Last Updated on June 25, 2022
A lot has been attributed to vinegar. It has been famed as one of the most essential cleaning products that can be used to get the shine out of anything it is used in. The same feat was recorded in fumigation where it can be used to get rid of dandelions in the dawn, wash throw pillows, and remove slime from the couch. Amidst all those fascinating properties is the possibility of using vinegar to keep away bugs. Is this possible? Read further to see if it can be achieved!
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Vinegar Keeps Away and Attracts Bugs
When you talk about bugs, you are looking at those pests that can be harmful to you and the immediate environment. We are looking at the likes of insects, bedbugs, and mosquitoes. In answering the question “Does Vinegar Keep Bugs Away?” you need to understand that there are two sides to this coin.
On the one hand, vinegar has been proven effective in deterring insects and ants, especially when the solution is applied to surfaces. On the hand, you may be attracting more bugs than you keep away when you place a container of vinegar at a vantage position, such as close by a fruit fly infestation.
How You Can Use Vinegar to Keep Bugs Away
You want to know how you can set about the task of keeping away insects and other kinds of pests using vinegar. Below are some of the options you can try:
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Apple Cider Vinegar with Few Drops of Dish Soap
Apple cider vinegar continually proves to be one of the most reliable forms of vinegar. Therefore, you want to use it to keep away bugs in your home. The rule of thumb is to mix it with a few drops of dish soap and position the same at a place where ants and other bugs can smell and nudge close to it. The idea is that once the ants are drawn to and touch the vinegar mixture, they wouldn’t be able to escape afterwards.
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Trapping Aphids and Fruit Flies
Do you find the incursion of aphids and fruit flies impossible to control with other methods other than using vinegar? Then it is high time you make use of vinegar to get rid of them. When you are ready to go about it, the first thing to do is to pour some sizeable quantities of apple cider vinegar into a small bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap. You can then create artificial openings by punching some small holes atop the plastic wrap.
Once that has been done, proceed to locate the point of fruit fly infestation in your home and place the bowl there. Buoyed by the scent of the vinegar emitted through the holes you made on the plastic wrap, aphids and fruit flies would make efforts to dive into the bowl to get at the vinegar. Of course, when they do so, they remain put because they can never escape.
Ideally, the longer the insects stay inside the bowl and unable to fly out, the more their strengths start to diminish. In the end, you would have a bowl full of dead bugs. Wash out the mixture and the bowl and repeat the same process to trap more bugs.
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Repel Ants Using Ants
Ants have a coordinated system when it comes to sourcing for food. Ideally, the first set of ants would leave behind some scent trails, which would be used by other oncoming ants to locate where there is food. Consider a scenario where your kitchen is the primary source of food for ants in your neighbourhood.
In this case, you want to use a vinegar solution to spray or wipe down the surfaces with the scent trails. Doing so makes it hard for oncoming ants to take the same path as the former did. It also makes it difficult for ants to take that route the next time. Note that this format is only a temporal solution and should be repeated as long as you want to keep the movement of ants at bay.
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Spider Repellent
Spiders can also constitute a nuisance in your home. You have to keep them away! Here, you’ve got two options to use vinegar or to make use of orange peel.
On the one hand, you can use white vinegar and water mixed into a solution using a 50/50 ratio. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray along the entrances and exterior of your home. Because of the sour taste and odour emitted by the solution, it would be challenging for spiders to flock around your home.
On the other hand, you may want to use the alternative – usage of orange peel. In this case, you are to soak about four (4) pieces of orange peel into a cup of vinegar. Allow the solution to stay overnight before you mix and start spraying the solution in the desired areas.
How To Spray Vinegar
Ideally, you have two formats of applying vinegar as a way of keeping away bugs. The first is by purchasing bottled vinegar from grocery stores. That way, you would cut down the time you could have spent in making one.
However, if you prefer the longer route of making vinegar at home, you need to be sure that the relevant ingredients are handy and in their right quantities too. When it comes to this too, you would be looking at the different procedures of mixing either of the white vinegar or the apple cider vinegar. For the white vinegar, you have to mix a cup of white vinegar with a teaspoon of dish soap and three cups of water. You can then pour into a spray bottle and apply the solution on the desired surfaces. In the case of using the apple cider vinegar, you have to mix the vinegar with water and pour into a spray bottle.
Vinegar Keeps Bugs Away
In addition to being an innovative cleaning agent, vinegar also helps to deter many kinds of pests. You now see the reasons why you should use vinegar to get rid of bugs in your home.
Do you have other ideas on how to use vinegar to keep away bugs? Kindly let us know in the comment section.
Lacey is an environmental enthusiast and passionate advocate for living green and sustainable. She believes that everyone can make a difference, no matter how small. Lacey is dedicated to reducing her own carbon footprint and educating others on the importance of living greener. She is an advocate for green energy and sustainable practices. She is an active member of her local community, volunteering with local conservation efforts, and taking part in sustainability initiatives. Lacey is a firm believer that the only way to ensure a sustainable future is to work together and make small, but important changes.
