My friends are an amazing resource for wonderful information! They are always telling me how they’ve tested different ideas and which ones work and which ones don’t. Between the group of us we are able to come up with a great list of natural pest repellents that can be applied in all seasons throughout the year. After all, stink bugs come into the house whenever it starts to get cold (so do mice). Lady bugs come out when it starts to get warm, and deer are just always around where I live.
These 7 Natural Pest Repellents will give you natural and safe ways to get rid of those pests without using harsh chemicals around your home. After all, what goes in the soil or in the air you breathe can enter your own body through vegetables and herbs that you eat from your soil or chemicals that you breathe or touch around the home.
7 Natural Pest Repellents for All Seasons
1) Finally! Get rid of stink bugs!
This one is super great if you’re inundated with stink bugs like we have been. They come in as soon as the weather changes and can squeeze into the tiniest of cracks; making their hoe in curtains, windowsills, between mattresses, and light fixtures.
The big thing is to stop them before they even enter the home. Make a barrier around your home using neem oil, soap, and water.
Instructions: Place 1 teaspoon of neem oil into a 16oz spray bottle. Add 1 teaspoon of dish soap (this will help mix the oil into the water). Fill the spray bottle with water and shake. Spray around windowsills and doors on the outside of the home. You can also spray along the entire foundation. Repeat after lots of rain.
Spray this early in the morning or in the evening so that you do not spray beneficial bees by accident. You can kill them and we already have a bee crisis in many parts of the world due to pesticides.
2) Repel Deer from your Garden
Sometimes medium height fences are just not enough to keep deer out of the garden. Perhaps you also want to repel them from your flowers. A simple natural home hack for these pests is to place a stake in the ground and hang a bar of perfume-y soap. Deer don’t like the strong scent and tend to leave the plants alone for more pleasant and easier areas.
If you don’t want to use a non natural soap in the yard, you can always plant herbs in and around your veggies, like rosemary, oregano, lavender, or sage. Deer don’t care for these and tend to avoid areas that contain a number of them.
3) Get Rid of Ants
This is something I’ve used a number of times. I don’t have problems with ants inside my home, but I’ve had ants make their homes in the conveniently soft dirt of my large outside flower pots. I see the plants start to droop even though they’ve been well taken care of and sure enough there is an ant nest inside the pot.
This hack will also work inside the home. My mom has done this very thing in her home with great results.
Instructions: Create a glass of sugar water by placing 1/4 cup of sugar in a cup of warm water and stirring until dissolved. Add 2 Tablespoons of Borax and stir until dissolved. Dip cotton balls and squeeze a little so they’re not dripping everywhere, or you can use a paper towel and do the same thing. Place the cotton ball or paper towel near the ants. They will eat from it, take some home, and will die. This will take a few days, but it’s a great ways to get rid of them all without spraying.
4) Get Rid of Ground Bees
We have a lot of ground bees around the North East. They burrow into the ground instead of making a nest in a tree. These are very beneficial group of bees, but can cause huge problems when they make their home in your garden or yard where you or your children can get stung.
What you want to do is drive them away. They will make then move their nest far away and you’ll never have to worry about them and they will still be able to pollinate our flowers, trees, and vegetables.
Instructions:
- Water the area until it is soaked. If they are just moving in they won’t like it and may move.
- Place a thick layer of mulch in your garden to discourage them.
- In a 2oz glass spray bottle, add 15 drops lemongrass essential oil, 10 drops cinnamon essential oil (bark or leaf), and 10 drops peppermint essential oil. Fill the bottle with water and shake before use. Spray around bee area. Spray at night if they’ve already moved in and are active. You don’t want to get stung!
5) Natural Healthy Essential Oil Bug Spray
My essential oil bug spray is actually similar to the bee spray. You could definitely make this bug spray and use it for your family as well as spray it around the outside of your home.
This works wonderfully on mosquitoes and other small bugs for when you’re camping, hiking, or just sitting in your back yard. It does not seem to work on flies. We’ve had problems with flies around our rabbit hutches and I’ve tried this spray with not much change (for something that works, see below).
Ingredients:
- 10 drops of each:
- 2 ounces water
Instructions:
- In a 2oz spray glass bottle, add essential oils.
- Add water to fill bottle, close, and shake.
- Spray on arms, legs, and clothing.
For more plants that repel insects, see 20 Insect Repelling Plants.
6) Get Rid of Flies Around Your Home
A good, natural fly deterrent is to plant rosemary and lavender outside your front and back doors. I have rabbit hutches and have these herbs growing around there as well. For more plants that repel insects, see 20 Insect Repelling Plants.
Using Diatomaceous earth around outside animal houses or hutches is also beneficial.
If you would like an essential oil blend that works, try this:
Instructions: Combine 5 drops each of these essential oils: lavender, geranium, rosemary, eucalyptus, cedar wood or cypress, into a 2oz glass spray bottle and fill with water or oil (depending on where you would like to spray. Use water for inside so you don’t stain anything or create slick surfaces, and oil around the outside of your home for a longer lasting scent). Shake and spray.
7) Natural Tick Repellent
My daughter went to camp this year and one day her and her friends went and sat in a field near the tree line. As they sat there, one of the girls asked what was on my daughter’s legs. It turned out to be hundreds of ticks! They realized that all of the girls sitting there were covered. All except one. They rushed to pull off all that they could find. Counselors rushed over and they were the center of attention for a while. They were then rushed to showers and had they clothes taken and treated for 2 days.
My question was, why did one girl have zero ticks. Not even ONE! When all those around her were literally covered. This girl had sprayed her legs down with geranium essential oil right before going out! That’s it! My daughter said she really sprayed herself down thick, but wow! wasn’t that great that she did?!
The scent wasn’t very strong. Just 15 drops geranium essential oil to a 2oz glass spray bottle. You can add geranium to the bug spray above to have an all around repellent that really, truly works. With the amount of adults and children that have gotten Lyme disease this past year, having a natural repellent is a wonderful thing.
I hope you’ve found these really helpful.
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