Dawn, a commonly used dish soap, contains surfactants that disrupt the exoskeleton of insects, leading to their dehydration and eventual death. This property makes it an effective bug repellent, as it can deter a wide range of insects, including flies, ants, and mosquitoes.
It turns out that soap and alcohol—the two main ingredients in Dawn Powerwash—are both great at killing insects. The soap clogs up insects' breathing tubes, essentially drowning them. Alcohol dries them out as well.
When mixed with water to make a soapy solution, Dawn dish soap breaks the ant trail scent, disrupting their movement and preventing an infestation build-up. Using Dawn dish soap delivers a near instant impact on the ants compared to slower working solutions like borax or vinegar-based repellents.
Use Dish Soap
The soap creates a film that suffocates the ladybugs upon contact. This solution can be sprayed directly on the insects or applied in areas where they congregate, offering a quick and environmentally friendly way to address a ladybug infestation.
Another natural spider repellent you can make from household supplies is a mixture of water and liquid dish soap. Dish soap disturbs the egg cycle of spiders, and the insects strongly dislike citrus scents like lemon, lime, or orange.
The smell of citrus fruits can repel ladybugs. Place orange peels or lemon peels around your home in areas where ladybugs are present. Bay leaves. Bay leaves are another natural insect repellent that can help to repel ladybugs.
Some gardeners purchase ready-to-use insecticidal soaps while others will make their own solutions using dish soap and water. If you are in the latter group, aim for a 2% soap solution: add just 2 teaspoons of dish soap to 1 pint of water.
Instructions. Mix 2 ounces of dish soap and 32 ounces of water in a spray bottle; use it to spray and remove the pheromone trail left behind by the ants. It also kills them on contact: "Dish soap sprayed directly on ants will kill ants by penetrating their exoskeleton, which suffocates them," he says.
Soap. Common household substances like glass cleaner, liquid dish detergent, and hand soap can deter ants by removing the scented pheromone trail that leads ants to the food sources. Mix spray-on glass cleaner and liquid dish detergent, then spray areas where ants congregate.
Dish soaps are usually applied to plants and grass diluted with water, typically in around 2-3 percent concentration. Experts recommend mixing a bit of vegetable oil with household liquid dish soap and water in a bottle and spraying it directly onto the affected areas of your lawn, then letting it soak in.
Mix three parts boric acid with one part powder sugar. The waterbugs will feast on the powdered sugar, and the boric acid will kill them.
Mix two tablespoons of Dawn dish soap with a gallon of water to make bug spray with Dawn dish soap. Transfer the solution into a spray bottle & utilize it as a spray for repelling mosquitoes.
While the complete “recipe” is inaccessible for the masses, a Dawn spokeswoman has pointed the magic to uniquely powerful surfuctants—or, the chemical compounds that reduce the surface tension of a liquid when it's dissolved, aka the stuff that cuts the grease.
1. Vinegar + Tea Tree. If you only see ants occasionally, you can try to deter then with a natural homemade ant repellent. Vinegar & tea tree oil have strong odors that control ants by masking their pheremone trails, and repelling them away from sprayed areas.
Unfortunately, it's not an instant knockout. It takes a bit of time for the baking soda to do its magic and wipe out the ant colony. When ants consume the baking soda mixed with a tempting treat, it gradually disrupts their digestive system, causing them to meet their untimely demise.
Cinnamon is often regarded as an effective DIY ant control option. It is believed that cinnamon acts as a natural repellent because ants cannot stand the smell. Also, if an ant inhales cinnamon, it can suffocate and die. Ground cinnamon can be sprinkled on an ant's pathway for them to inhale.
Vinegar is a contact herbicide, so you can unintentionally kill plants in your garden if you accidentally spray them with vinegar. Using vinegar as a weed killer works best on newer plants. "On more established plants, the roots may have enough energy to come back even if the leaves you sprayed have died.
The best time to water plants is in the morning or evening.
Morning watering is actually preferable to evening watering as the plant has time to dry before the sun goes down. At night, water tends to rest in the soil, around the roots, and on the foliage, which encourages rot, fungal growth, and insects.
Spray the plants with soapy water every few days, especially on the underside of the leaves. One tablespoon of dish soap or castile soap per gallon of water is enough. Spray with dish soap plus cayenne pepper and/or neem oil. Neem oil sprays are available at most garden centers.
Ladybugs do not like citronella or the smell of mint. Combine peppermint essential oil with water and spray around the areas Ladybugs gather. For exterior areas where they may be entering, spray plant oil based repellent like NBS 30 around entry points to help discourage them.
Lady beetles are attracted to light, the exteriors of light-colored homes and the heat that homes produce. To prevent lady beetles from entering your house, keep the lights around your home off when not in use, or use yellow "bug light" bulbs.
Plant Lavender or Mums
Keeping lavender and mums inside and outside your home is another all-natural way to ward off ladybugs, as they hate the scents of these plants.