10 Foods That Get Rid Of Insects At Home

Image by Mael BALLAND (Unsplashed)

Don’t we all just hate those annoying pests appearing at every corner of our house, or flying around like it’s their own house? We all have tried all the products those commercials always claim to be extremely effective, such as insect repellent spray, or creams, or even insect traps, but they’re either too expensive or they do not seem to be that effective. To be honest, if you want to prevent insects from entering your house at all, there are some general things you can simply do, such as:

• Keeping your house clean.

• Get rid of open water around your house.

• Don’t leave food open to the air.

• Don’t leave your door open wide.

• Keep your pets’ area clean.

But you really want to get rid of insects effectively and don’t want to spend too much money on them, you can simply use natural ingredients to do the work for you. Plus, they usually do not have a chemical-smelling odor like the repellents you buy outside. Here are just some natural ingredients that you can use to keep your house insect-free.

1. Herbs.

Herbs, such as bay leaves, mint, and basil, and so on, do not just make your soup or stew smell good, they are excellent at keeping insects away from your house! Although to us, the smell of herbs is able to make us salivate, most insects, especially ants, hate them. All you need to do is to crush the leaves of the herbs and leave them around your house where ants usually enter through, such as your door or windows. You can also plant the herbs close to your window, as they usually do not take up too much space, and plus, you get to have more free herbs to make your cooking smell better!

2. Pepper Flakes.

For all those people who love spiciness, this is great for you. Pepper flakes are not only hot for our taste, but they also scare ants away. It is the smell of the pepper flakes that repel ants, thus they wouldn’t even try to get close to where you decide to spray them around, which is usually around your door or window, where they can enter through. As their smell is strong enough, a little bit is enough to get the ants far away from your house.

3. White Vinegar.

White vinegar is known to have lots of great benefits, not just in cooking, but keeping your house clean, keeping things smell fresh, and also getting rid of insects. You just need to mix white vinegar and water with the ratio of 1:1 and keep the mixture in a spray bottle. Though this is effective to get rid of most insects, they are particularly great at getting rid of spiders and ants. Spray the mixture at the entrance point of ants, and places where spiders usually appear. Plus, white vinegar is effective in polishing wooden surfaces, which is a bonus.

4. Cornmeal.

Cornmeal is well known in the baking or frying department, but do you know that they are excellent in getting rid of ants? The thing is that ants are attracted to cornmeal, but do not turn your head away just yet. As much as they love cornmeal, ants actually have a problem digesting it. At first spraying cornmeal around the doors and windows at your house can make you disgusted when you see even more ants coming by, but be patient, they are just bringing the cornmeal back to their colony to feed the queen ant. Once the queen ant ate it, it would not be able to survive and the family line would end there.

5. Cinnamon.

Cinnamon is a great baking ingredient, but what they are also great for is their ability to repel insects. Due to their so-called “spiciness”, which insects despised, they help get those pests far away from your house. Try sprinkling cinnamon at doorways or windows of your house, and soon you’ll see lesser and lesser insects in your house.

6. Onion.

Onion doesn't just make us cry when we try to slice them, but they also make insects cry, metaphorically. As onions release a certain smell that insects do not like, it will help keep them away from your house. You can either plant onions outside of your house, or simply slice up an onion and soak it in a bowl of water, and place that near the entrance point for bugs to your house, such as beside your door. As it probably wouldn’t smell good, try to keep it outside of your house.

7. Garlic.

As garlic and onion are of the same plant family, garlic does emit a certain smell that chases insects away. Just like onions, you can choose to plant them, or you can make a mixture out of them. Try blending garlic to get a juicy form of it, and mix well together with water until it forms a watery mixture. Keep the mixture in a spray bottle, and spray at places where insects can get into your house. Although the smell wouldn’t be too pleasant, at least they keep pests away.

8. Cucumber.

Cucumber might not be the tastiest vegetable there is, but they do well when it comes to keeping your house insects free. They are extremely effective in getting rid of ants, cockroaches, and flies, surprisingly. Since cucumbers are pretty easily accessible and are cheap as well, they make a great substitution for other food on the list as insect repellent. Simply slice a medium thickness of cucumber and place them where these insects are usually seen, mostly around the kitchen counter. The only disadvantage is that they would rot and you might need to change them frequently.

9. Lemon Peels.

Lemon peels are great when it comes to getting rid of spiders and mosquitoes in your house. Most of the citrus fruits work as well, but lemon is the most effective among all the citrus fruits. All you need to do is to peel the skin off a lemon, or just squeeze the juice out and use the leftovers, and then rub the juice on places where spiders usually hang out, such as cupboards or your bathroom, and also rubbing it around the door to prevent mosquitoes. Lemon also provides a natural scent, where you don’t need to worry about your house having an odor.

10. Cayenne Pepper.

As most insects hate spiciness, using spices that are “hot” is really effective in preventing insects. Cayenne pepper is especially great when it comes to getting rid of flies. You can either sprinkle cayenne pepper around the windows close to your kitchen, or you can make a watery mixture by mixing the powder with water and keep them in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture around the window to your kitchen.

To maintain your house insect-free, you do not need any expensive insect repellent or anything that would take up a lot of your money. The food on the list is all much cheaper than actual insect repellent, they are easily accessible, and they serve you more than one purpose. Try using these ingredients for some time, and you’ll soon have a peaceful and clean house with no uninvited guests.

To end this article, here is a quote about having a clean house:

“Happiness is a freshly cleaned house.”