You probably already have a few of these natural repellents in your pantry.
By Briana Riddock Updated May 02, 2018
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The kitchen is a natural breeding ground for insects. Crumbs that fall to the floor or get stuck in the corners welcome unwanted pesky critters into your home. Even fruits that are left out for a little too long attract those annoying fruit flies that seem to multiple within seconds. Obviously, the last thing that you want to do is spray your kitchen—the place where you prepare your food—with harsh chemicals to get rid of bugs. The good news is, you don’t have to; there are a handful of common pantry items that can help in evicting the creepy crawlers from your home. And with the increasing variety and accessibility of non-toxic products on the market, you can also purchase natural bug repellent sprays that are safe to use around your family and pets.
As a general preventive measure, it’s important to seal any visible openings in your home that leave space for bugs to enter. Open spaces can include gaps around your door frames, cracks in the window seal and any small holes in the wall. Even a leaky faucet, open drains, and loose pipes can be an entry point for bugs, so tighten up. They get in wherever they fit in—and anyone who’s ever struggled with an insect infestation knows, they are determined. Also, regularly taking out the trash, sweeping the floors, vacuuming carpets, and cleaning out the garbage disposal will help keep the pests away. If you dread the sight of creepy crawlies scurrying across the kitchen floor when you flip the lights on, try protecting your home with a few of these natural remedies.
Bay Leaves
Bay leaves have the surprising power to repel many pests that may hide in your pantry. Bugs despise the pungent smell of the leaves in both fresh and dried from. To protect your pantry's dried goods, be sure to store them in thick, airtight plastic containers topped with a bay leaf. You can also add dried bay leaves to food items stored in plastic bags such rice, grains, and cereal.
Hot Pepper Wax Insect Spray
This natural spray uses the power of capsaicin extracted from cayenne pepper, along with refined paraffin wax, to repel bugs. The spray is most effective again soft-bodied insects like aphids, cabbage loopers, beet armyworms, spider mites, and whiteflies. The product is delicate enough to spray on houseplants and can easily add a layer of protection in hard-to-reach corners around your kitchen. Capsaicin can be irritating to your eyes, so remember to wear protective wear as you apply the spray.
Essential Oils
Essential oils have practical uses in the kitchen when you mix them into a water-based solution. Lemongrass, citrus, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree, citronella, catnip, and lavender oils all possess properties that repel bugs. The oils can be used individually or combined to make a simple anti-bug potion. Mix about 1 cup of water with 25-30 total drops of oil into a small spray bottle. Shake well and spray crevices in your kitchen where the bugs might be entering from. Bonus: Your kitchen will smell lovely.
Basil
Buy a basil plant for both pest control and culinary purposes—it’s the best of both worlds. You can easily find basil plants in a local garden shop or in the produce section of most grocery stores; simply transfer it to a small pot and keep it on your kitchen counter. Basil is wonderfully fragrant and tasty in recipes, but many insects can’t stand the smell and are naturally repelled by it. (Fun Fact: Rosemary bushes planted outdoors have a similar effect on mosquitos.)
Vinegar
It’s not exactly a secret that vinegar is a tried-and-true cleaning agent in the kitchen. When you combine white distilled or apple cider vinegar in a bowl or glass with a few drops of dishwashing detergent, you have a natural remedy against fruit flies. Cover your container of the solution with plastic wrap or foil and poke small holes into the surface with a toothpick in order to create a trap for the flies.
Diatomaceous Earth (Food-grade)
Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring substance sourced from fossilized diatoms (plankton). It has numerous valuable uses, such as purifying water, detoxing the body, improving bone density, and removing toxins from the skin. And most importantly (for the purposes of this article), diatomaceous earth helps to kill insects in your home because of its ability to dry out the external layer of a bug’s “skin” causing it to dehydrate and die. Diatomaceous earth is safe for human consumption, however, be sure to purchase from a reputable source with a food-grade label.
FAQs
Lemongrass, citrus, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree, citronella, catnip, and lavender oils all possess properties that repel bugs. The oils can be used individually or combined to make a simple anti-bug potion. Mix about 1 cup of water with 25-30 total drops of oil into a small spray bottle.
What is the best homemade insect repellent? ›
Combine 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, and 40 drops of rosemary oil in a spray bottle and shake well. "If you don't like the smell of rosemary, you can also try lavender," says says Harlow-Ellis.
How do I keep my kitchen bug free? ›
Eliminate all moisture sites, including leaking pipes and clogged drains. Seal cracks and crevices on the outside of the home and around the kitchen, especially around stove and water pipes. If you suspect a pest infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest professional to inspect, identify and treat the problem.
What smell do all bugs hate the most? ›
Bugs hate the smells associated with repellency, such as lavender, citronella, vinegar, peppermint, and geranium. These oils are considered a natural way of driving away bugs from your home without harming you, your family, and other animals.
What smell do bugs hate? ›
Eucalyptus and Citronella
Citronella oil has a yellowish-brown color and smells of grass and trees. On the other hand, eucalyptus oil is derived from the leaves of a eucalyptus tree. Citronella and eucalyptus oil may differ in color and source but share the same insect-repelling properties.
What vinegar repels bugs? ›
Apple cider vinegar for pest control: Apple cider vinegar can be used to repel and eliminate common pests. It works at eliminating pests that are indoors and outdoors. A lot of people use apple cider vinegar to eliminate fruit flies from the house, which is done using a fruit fly vinegar trap.
What is the number one natural insect repellent? ›
Citronella
Citronella is a common natural and effective essential oil that works against mosquitoes. Made from a mix of herbs, it's an ingredient in many mosquito repellents. When outdoors, citronella candles can provide up to 50 percent extra protection.
What is the strongest insect repellent? ›
Picaridin (mosquitoes, ticks, flies): Effective against the greatest range of insects, this chemical is a synthetic version of a repellent found in pepper plants. Maximum protection is provided in formulations with 20 percent picaridin.
How to make homemade bug spray for humans? ›
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.
How do I get rid of bugs in my kitchen pantry? ›
Temperature control: Some pantry bugs can't survive in high heat, so store your food in airtight containers and put them in the freezer for a few days to kill any bugs that may be present. 4. Vacuum: Use a vacuum cleaner to suck up any visible bugs, and then discard the vacuum bag immediately.
Baking soda is often used as an alternative pest control solution for pests such as co*ckroaches, bed bugs or ants. But the reality is that baking soda for pest control is not effective. Baking soda does not dehydrate insects or cut them despite claims to the contrary.
What smell kills all bugs? ›
Most pests cannot stand the smell of peppermint oil, even though a lot of humans love it. It's also toxic to many insects. Leaving traces of it around the house, particularly in 'hot spots' that tend to attract a lot of pests, can kill some pests and cause others to leave.
How do you keep bugs away permanently? ›
Repair any holes in drywall and caulk gaps around floor molding where insects can invade your home from neighboring units. Patch holes and loose edges on window and door screens. And be sure to keep windows and doors closed if they do not have screens. Repair gaps around pipes, air conditioners, and dryer vents.
Does aluminum foil repel insects? ›
Aluminum Foil
Tear off a few pieces of the foil and shred the aluminum up into a multitude of pieces. Mix the shredded aluminum foil into the mulch of your garden. The foil will reflect light up onto your plants, deterring any insects and other pests from feeding off the elements inside your garden.
What homemade solution kills bugs? ›
Use one part vinegar (apple cider or white) to three parts water to create a sprayable solution. Add a few drops of mild dish soap to help the solution stick. Add to a sprayer bottle and apply to the base of infested plants. Treat the leaves directly if heavily infested.
Does vinegar keep bugs away? ›
Both apple cider vinegar and white vinegar are a good base for an insect repellent, as they deter flies and, combined with specific essential oils, will deter mosquitoes and ticks as well. Oils that have excellent repellent properties include geranium, lemongrass, citronella, rosemary and lavender.
What smell do household bugs hate? ›
The Natural Scents That Bugs Can't Stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass, and tea tree oil and neem are natural scents that bugs cannot stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus have strong aromatic properties that repel bugs due to their high levels of menthol and cineole.
Does vinegar get rid of bugs in house? ›
Vinegar can sometimes be effective; however, using vinegar for pest control is generally a short-term effort to control pests since it is not effective as a long-term treatment against serious pest infestations and will not keep pests completely away from your property.
