying, or making homemade lavender wands. 

How To Make Homemade Lavender Wands

Lavender for use in bouquets and sachets needs to be dried (see Drying Lavender), but lavender wands should be made with fresh-supple lavender. Here’s how, along with some pictures of the process.

  • Gather 13 or more (it needs to be an odd number for the weaving to work right) 15″ long stems of fresh lavender, and strip all the leaves from the stem. 
  • Harvest early in the day, but after the flowers are dry to help ensure fresh-supple stems that are best for homemade lavender wands.
  • Cut 2 1/2 yards of  1/8″ to 1/4″ wide ribbon (I used 1/8″ in these pictures), line up the lavender flower heads, and carefully tie them together with the end of the ribbon-like this:

  • Gently bend each stem down over the blossom heads. You can use your fingernail to encourage the stems to bend where you want them to. It should look like this when you’re finished:

  • Pull the long ribbon out of the stem “cage”, and tuck the short end in or trim it off. Align the stems evenly around the blossoms, and start weaving the ribbon under and over the stems. Getting started at this point is the hardest part, so proceed gently and carefully. After each weave, gently pull the ribbon tight, and on the second row, weave under the stems that were woven over in the first row and vice versa. Here’s what it should look like after a few rows:

  • Weave until all the blossoms are covered (you will probably need to trim or push some of the buds into the “cage” as you go), wrap the ribbon around the neck of the wand, and tie a slip knot. Trim the stems to the same length, and use a rubber band to hold the wand end and ribbon together. After the stems have dried (and shrunk), remove the rubber band and make a final decorative bow at the end of the wand with the ribbon. Here’s a finished wand that still needs to dry:

And here are some that have fully dried. Congratulations – a great smelling moth repellant for your closet! The aroma from these little wands is surprisingly intense and long-lasting.

 

Lavender wands


Related posts:

Weed-Be-Gone - A Safe & Easy Homemade Weedkiller
Easy Homemade Glass Cleaner
51 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Filed Under: Cleaning Supplies

About Lesa

Lesa Wilke is a homesteader and freelance writer who loves to inspire others on their journey to more sustainable lifestyles. She accomplishes this by sharing the skills she’s learned (plus support, advice & tips) while farming goats, chickens, honeybees, and produce.

« Bramblestone Farm 2019 Kidding Complete – 20 Kids (5 Still Available)!
How Soon To Milk Goats After They Freshen (Give Birth) »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Oh, hi there! I’m Lesa,

and this blog is all about learning new skills around chickens, goats, gardens, honey bees, and DIY. Read more…

Read My Dairy Goat Books

  • Nigerian Dwarf Goats 201 - Getting Started Nigerian Dwarf Goats 201: Getting Started
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $6.99
  • Nigerian Dwarf Goats 101 Nigerian Dwarf Goats 101: Background & Basics
    Rated 4.95 out of 5
    $4.99

Visit Our Social Sites

Website Categories

The contents of this site are the property of Better Hens and Gardens. All content contained herein is copyrighted. We love it when you share, but if you do, please link back to the original post. Material included here is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, the giving of medical advice. This blogs content is for informational purposes only and Better Hens and Gardens or others associated with this site shall not be held liable for any damages incurred through the use of information provided in this blog. Better Hens and Gardens accepts products for review and other forms of paid advertising; however, although compensation received may influence the content or topics covered in this blog, it will never influence our opinion of any product. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely those of Better Hens and Gardens. Any product claim or other representation about a product or service should be verified by the manufacturer. Better Hens and Gardens is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright © 2023 · Design by Erica Mueller Designs

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pinterest
51 shares