Contents
One of the most effective DIY solutions for killing bed bugs instantly is diluted rubbing alcohol. Alcohol kills bed bugs as soon as it makes contact with them. It also evaporates quickly, which makes it safer to use than other forms of alcohol. Keep in mind that while alcohol is effective at killing bed bugs quickly…
Insects and arachnids are a normal part of virtually every human household, the researchers say. … “While the idea of uninvited insect roommates sounds unappealing, bugs in houses may contribute to health in a roundabout way,” Trautwein says.
Pests and people are attracted to the same things: an easy meal, a convenient water source, and a cozy place to raise a family. All too often they find these things inside our homes. Delayed repairs and poor maintenance quickly become an open invitation for bugs and rodents to enter.
- Garlic. If you just rub a few cloves of garlic directly on your skin, you’ll be able to keep away mosquitoes (also works on vampires). …
- Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus in any form can keep flies away. …
- Peppermint. Rats and spiders both hate peppermint. …
- Lavender. …
- Vanilla.
Mix eucalyptus, lavender, clove or peppermint oil with water in a spray bottle. Use it to mist furniture and linens and allow the spray to air dry. Follow these tips to clean your rugs and rid them of dust mites.
- Deet. Off! …
- Lavender. Doterra Lavender Oil. …
- Peppermint. Nature’s Truth Peppermint Aromatherapy Essential Oil. …
- Geranium. Geranium Essential Oil. …
- Citronella. Citronella Essential Oil. …
- Soybean Oil. Well’s 100% Soybean Oil. …
- Garlic. …
- Lime.
- Store firewood, lumber, bricks and stones away from your home. …
- Cover trash and store in tightly closed bins. …
- Turn off your garden hoses completely. …
- Seal holes, cracks and openings. …
- Keep trees and bushes trimmed.
Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray. It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others. Creating a mix is quite simple and is considered safe for humans and pets. … You can deter bugs, especially spiders, from entering your home with white vinegar.
Combine 2 cups borax, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl, then roll into small balls. Place three balls into an unsealed sandwich bag and place the bags wherever your roach problem exists.
A mixture of ½ cup rubbing alcohol and 1 quart of liquid soap can make an effective pest control spray to get rid of whiteflies, aphids, mealy bugs, scale insects, and thrips. Fill a spray bottle, shake, and spritz directly on your plants.
Essential oils can also keep insects away. Citronella, lemongrass, sweet orange, lemon eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, and cinnamon are just a few of the oils known to repel summer bugs. There are several recipes available online for DIY bug repellants, yard sprays, candles, and diffuser blends.
- Peppermint Oil. Besides making your house smell wonderful, mint plants and peppermint oil naturally repel ants, spiders, mosquitoes and even mice. …
- Diatomaceous Earth (DE) …
- Neem Oil. …
- Flypaper and Insect Traps.
Once decorations are on display inside the home, some scented decorations – like potpourri – may attract “stored product pests,” like beetles. Prevent them from getting inside in the first place by sealing all cracks and crevices inside and outside your home.
Caulk is cheap, easy to apply and can go a long way towards keeping bugs out. Add caulk around window frames, as well as around any air intake or exhaust grilles. Use caulk to patch small cracks in foundations and siding, or use it to seal joints where the siding meets the roof or foundation.
Steam – Bed bugs and their eggs die at 122°F (50°C). The high temperature of steam 212°F (100°C) immediately kills bed bugs. Apply steam slowly to the folds and tufts of mattresses, along with sofa seams, bed frames, and corners or edges where bed bugs may be hiding.
A combination of half apple cider vinegar (although normal vinegar works just as well) and half water in a spray bottle works perfectly to repel those pests. This concoction can be sprayed around the perimeter of your home, on the legs of tables that have food served on them or even around a screen house or tent.
Tea tree oil is another natural roach repellent you can make at home. Mix 1/4 cup of tea tree oil and 1/4 cup of vinegar with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture in and around infested locations in your home.
Total release foggers, also known as “bug bombs,” are pesticide products containing aerosol propellants that release their contents at once to fumigate an area. These products are often used around the home to kill cockroaches, fleas, and other pests.
Mix 1 part oil of lemon eucalyptus or lavender essential oil with 10 parts witch hazel in the bottle. (For each drop of oil, use 10 drops of witch hazel.) Shake gently to mix. Spray to apply.
Mix 2.5 tablespoons of the Dawn dish soap and 2.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil with 1 gallon of warm soft water. The Dawn dish soap used in the recipe must not contain bleach, which could harm the plants. Furthermore, you should always use soft water when diluting pesticides.
After testing 20 spray repellents, we’ve concluded Sawyer Products Premium Insect Repellent is the best. It has a 20% picaridin formula, making it effective against mosquitoes and ticks for up to 12 hours.
What can’t vinegar do? In addition to being a great cleaning agent, vinegar is effective in deterring many types of pests.
- Invest in a Ceiling Fan or Portable Fans. …
- Clean Your Gutters. …
- Strategically Place Citronella Candles. …
- Tuck Tea Bags Under Your Deck. …
- Plant Marigolds. …
- Make Fly-Repelling Sachets or Potpourri. …
- Make Peppermint Cotton Balls. …
- Repel Pests with Your Fire Pit.
Luckily, this is one rumor that simply isn’t true. In fact, spiders are likely afraid of sleeping people, so there’s very little chance that they’ll be roaming all over your sleeping body. The vibrations that your body puts off while you’re sleeping serve as a warning to spiders to stay away.
Bugs like a nice home for the same basic reasons you do. They want food, water, and shelter. If they can find these in your house, they’ll move in. Bugs commonly found inside homes include ants, cockroaches, earwigs, firebrats, flies, house centipedes, silverfish, and spiders.
Roach Repellents Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Use pure vanilla extract to deter mosquitoes and gnats. Pure vanilla extract does the trick — anything else may attract bugs instead of repel them. Mix one tablespoon of vanilla extract with one tablespoon of water and apply to your skin with a cotton ball.
Cinnamon can repel bugs. Cinnamon is considered a natural bug repellent because “insects and other pests don’t like the smell of cinnamon, nor are they fond of its powdered texture,” explains pest control expert Natalie Barrett.