Run A Sponge Of Vinegar Along Windowsills And Door Frames. Here's Why

Distilled vinegar, when diluted with water, is widely known as a natural cleaning agent for your home. There are many ways to use vinegar to keep your house clean, but one of the most underrated ways is as a natural insect repellent in highly trafficked, bug-loving spaces, such as around window sills and door frames. Vinegar solutions are also a great, nontoxic way to deter some insects, particularly ants, helping you fight a summertime infestation without the nasty fumes or chemicals of other insect killers. If you wipe down key areas with a sponge soaked in vinegar, it could help detract insects like ants.

Vinegar's strong smell wards off ants in particular — insects that also incidentally dislike the smell of anything strongly perfumed, like lavender and essential oils. Strong scents disrupt ants' pheromone trails and receptors, interrupting how these pesky critters communicate with one another. Odorous agents, like vinegar, confuse ants and prevent them from finding food or returning to their home base to bring back reinforcements. Vinegar is one of the most versatile cleaning tools, and this method of ant cleanup and prevention is one of the best ways to utilize vinegar's natural properties.

First, to ensure your vinegar ant repellent is effective, check that you have the right ingredients and are mixing your solution properly for optimal use. For a minor number of ants on your window sill or door frames, use distilled white vinegar as a staple for your spray, however, if you're experiencing a bigger infestation, than an apple cider vinegar will help make a stronger solution. Mix your vinegar with equal parts water in a spray bottle, and if you want to mask its smell, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture. Spray all around places where ants can enter your home: windows, baseboards, doorways ... and don't forget places where ants like to congregate, like kitchens and around trash cans. You can also wipe down these areas with a vinegar-soaked sponge.

If you're spraying directly on ants, note that vinegar won't actually poison them like pesticides will, but vinegar solutions will suffocate and drown ants. Immediately clean them up with a sponge or damp towel. For a stronger repellent, you can spray vinegar without water dilution directly onto surfaces too. Just remember that this DIY method doesn't last forever, so you should repeat spraying your vinegar solution about three times a week to elongate its effectiveness at warding off ants. Use this natural DIY in conjunction with other natural bug repellent home remedies to keep your home bug-free, without chemical intervention!