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All-Purpose Insect Spray

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Got Bugs? Save money and aggravation by making your own All Purpose Insect Spray to get rid of those annoying, flying, crawling, walking, biting, stinging or otherwise annoying pests.

You’ll need:

1 garlic bulb, chopped or ground
1 quart water
1 small onion, chopped or ground
1 tablespoon liquid soap detergent
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Combine all in a blender until relatively smooth, pour into a spray bottle, apply liberally. This spray lasts 7-10 days. Store in covered jar.

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11 thoughts on “All-Purpose Insect Spray”

    • Will this work for stink bugs? They are very hard to kill, unless you smash them

      You can drown stink bugs…one by one, in a Soapy Stink Bug Swimming Pool. Because they don’t swim well in soapy water.

      Get a plastic container with a flat side, like a rectangular or square food storage box. Add water with just a little dishwashing detergent. Go outside where a gazillion stink bugs are on your house, trying to get through the windows and doors.

      Flick them, one by one, so that they free-fall into the small container of soapy water. They will attempt to swim for just a few seconds before they decide to just nap on the bottom of the container.

      It’s good to have a flat side, because you can hold it flat against the door/window/siding/porch railing/etc. Come up under the stink bug, so if/when he falls, he will fall straight into his bathwater.

      Often, when they see you coming, they’ll just *drop* themselves into the soapy water. Defense mechanism to escape, in case you were planning to eat them.

      It’s better than squashing them…less messy. You can collect 20 or 30 of them in about 2 minutes, if there is a large Stink Bug party going on outside. Then just dump the soapy water outside, and let them become one with the earth…

      Repeat as often as is necessary.

      Our friends choose to put out a soapy jug that used to hold orange juice, and they just sort of scoop the bug into the jug, and keep it on their porch. A little tacky-looking, but it works for them.

      Reply
  1. i have an ant problem in the summer, they seem to move in, however i have been trying different methods and i will be trying this one in the spring. thanks

    Reply
    • I have ant termite treatment problem in the summer, they seem to move in, however I have been trying different methods and I will be trying this one in the spring. Thanks

      hello lakotaweon,

      i’ve compiled the comments and suggestions by category, allowing you to compare the different methods a little more easily.
      1. Lemon juice
      teresa: we just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … something about the acid messes up their sense of tracking…
      2. Cinnamon
      shayla: we use ground cinnamon around where there are coming it.

      it works really well.
      peggy: we spray cinnamon essential oil all around the doors, windowsills, floors, etc. keeps them from coming in. i put the sugar water and borax outside!
      letia: another vote for ground cinnamon.

      easy to clean up afterwards and worked great for us!!!
      jean: cinnamon and cloves. makes your house smell nice and the ants just hate it sprinkled right in their path.
      patricia: we also use cinnamon oil. we draw borders around everything with a q-tip dipped in it.

      they won’t cross it.

      Reply
  2. just last week had a “bug guy” come by and tell me that because his company uses permethrin they call themselves “green”. “it’s from a flower, you know, a chrysanthemum, so it’s all natural.” his face fell when i told him that permethrin is the synthetic version of pyrethrin and no it’s not organic, thanks but no thanks.

    “you’re very brave to go it alone when it comes to bugs” i had to laugh, i’ve been going it alone for 25 years with the exception of termite control. Anyway, happy to add this one to my repertoire. :party1:

    Reply

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