Natural Ways to Help Keep Bugs Out of Your Home and Yard

About Miles McGuinness

Miles McGuinness is a copywriter at Brookdale. Originally from Ohio, he graduated from The Ohio State University with a double major in English and marketing. Prior to Brookdale, he worked in digital marketing for a major cleanup and restoration company. When he’s not reading or writing, he enjoys watching movies, trying new restaurants, traveling, and cheering on Cleveland sports.

Insects have a habit of becoming their own sort of army, infiltrating your home or yard in what feels like an instant, without any advance notice. While there are plenty of methods available for getting rid of these creepy, crawly pests, let’s look at some natural remedies to help deter them from your living space without the use of harsh chemicals.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are compounds extracted from parts of plants, which might include roots, flowers, bark, leaves, and seeds. You may be familiar with the benefits of essential oils for humans, including aromatherapy, improved sleep, reduced anxiety and more. But did you also know some essential oils have the ability to discourage bugs from invading your home?

For example, one of the more popular essential oils, lavender, can drive away moths and ants. By storing lavender pillows and sachets in your linen cupboards and dressers, you can help keep these pesky creatures away while leaving a fresh aroma in your home. You might also consider leaving lavender out in a saucer or spraying it from an atomizer to help drive away bugs while disinfecting the air. Take caution, though: Lavender and other essential oils can be toxic for dogs, cats and other household pets, so be sure to keep it safely away from them.

Similarly, thyme can deter houseflies and mosquitos. Even peppermint can repel mosquitos! By using these essential oils in sprays or diffusing them, you could be well on your way to bidding farewell to unwanted bugs on your property.

Also, rather than using a standard bug spray, you might consider applying some essential oil to your skin, especially when you’re heading outside. Keep in mind, though, that some essential oils shouldn’t be applied in the sunshine, or used outside at all. Check out the American College of Healthcare Science’s ® eBook Essentials of Essential Oil Safety for more information.

Insect-Repellent Plants

While it might seem a bit extreme (if not interesting) to plant carnivorous Venus fly traps or pitcher plants to help rid your space of insects, you could consider sprucing up your garden or home with the following insect-repellent plants:

Basil
Catnip
Chrysanthemum
Garlic
Lemon Thyme
Marigold
Mint
Nasturtiums
Rosemary
Sage

So, what do these plants do, exactly, to deter insects in the first place? For most of them, their pest-repellent properties lie in there, unpleasant-to-bugs aromas. Chrysanthemums even contain the natural insect repellent pyrethrin, which is present in their flowers.

While these plants may not keep your property 100% bug-free, you might improve your chances of success by strategically placing them in the proper areas. For example, marigolds are ideal pest repellents when planted near vegetables. Likewise, basil is often placed near windows and doors to deter pests from entering interiors. When in doubt, be sure to check with your local garden center for which options make the most sense for your home, climate and types of bugs present.

Barriers

Another potentially effective method for deterring bugs is the use of screens or physical barriers. This may involve installing door sweeps, caulking cracks in walls or other vulnerable areas, placing copper barriers around garden beds or specific plants or adding hot caps, cages and/or row covers to your garden or yard, where appropriate.

Also, keep an eye out for any new holes or cracks in doors, screens or windows. If and when you spot them, you’ll want to take care of them as soon as possible.

Additional Tips & Tricks for Keeping Bugs Out

Remove any standing water from your yard, which can attract mosquitoes. This might include emptying birdbaths, trash containers, buckets, old tires, planters and more.
Consider using diatomaceous earth, a natural pesticide made from the fossilized remains of diatoms or aquatic organisms. In essence, diatoms are a dusty material that can be sprinkled along creases where the floor meets the wall, windowsills and more to help cull bugs. Just make sure to follow label directions, as breathing in the dust before it’s settled can irritate your respiratory system.
Vinegar is a great deterrent for bugs; ants do not like the scent, and you can successfully trap fruit flies and ants by mixing vinegar with apple cider and dish soap.
By sprinkling finely ground salt on your carpet, letting it sit for 24 hours, and then vacuuming it up, you can help remove fleas and flea eggs from your space.
Setting out small piles of cornmeal may entice ants to bring it back to their colonies to share. However, they cannot properly digest it, which will help decrease their numbers.
A line of petroleum jelly — or cayenne pepper, chalk or cinnamon — can act as a useful barrier to help prevent insects from entering your home.
Regularly clean your yard and mow your lawn.
Since bright lights attract insects, consider instead using amber- or yellow-filtered lights. This may be particularly effective for outdoor or landscape lighting.

Ultimately, Bugs Are No Match for You and Your Property

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to naturally deter bugs from entering your home or yard. By using the methods outlined above, you can use pesticides without harsh chemicals, helping to keep everyone — especially those with six legs or more — where they belong!