The reason for this? 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.
That is, some dryer sheets do have characteristics that repel some insects. The bugs that are theoretically most likely to shy away from the dryer sheets are certain mites, food-infesting beetles, and weevils, German cockroaches, and, according to one study, fungus gnats.
Dryer Sheets: Mostly False
Linalool is an alcohol derived from plants, and it gives dryer sheets their distinctive scent. In sufficient concentrations, linalool can indeed be used as a pest repellant, but your average dryer sheet doesn't contain enough of it to actually work on roaches.
It's a modern old-wives tale: put a Bounce dryer sheet in your pocket while gardening and it'll keep away the mosquitoes or gnats. This may seem a bit far-fetched to those of us who have never tried it, but researchers have now found that there could be some truth in it, when it comes to gnats, anyway.
Spiders and flies: Many of our readers have confirmed that dryer sheets will repel both spiders and flies. Keep a few extra sheets in clothes hampers and around the laundry area and you can kiss all those spiders goodbye.
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.
Spiders really don't like strong scents such as citrus, peppermint, tea-tree, lavender, rose or cinnamon. Add 15 to 20 drops of your chosen essential oil or a couple of capfuls of Zoflora fragrance to a spray bottle filled with water, and spritz around the house.
A recent study on bed bugs provided evidence that bed bugs are attracted to certain colors when they seek harborage sites or when foraging for a blood meal. In general, beg bugs preferred red and black, rather than yellow, orange, green, lilac and violet.
While there is no scientific research that proves a dryer sheet's effectiveness at repelling mosquitoes, there are none disproving it either. However, there are a few forums with people claiming that dryer sheets are useful as a second-choice repellent or as a quick DIY project.
Bed bugs hate scents such as lemon scents, cinnamon oil, neem oil, spearmint, and silicone. They will hide from you when you use these smells.
Sprinkle boric acid in areas the roaches frequent; when they walk through it, it sticks to them. They later ingest the boric acid, which then kills them. When using boric acid, be sure to limit your exposure; don't place it anywhere that children or pets might find it, as it's toxic when ingested.
Keep your luggage off the floor and on a luggage rack. Keep your luggage closed — and zipped — at all times. Keep food out of your suitcase, or at least keep it in tightly sealed containers. Throw away all cardboard boxes as soon as you get home.
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.
Do Dryer Sheets Keep Mice Out? Don't expect your box of Bounce to work any pest-control miracles. Dryer sheets don't deter mice. Baited traps won't solve a mouse problem, either.
And who wants an al-fresco lunch interrupted by ants marching onto the tabletop and all over your hot dogs? Luckily, you probably have something around the house that does a great job of repelling ants: dryer sheets.
Mosquitoes hate citronella, lemon eucalyptus, basil, and garlic. Ants and flies dislike mint, basil, and bay. Tiny gnats (such as No-See-Ums) are repelled by citronella, lemongrass, and rose geranium. Ticks and lice avoid lemon eucalyptus and geranium.
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.
Studies find that some dryer sheets do have characteristics that repel insects. However, the insects that are most likely to be repelled by dryer sheets are some mites, beetles, weevils and German cockroaches. Bounce dryer sheets are known to repel fungus gnats.
Get Rid of Dust and Hair
Use dry or dampened dryer sheets to wipe dust and hair off of blinds, shelves, ceiling fans, window screens, and even plants. For television and computer screens, a dry sheet will remove surface dust and decrease static electricity.
A bottle of peppermint essential oil is a natural repellent for bed bugs. Another effective natural repellent for these insects is peppermint oil. The fragrance of the essential oil contains menthol. Researchers have discovered menthol is especially effective at killing bed bugs and their eggs.
While unproven scientifically, it seems they may be more attracted to women than men for the purpose of feeding.
Which Paint Colors Repel Insects? Because bugs see colors on the UV spectrum, they cannot register hues of green or blue. Painters even use blue paint to repel bees and wasps. Painting your porch ceiling in a blue tone could repel wasps, leading to fewer wasp-eating spiders around your home!
Peppermint spray works wonders for keeping the corners of your home clear from daddy long legs. While it shouldn't be used to kill them, it is the perfect preventative treatment which happens to smell rather nice. Daddy long legs, also known as granddaddy long legs or harvestmen are known for their sensitive legs.
It's easy to keep spiders away using natural products. These eight-legged creatures hate the smell of citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges. They also don't like peppermint oils, tea tree oils, eucalyptus, and vinegar. Using any of these around your home will keep spiders away.