Last week we noticed ants in our kitchen. They were on the countertops and around the kitchen sink. First I tried sprinkling cinnamon but the ants found a different route and didn’t go away. But here’s something that really worked: Peppermint Essential Oil.
All I did was put two or three drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and positioned it where I saw the most ants. I did this at night, right before bed time. The next morning I only saw two ants on the counters. The following day, however, NO ant was in sight and I haven’t seen any since. I don’t think this was a coincidence. And since it worked so well on ants, I figured mosquitoes may not like it either.
When I am out mowing the lawn or painting the house, I usually end up with at least three bug bites on my legs and arms. Since I have started spraying my exposed body parts with my mixture of peppermint oil and witchhazel, I have not seen any bug bites on me, even though I am out there for hours. I don’t think that’s a coincidence either.
In the past I have tried other homemade bug sprays made with vanilla, baby oil and something else ( I can’t remember), but they didn’t work. I guess I’ll stick with my peppermint oil spray.
I did some further research and found that spiders REALLY dislike peppermint oil. I think I’ll add peppermint oil to my homemade cleaning supplies or even air freshener.
My Peppermint Oil Bug Repellent
In a spray bottle mix 4 oz of witchhazel with 20-30 drops of peppermint oil.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on homemade bug repellents. What works and what doesn’t?