Keep bugs away from your home with DIY spray using household items – no vinegar or lemon

A cleaning fan has shared her ultimate hack for keeping bugs out of the home during the summer months - it's easy to do and you only need a few household items.

By Zahna Eklund, Social News Reporter

11:00, Sun, Jun 16, 2024

A fly sitting on a plant

The spray could keep flies and other bugs at bay (Image: Getty Images)

A gran has shared a simple hack to keep bugs at bay this summer.

Flies, mosquitos and wasps can prove a pain as we reach the warmer months, especially when food is involved.

However, a savvy cleaning enthusiast and grandmother has revealed an easy trick to keep these pesky intruders at bay. With just a few common kitchen cupboard ingredients, you can create a potent spray to safeguard your home and garden from bugs.

In her TikTok video, Babs, who goes by @brunchwithbabs, revealed cinnamon is great for repelling insects. It can be deployed in various forms to fend off unwanted visitors from your dwelling.

A sprinkle of ground cinnamon in your wheelie bins can deter "maggots, flies, and critters" from congregating around your refuse. Additionally, placing cinnamon sticks amidst your fruit can banish fruit flies.

@brunchwithbabs
What is the one thing in your spice cabinet that can keep you bug and rodent free this summer? Yes! Cinnamon. Cinnamon naturally contains eugenol, an aromatic compound commonly found in traditional insect repellants. Here are three great uses for cinnamon this summer. Cinnamon Spray To keep the mosquitoes away, make my magic bug spray. INGREDIENTS: 2 teaspoons of cinnamon 4 cups of warm water a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol a couple of drops of dish soap INSTRUCTIONS: Mix cinnamon into the water and set it out for at least a few hours to steep as if you were making tea. Strain out the liquid to ensure it doesn't clog up your spray bottle Pour cinnamon tea into a spray bottle then add the rubbing alcohol and dish soap. Shake to combine and spray. Fruit Fly Deterrent For a fruit fly free fruit bowl, just place a couple cinnamon sticks in your fruit bowl and you will be fruit fly free all summer long. Trash Can Protector Keep pests, maggots AND raccoons out of your trash cans with cinnamon. Just sprinkle a light layer at the bottom of the trash can and dont forget the lid. Those critters hate the smell and the powdery texture of cinnamon #bugs #summertips #mosquito
original sound - Babs

But Babs' homemade "cinnamon spray" is her best defence against intruding bugs. Comprising only a handful of ingredients, this concoction can be spritzed throughout your home to maintain a bug-free zone.

She said: "Use my cinnamon spray to keep those mosquitos at bay. To make your spray just whisk in two teaspoons of cinnamon into four cups of warm water. Let it sit out and let it steep like you would tea.

"Strain your cinnamon mixture right into your spray bottle. Mix in half a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and half a teaspoon of dish detergent – shake and spray!"

While cup measurements might not be standard in the UK, four cups of warm water roughly translates to about one litre.

Commenters on the video were keen to test the spray, with many already battling a barrage of bugs this summer.

One viewer exclaimed: "Babs this better work because I'm desperate to keep those mosquitoes away."

Another concurred: "No lies detected! Cinnamon is a serious bug repellent," and someone else thanked her: "Thank you Babs, these mosquitos have been killing me."

Some viewers also shared their success using cinnamon against other pests, including one mother who found it effective for ant-proofing her children's play area.

She commented: "I mixed cinnamon into the sand in my kids' sandbox and not a single ant or anything in it for weeks now."