Grapefruit and Orange - Citrus fruits contain a chemical compound called nootkatone and while this may be your first time hearing of it, it is very effective at repelling insects. Grapefruit has the highest levels of this wonderful compound, but orange or lemon work too.
Clove, peppermint, thyme, rosemary, and citronella oil are just a few essential oils that can help 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.
Lemongrass contains an oil called citronella, a common mosquito repellent. Swap your summer glass of lemonade for a chilled glass of lemongrass tea or carefully use lemongrass oil on your skin for a quick mosquito repellent. Have mosquitoes set up shop in your backyard?
You can deter some common pests, especially ants, by spraying vinegar on and around your windows. Ants can fit through the smallest gaps in window screens or even between the screen and frame. By spraying vinegar outside your window and its frame, you can deter ants before they become a problem.
Cinnamon acts on pests mainly as a repellent, although in higher doses it has a biocidal effect and prevents egg-laying.
Essential oils such as peppermint, citronella, and eucalyptus have natural insect-repelling properties. Mix a few drops of your favorite essential oil with water in a spray bottle and use it to spray around your patio or furniture.
Garlic and Lemon Juice Are Good for More Than Just Flavors
Most bugs are offended by the scent of allicin, a component found in garlic. The acidity and odor of lemon juice serve as an unpleasant boundary no bug wants to walk across.
Steam cleaning or washing items in hot water is a sure-fire way to kill and eliminate mites of all types. Use a steam cleaner to heat treat your carpeting, furniture and bedding. Wash the bed spreads and your clothing and other such fabrics in hot water and dry clean them at a high temperature.
In the laboratory experiments more than 80% of mites were killed after immersion in 0.2% and 0.4% solutions of eucalyptus oil for 30 and 60 minutes (Fig. 1).
For control, we recommend two different species of predatory mites: persimilis and fallacis, and also the small beetle Stethorus. Persimilis is the main predator of spider mites and is the only one that will go directly into the webbing to eat them.
Vinegar - Can repel a variety of pests including bird mites can be safely used on farms. You can mix white vinegar with a few drops of extremely important oil like peppermint and get a powerful spray ready for bird mites.
Although they may “hitchhike” on clothing, dust mites do not live on people. They feed primarily on dander, flakes of dead skin that fall from people and animals.
What can't vinegar do? In addition to being a great cleaning agent, vinegar is effective in deterring many types of pests. Ants despise the smell of vinegar, and vinegar will wipe out the scent trails they leave around the house to navigate.
Luckily, nature provides a salve to its own stings, at least in this respect: While insects can be attracted to a range of scents and perfumes, peppermint acts as a natural pesticide, due to its primary active ingredient, menthol.
Insect Repellent
Most bugs have a very strong sense of smell. Since coffee grounds are very potent, it's a perfect repellent to fight off those pests. According to the EPA, coffee grounds are most potent when they are burned.
Cinnamon is considered a natural bug repellent because "insects and other pests don't like the smell of cinnamon, nor are they fond of its powdered texture," explains pest control expert Natalie Barrett.
How to Use Cinnamon to Repel Insects. To make a cinnamon insect repellent, sprinkle the powder in target areas. Or mix it in a spray bottle with clove powder, rubbing alcohol, and water or carrier oil. Spritz around bug hotspots.
Defend Against Insects
A light coating of WD-40 on doorframes, screens, and window sills keeps bugs from crawling into your home. If they find another way in, a quick shot immediately kills most problematic insects.
Trap Fruit Flies and Aphids With Vinegar
Fruit flies and aphids find the smell of vinegar irresistible. If fruit flies or aphids are a nuisance in your home, yard or outdoor buildings, half fill a small bowl with apple cider vinegar and cover it over tightly with plastic wrap.
The acid in vinegar is harmful to a wide variety of insects, such as spiders. It can be sprayed directly to kill them or diluted and sprayed around the home to prevent pests from congregating in your kitchen, near entrances, or around other bug hotspots.