Pests can enter the house at any time, even if you clean regularly. Don’t want to use chemical pesticides? Then choose these unexpected remedies.
Kitchen remedies against insects
You may not expect it, but a number of ingredients have a repellent effect on insects. They don’t like the smell or the taste, so they stay far away from the ingredient, and therefore also from the place where it is located. This way you can combat insects in a natural way. And the best part is that you have it at home anyway.
1. Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains the substance cinnamaldehyde, which makes it difficult for ants to navigate to their food and return to the ant nest. The smell of cinnamon makes ants reluctant to be around it.
2. Coffee grounds
You can do a lot with coffee grounds: remove unpleasant odors, clean, but also get rid of pests. Not only in the garden, but also in the house. Snails and ants do not like this smell because they lose their scent trail. Ants also don’t like the texture of coffee grounds. Sprinkle some of the coffee grounds where you see the insects most often and they will be gone in no time.
3. Garlic
Garlic has a very strong taste and smell, which we as humans like. But insects? They don’t want to know anything about it. For example, mosquitoes and ants depend on common food odors, pheromones and carbon dioxide. The smell of garlic is so strong that it deters the insects, causing them to keep their distance. Crush or crush a few cloves of garlic and place them where insects often come: they disappear like snow in the sun.
4. Vinegar
Vinegar is a miracle product for the home: it cleans the house, makes unpleasant odors disappear, makes clothes stain-free and keeps unwanted critters at bay. How do you do that? Mix one part vinegar with one part water: you use the same ingredients. Mix this in a glass and cover it with plastic wrap. Then you poke a hole in the top and make sure that the solution is spread around the glass just a little bit. Insects love this until they can no longer get out of the glass and drown in the mixture.
5. Chili powder
Chili peppers contain capsaicin: this substance is known for giving the peppers their pungency, but also as a natural remedy against pests. Foods containing chili peppers are often avoided by insects and mites due to the strong smell and taste of the peppers. Do you want to get rid of insects in your home? Then put a pepper in the kitchen. Make sure you don’t do this outside, as it can damage beneficial insects and bees.
