Natural Ways to Get Rid of Insects in Your Home
Keeping bugs out of your home without filling every room with harsh chemicals is possible. If you live with kids or pets, this matters even more.
Many store-bought sprays and foggers are designed to kill fast, but they can also leave strong residue on floors, furniture, and even food surfaces.
The good news is that you can start with simple, low-toxicity methods that make your space less attractive to insects in the first place.
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Below, we’ll walk through the most common household pests and how to manage them using practical, safe habits.
Ants
If you are seeing ants marching across your kitchen counter, they are there for one main reason: food. Ants love anything sweet, oily, or sticky, and once they find it, they leave a scent trail for others to follow.
The first step is always to clean up spills, crumbs, and open food. Wipe surfaces with vinegar and water. Vinegar helps remove that invisible scent trail so the rest of the colony cannot follow.
You can also try light natural deterrents. Ants dislike strong smells like lemon juice, cinnamon, peppermint, and vinegar.
Wipe entry points (baseboards, window frames, under doors) with lemon juice or diluted vinegar. You can place a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton ball near problem areas.
This does not kill the colony, but it often stops new ants from coming in.
Prevention tip: Store sugary foods in sealed containers. Fix tiny gaps around windows, pipes, and baseboards with caulk so ants cannot keep finding a way back in.
House Flies
House flies are annoying, and nobody wants them buzzing around while they are cooking.
Flies usually come in when doors or windows are left open, or when they are attracted by trash, food scraps, or pet waste.
One common trick in some homes is hanging a clear plastic bag of water near doors. The idea is that light reflections confuse flies and discourage them from hovering in that area.
Results are mixed, but many people say it helps at least reduce how many get in.
What always helps is basic sanitation. Keep kitchen trash covered, clean the area around the garbage can, and scoop outdoor pet waste regularly. Do not leave dishes soaking overnight if you can avoid it.
Natural repellent tip: Flies dislike certain strong herbal scents. Placing fresh basil, mint, or bay leaves near entry points can help as a gentle deterrent.
Fruit Flies and Kitchen Gnats
Tiny flies around your bananas, sink, or compost bin are usually fruit flies or gnats. They are attracted to ripening fruit, damp sponges, sink drains, and even a little juice spill that dried under the blender.
The fastest home method is a simple vinegar trap.
Fill a small glass with apple cider vinegar and add one drop of dish soap. The sweet smell attracts them, and the soap breaks the surface tension so they sink.
Leave one of these near your fruit bowl or kitchen sink and replace it every day or two.
Very important: Do a quick clean-up of whatever is feeding them. Rinse produce when you bring it home. Do not leave overripe fruit uncovered on the counter.
Take out food scraps daily, and wipe sticky spots on the counter and under small appliances.
If the flies keep coming back from the drain, pour hot water down the drain followed by a little baking soda and vinegar. This helps break up the residue where they can lay eggs.
Stink Bugs (Not Bed Bugs)
If you have brown, shield-shaped bugs that release a bad smell when crushed, those are stink bugs.
They tend to sneak indoors when the weather changes because they are looking for warmth. The easiest and cleanest way to deal with them is physical removal, not spray.
You can fill a container or bucket with warm water and a small amount of dish soap, then gently knock the bugs into it.
The soapy water traps them. You can also use a vacuum, but be aware that the smell can linger in the vacuum canister.
Prevention tip: Stink bugs often come in through cracks around windows, torn screens, door frames, or gaps in siding. Sealing those entry points makes a big difference.
Check the areas where cables, dryer vents, or pipes enter your home and close any openings.
Important note: Stink bugs are not the same as bed bugs. Bed bugs live in mattresses and bite humans. Stink bugs are mostly just a smelly nuisance and prefer plants, not you.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches make most people feel uncomfortable, and that is completely normal. They can spread bacteria and trigger allergies, so you should not ignore them.
The first line of defense is not actually a spray. It is cleaning, sealing, and removing what attracts them.
Roaches love crumbs, grease, standing water, and clutter. Wipe stovetops and counters at night, sweep or vacuum the floor where you eat, and avoid leaving pet food out overnight.
Fix any slow leaks under sinks. Roaches also enter through gaps around pipes and baseboards, so sealing those gaps is a big step.
For light roach activity, some people use boric acid or food-grade diatomaceous earth in small amounts in hidden areas such as behind the fridge or under the sink.
These powders can be effective because they harm the insects when they walk through them. However, you should not leave these where kids or pets can touch or lick them. Use them in cracks and crevices only.
When to call a professional: If you are seeing roaches in daylight, or in multiple rooms, that usually means there is a larger infestation behind walls. At that point, natural methods alone may not be enough.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are not just annoying. Their bites can make evenings on the patio miserable. The most important step is to remove what attracts them: standing water.
Mosquitoes breed in very small amounts of water, even something like a tray under a plant pot or a forgotten bucket in the yard.
Walk around and empty anything that collects rainwater. Change outdoor pet water bowls often. Clean gutters so water does not sit there.
Indoors, mosquitoes are less common, but they can still fly in through open doors or torn screens.
For gentle repellents, many people like natural scents such as citrus, citronella, eucalyptus, or peppermint. These strong smells can help keep mosquitoes and even some flies away from seating areas.
Fans are also surprisingly effective outdoors, because mosquitoes are weak fliers and do not like moving air.
At night, if you like to sleep with a window open, make sure the screen has no gaps. One tiny tear is enough.
Fleas
If you share your home with a dog or cat and you are seeing itchy bites around your ankles, you may be dealing with fleas.
Fleas are frustrating because they do not just sit on the pet. They also live in carpets, furniture, and tiny cracks in the floor.
Start with a deep vacuum of rugs, couches, pet beds, and baseboards. Immediately empty the vacuum afterward.
Wash pet bedding and throw blankets in hot water. Regular cleaning does a lot of the work by physically removing eggs and larvae.
Some people then use food-grade diatomaceous earth in cracks along the baseboards or under furniture.
This powder can dry out fleas over time. Again, only use it where your pet will not lick or inhale it directly. Lightly apply it, leave it for a short period, then vacuum.
If the fleas keep coming back, talk to your vet about safe treatment for your pet. Treating the pet is essential, because if fleas keep hitchhiking in on the animal, the house will never fully clear.
Keeping Your Home Bug-Free the Safe Way
The goal is not to spray every corner of your home with harsh chemicals. The goal is to make your home less attractive to insects in the first place. Small daily habits give you a lot of control.
Keep food sealed, wipe up crumbs and sticky spills, and take out kitchen trash regularly. Rinse produce, especially fruit that will sit on the counter.
Do a quick check for standing water if you spend time outdoors. Seal the little gaps around windows, pipes, doors, and baseboards so pests cannot keep walking in.
Natural methods like vinegar traps, citrus and peppermint deterrents, soapy water for stink bugs, and careful use of diatomaceous earth can handle many light infestations.
These approaches are usually enough for occasional ants, fruit flies, or a couple of stink bugs looking for warmth.
However, be honest about the scale. If you are seeing cockroaches during the day, fleas everywhere in the carpet, or mosquitoes breeding in large numbers outside, it is completely okay to call a professional.
Your health, your comfort, and your peace of mind matter more than trying to handle a full infestation by yourself.
A clean space, sealed entry points, and smarter habits are your best long-term insect control strategy. That way, you protect your home while also protecting the people and pets who live in it.
We hope you enjoy watching this video about how to get rid of insects in your home!
Source: BRIGHT SIDE
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