Amazing Inexpensive DIY Bug Killer, Repellents, and Traps

Make your own DIY bug killer repellents and traps for an inexpensive alternative to store-bought products.

Aren’t insects such a nuisance?!!! They are in our gardens, in our house, make it difficult to be outside… they’re everywhere.

I wanted to share a few DIY bug killers, repellents, and traps that I use in and out of our home.

DIY Bug Killer

HOW TO MAKE A DIY Fly Trap

• Mix 1 cup boiling water and 1/8 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves.
• Cut the lid off a recycled bottle.
• Pour the mixture in the bottle.
• Flip the lid so it is like a funnel into the bottom part of the bottle.
• Tape the lid onto the base.
• Set inside or outside where flies are bad.

The flies go into the bottle to drink the mixture and get trapped inside. This has the potential to capture other flying insects including boxelder bugs, wasps, yellow jackets, and Japanese beetles.

Gnats, Fruit Flies, Drain Flies

• Mix 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp Castile Soap together.
• Cut the lid off a recycled bottle.
• Pour the mixture in the bottle.
• Flip the lid so it is like a funnel into the bottom part of the bottle.
• Tape the lid onto the base.
• Set inside or outside where bugs are bad.

*Castile soap is a natural, non-toxic, multi-purpose vegetable-based soap. It’s biodegradable, you can get it scented or unscented, and it is categorized as a disinfectant that will kill 99% of germs.

The flies go into the bottle to drink the mixture and get trapped inside.

If you look closely you can see at least one right in the center of the mixture. They are very tiny.

DIY Ant TRAPS

First, follow the ants and find where they are coming into your home so you can block that in the future, and track them to their nest. Often this may be in cracks or crevices.

• Mix together 1 tsp. Borax & 3 tsp. sugar.
• Place in a small lid of a recycled bottle.
• If you have pets and kids you won’t want them getting into the Borax, so make a trap by getting a small container with a lid, and poke holes in it so the ants can crawl in.

The point of this trap is that the ants will take the “food” back to their nest and kill all the other ants. The sugar attracts them and the Borax kills them.

If you are anti-Borax I totally get it – I did read you can put out Cornmeal and that they have a hard time digesting it. Might be worth a try…

Place your bait trap by their nest for them to bring to the rest of the ant colony.

You can also place your bait trap near where they are coming into your home.

Another way to get rid of ants is to find their home and flood it with boiling water. You might need to repeat the application a few days in a row to get rid of all of them.

Make a mixture of 1/8 tsp. Castile Soap and 1 cup water and place in a spray bottle. Alternatively, you can mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water as well. Your choice.

Spray the point of entry and the area around it and wipe it up. Ants leave behind pheromones and that is how they follow the pathway to the food source.

Spraying and wiping up the area will get rid of the residual pheromones. You can also spray the point of entry from the outside as well.

You can also use the Castile soap and water mixture to spray the ants directly. It will soften their shells and they will die.

What is the best DIY bug spray?

• Place cut up mint & lavender in 1 cup of boiling water and let it steep for 5 minutes.
• Strain out the herbs and place the water in a squirt bottle.
• Add 1 cup of vinegar or witch hazel.

Give it a shake and it’s ready to use. I have left my herbs inside the water-vinegar mixture to keep infusing in the squirt bottle.

Plant things in and around your yard that repel bugs like lavender, mint, basil, etc.

YOu might also enjoy reading How To Keep Bugs Out of House with 5 Simple Tips

Learn more about “Why to Deep Clean and Organize Your Home” to save money, function better, and keep your sanity. 

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More pests tutorials

If you’re looking to get rid of ticks, spiders, mosquitoes, roaches, silverfish, fleas, moths, cockroaches, crickets, mites, carpenter ants, caterpillars, aphids, bed bugs, millipedes, etc. You can find many answers in my other tutorials below. Many include natural ingredients like lemongrass, lavender, essential oils, etc. I try and avoid environmental hazards whenever possible. I also don’t like harsh chemicals as the active ingredient.

• How To Get Rid of Vegetable Garden Pests with These 12 Easy Tips
• Keep Pests and Weeds Out of Your Garden
• Awesome and Easy Irish Spring Soap and Flies Hacks
• How To Keep Bugs Out of House with 5 Simple Tips
• 4 Good Reasons Why Your Home Should Be Pest Free
• Easy DIY Garden Plant Care

For many of these, you can mix your own formula, and place it in your own reusable bottles for storage (great for recyclability). Spray it and let it sit and dry for 15-20 minutes. These work in your home, garden, lawns, and more. Stop eggs before they hatch, and keep these bugs out of your home and pantries, garages, etc. Spray those common areas like baseboards, place them in your sinks, spray mattresses, and most likely you’ll have to do a repeat application to keep up with things. Make sure to label your product container so you remember which mixture is for what pests. Drain your fountain and/or gutter and make sure there is proper drainage to keep those areas dry. Be careful to keep chemicals in your treated area away from places like food-preparation areas. Remember that pets and children also play on your carpets so be careful what you use on those as well.