Ants, moths, and mosquitoes are some of the summer’s most persistent uninvited guests, yet they keep coming back, year after year, don’t they? Follow the following tips and you’ll be telling the bugs of summer, “Not this year suckers!”
For starters, when it comes to bugs, staying tidy really pays off.
Do you know what ants love? That bit of sugary drink you spilled on your counter. Clean up your messes right away! Mosquitos love standing water! These sinister blood suckers can lay eggs in as little water as a bottle cap. Make sure you don’t have any standing water in your yard. Moths like it when you don’t do your laundry. These fluttering figures are attracted to your lingering BO and clothes that go unwashed for too long are giving moths time to lay their eggs in there. Wash your clothes.
If you’re anti-ant, try this trick.
Ants hate cinnamon essential oil. In 2014, Malaysian scientists with MARA University of Technology studied cinnamon essential oil’s ability to repel—and even kill—ants. “In both repellency and insecticidal activity of ants,” the wordy scientists wrote, “cinnamon essential oil shown a positive result which can repel and kill ants at certain concentrations. The highest concentration of cinnamon essential oil gave the highest mortality and repellency percentage and will be the effective and environmentally benign agents in ants control.” That means this oil will kill ants but not you. Mix a few drops of cinnamon essential oil with about a cup of water and dip a cotton ball in the solution, rubbing it along places that you think ants might be trying to get it. After a few days of application, the solution should deter ants from coming into your home.
Moths hate smells most humans like.
There are three easy, nice-smelling ways to keep moths from gobbling up your favorite winter clothes during the summer months. Moths will avoid the scent of cedar, mint, and lavender. Look for natural cedar blocks, mothballs, or cedar shavings. Alternatively, you can put dry mint leaves directly in your clothes, or put them in a bag where their smell can ward off the moths. Finally, you can look for lavender essential oils, putting a few drops on a cotton ball, or just go for dried lavendar, similar to how you’d use the dry mint.
Make mosquitos mad with this tip.
Even the CDC is coming around to recognizing that lemon eucalyptus oil is an effective ingredient for keeping mosquitoes at bay. If you want an effective bug spray but you don’t want to mess with intense chemicals like DEET, picaridin, and IR3535, look for a brand that has oil of lemon eucalyptus as the active ingredient. Alternatively, you can use this essential oil to make your own repellant candle. In a mason jar, combine sliced lemon and lime with two sprigs of rosemary and about 10 drops of lemon eucalyptus oil. Fill the jar with water and gently place a floating tea candle atop the water and enjoy the pleasant smell without being harassed by those thirsty bloodsuckers! Not this year blood suckers!
