Keep insects away with peppermint oil. Before you reach for the chemical-laden bug spray and store-bought insect repellents, there's a natural solution you can try—peppermint. Insects hate peppermint.
Rosemary, thyme, basil, and mint have scents that bugs dislike. Mosquitoes, cockroaches, and stinging insects try to avoid these herbs.
Citronella, lemongrass, sweet orange, lemon eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, and cinnamon are just a few of the oils known to repel summer bugs.
Create a fly and wasp repellent.
Upstairs Downstairs Cleaning says that you can use full-strength Pine-Sol as an insecticide or a 4:1 Pine-Sol to water solution spray for staving off wasps and other stinging insects—just steer clear of honeybees!
Most dryer sheets contain the ingredient linalool, which can be found in plants like lavender, basil, and coriander, all of which naturally repel common garden pests. Similar studies found that this ingredient is also useful for repelling bugs like mites, weevils, beetles, and German cockroaches.
Acetic acid makes vinegar an excellent tool for pest control, repelling some of the most common backyard nuisances and even killing weaker insects. It's most effective against ants, spiders, and mosquitos. You can keep spiders from entering your home by spraying vinegar around your property's perimeter and entryways.
Torches, in combination with citronella candles near your seating area, are a great way to keep bugs at bay while providing just the right ambiance for nights outdoors. If you do install torches, be sure to follow these guidelines for safe use: Position torches at least six feet away from the house.
Those most closely associated with repellency are citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, and catnip oil, but others include clove oil, patchouli, peppermint, and geranium.
If you want to manage a pest infestation, you will want to use the household products that kill pests. Cornmeal or borax baits for ants, diatomaceous earth dusting for crawling pests, vinegar traps for flies, Windex for spiders, and other lethal solutions will give you the chance for getting rid of pests.
Make an All-Purpose Insect Repellent
Lemongrass or citronella oil, and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. 1 cup isopropyl alcohol, 1 cup water, ½ tsp. catnip oil. 1 cup alcohol or witch hazel and 10-20 drops of essential oils such as lemongrass, peppermint, or lemon eucalyptus.
Deter bugs, especially spiders, from entering your home with white vinegar. All you have to do is mix water with the vinegar in a spray bottle and spray around the edges of your windows, both inside and out (if possible).
One of the easiest homemade bug sprays, simply mix one cup of white vinegar, at Walmart, with three cups of water. You can also add half a teaspoon of dishwashing soap to help the solution adhere. Shake thoroughly and apply to the affected areas.
Deter Insects
We may be fans of Vicks, but insects decidedly are not. Dab a bit on your arms, legs, neck, or other areas of exposed skin to keep bugs (including mosquitoes) at bay, however, it is not as effective at preventing bites as a commercial insect repellant.
Common essential oils such as lavender, citronella, lemon, or eucalyptus all naturally repel bugs. They don't like the smell! Even peppermint oil, which smells amazing to most humans, is abhorrent to bugs. Since essential oils are corrosive to human skin when applied directly, it's best to dilute them.
While cinnamon won't kill beetles and bugs, they dislike the smell. The powder stops them from clinging to seeds, so it works well against lots of weevil species including flour, wheat, bean, maize, and oak nut weevil breeds. Put cinnamon leaves in the bags of grains and flour.
This spray is great for outdoor and indoor use. Flies seem to HATE pine-sol. To make the fly repelling spray, mix the original Pine-Sol with water, at a ratio of 50/50 and put it in a spray bottle. Use to wipe counters or spray on the porch and patio table and furniture to drive the flies away.
A: We do not recommend mixing any Pine-Sol® product with other cleaning products or chemicals. Mixing cleaners can result in the release of hazardous gases.
Flies tend to dislike the smell of Pine Sol, citronella, peppermint oil, and clove oil. You will find that many DIY bug spray recipes use these ingredients in some way. What is this? You will notice that these are all strong and distinct scents that are repulsive for flies, but rather pleasant for people!