Cedarwood Essential Oil has a long history of being used to repel insects. It can help protect stored items from moths, silverfish, and other damaging insects while also helping to keep fleas, mites, and lice at bay. Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil works to keep many bugs away, especially wasps, ants, and spiders.
Aromatherapy diffusers are fantastic at diluting essential oils into the air over time. Not only do they give off a great scent and are easy to prepare, they are also a great tool for deterring bugs (similar to bug repellent candles).
Lavender has been used as a natural bug repellent for hundreds of years. It will keep mozzies away from you, and moths out of your linen. It will also work against flies, fleas, and black beetles. To make a body spray, mix a few drops of Lavender Oil with a good quality carrier oil, such as Grapeseed.
Not only does peppermint oil repel ants, it also repels spiders. In fact, peppermint keeps most pests away, including aphids, beetles, caterpillars, fleas, flies, lice, mice and moths.
Try mixing a few drops of peppermint oil with some hot water and place it in a spray bottle. A good ratio is 5 to 10 drops of essential oil per ounce of water. Use the mixture to spray down countertops, furniture, curtains and blinds and hard-to-reach areas of the home where insects are often present.
It's not exactly clear why, but bugs — such as mosquitos — find this scent super offensive. One study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine found that applying peppermint oil on just one arm of a participant, protected both of his or her arms from mosquito bites for up to 150 minutes.
Invest in eucalyptus trees
And while the scent is not as powerful as the oil, these plants will still help keep insects at bay. Lindsey suggests that eucalyptus trees can help keep insects away as they will create a 'barrier between your home and the insects.
Clove, peppermint, thyme, rosemary, and citronella oil are just a few essential oils that can help keep bugs away.
3—It's a Natural Bug Repellent
Frankincense has long been used to drive away mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects. Mosquitos don't like it. Burning it keeps these bugs away. The Egyptians fumigated wheat silos and repelled wheat moths with it.
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.
In short, they hate these natural essences. Peppermint in particular has a strong scent bed bugs can't take. Spraying an ample amount of diluted peppermint around your bedframe or mattress can help keep bed bugs at bay while you're enjoying your well deserved sleep.
Lavender has a pleasant scent that comes from the essential oils in the leaves of the plant, but the bugs hate it. Hang some dried lavender in your closet and you won't have to worry about moths eating your clothes.
99% of dust mites can be eliminated from your bedding by the simple addition of a long soak in Eucalyptus essential oil.” The research work with this eucalyptus oil solution for dust mites was done at the University of Sydney in Australia.
However, the oil present in eucalyptus goes even further than being a mosquito-repellent. Eucalyptus oil has been proven to repel roaches, ants, flies, spiders, lice, and more.
What Smells Do Bugs Hate? In general, pesky biting bugs seem to have a strong aversion to scents like peppermint, citrus and eucalyptus type scents.
Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray out of. It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others. Creating a mix is quite simple. What's best is that it is safe for humans and pets.
Peppermint is the ultimate way to get rid of wasps, roaches, and mice inside and outside of your home. One study even found that peppermint and other essential oils could be an even better repellant (especially for mosquitos) than drugstore power-sprays.
Many liquid potpourri products and essential oils, including oil of cinnamon, citrus, pennyroyal, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, tea tree (melaleuca), wintergreen, and ylang ylang, are poisonous to dogs. Both ingestion and skin exposure can be toxic.
Combine water and peppermint oil in a spray bottle. Shake bottle before use and spray the solution around entry spots such as windowsills and door frames, or places where insects may hide. The strong odor acts as a repellent.
To create a peppermint oil insect repellent, you can use any of the following combinations: Combine a 1:4 ratio of peppermint oil and rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, or white vinegar into a plastic spray bottle. Shake it up and then spray the mixture wherever you see ants, roaches, or other pests.