Get Rid of Bugs in the Kitchen

If you’ve ever walked into your kitchen for a midnight snack only to be startled and disgusted by a scurrying cockroach, you’re not alone. Pantry pests and kitchen bugs are common, and an infestation is not desirable in your home. And, using commercial pesticides in the area where you store food is not a good idea.

The kitchen is a room in the home where you prepare food for your family, and you expect it to be clean and bug-free. However, this space not only attracts kids for an after-school snack, but it draws in a variety of insects, from fruit flies and weevils to Indian meal moths and ants.

It’s easy to think that keeping a clean kitchen is sufficient enough to keep these critters out, but this is not often the case. Some insects do not care if your floors are sparkling clean. They are after one thing, and that is your food.

Creepy-Crawlies Have No Home in Your Kitchen

Not all insects are there for your leftovers. A kitchen filled with bugs munching on scraps often draws in opportunistic predators, such as spiders, who are looking to catch an evening meal.

All of this activity leads to a pest problem, and it’s time to clean up and get rid of bugs in the kitchen. Did you know that the average residence has over 100 different varieties of bugs creeping and crawling around behind the scenes?

These include different species of flies, ants, spiders, bed bugs, and beetles, and it is true for all types of homes, no matter the area. They hide behind your washing machine, in closets, and lurk along baseboards and inside your kitchen pantry.

Not only are there more pests inside your house than you think, but these critters are great at keeping their presence unknown.

Cockroaches, for example, sneak out after you turn off the lights and scutter about eating food crumbs, pet food, and garbage. Many times, your home has an infestation without you realizing it.

There are many reasons to perform pest control in your home that go beyond the fact that bugs are just plain creepy. Insects spread germs, bacteria, and even diseases, and some of them carry more than others.

They are also food sources for rodents, and an insect-infested kitchen often leads to an infestation of mice and rats.

Fortunately, there are many ways to eliminate kitchen-pests, whether they are cockroaches, ants, weevils, flies, or you are dealing with a mosquito infestation. Not only are these solutions simple, but they are safe for your kitchen and pantry area. Discover a simple way to attract and kill weevils and other unwanted bugs with easy homemade traps.

Evicting Ants with a Repellent

Ants are common kitchen pests, especially at certain times of the year, and when you see one, you’re bound to discover many.

Ants send scouts out in search of food sources, and when they find something tasty, they leave a pheromone trail for other ants to follow. This activity quickly leads to an infestation.

Therefore, it’s essential to use an ant repellent, even if you only see a couple of these critters in your kitchen. Taking immediate action not only kills the existing ants but cleans away the trail, preventing the rest of the colony from entering your home.

The number of items you have in your home that work wonders at repelling ants is quite surprising.

Ants hate certain smells such as coffee grounds and cinnamon, and baking soda and Borax are natural ant poisons, while white vinegar is the perfect liquid for cleaning away an ant trail.

Send Roaches Packing with Homemade Control Methods

Out of all of the pests that invade your kitchen, cockroaches have to be the worst. These nasty bugs are not only one of the grossest, but roaches in kitchen cabinets and other areas carry germs and bacteria and even transmit diseases to you and your loved ones.

While your first instinct is to call in an exterminator, there are some home remedies that work wonders as a form of DIY roach control. It’s easy to take specific measures to not only kill these disgusting bugs but prevent them from taking over your kitchen.

It’s incredible how many things are already in your home that work to get rid of these pests.

Would you believe that a combination of water and ammonia is a cockroach repellent or that boric acid and fabric softener kills them? There are even ways to make a cockroach trap with a soda bottle and some sugar.

Shoo Fly, Shoo! Getting Rid of Fruit Flies

There is nothing worse than an annoying and persistent fruit fly zooming around your head. That is, except for flies dive-bombing your food while you’re in the kitchen making a snack.

These persistent bugs get even worse if you have ripening fruits and veggies sitting out on the counter. Like other insects, fruit flies carry many germs. They transfer bacteria from salmonella, listeria, and E. coli and are often linked with human infections.

This, and the fact that they are maddening with their persistence, is why it’s important to get rid of flies in your kitchenSeveralral steto prevent these flying insects from becoming a problem, including proper food storage and setting up vinegar traps.

There are also ways to kill these pests using red wine, and repelling them is simple if you have lavender, lemongrass, or eucalyptus essential oil.

What’s all the Buzz? Homemade Mosquito Repellents

Mosquitoes are sneaky insects that seem to appear out of nowhere and then disappear without a trace unless you get lucky and swat them out of existence at first sight. We expect them while we’re outdoors on a warm summer evening, but not in the kitchen.

These tiny, blood-sucking insects make their way indoors by following you in through the front door or slipping in through a window screen.

Their sneaky behavior makes it challenging to keep them out, but using a mosquito repellent stops them in their tracks. Mosquitoes carry and transmit Zika and West Nile virus, and keeping your home free of these insects is vital.

Luckily, many repellents keep them out, and you probably have some of them in your home already. Mosquitoes hate cloves, mint, and rosemary, and many essential oils make the perfect bug spray.

How to Kill Silverfish – The Aliens of the Insect World

Silverfish are one of the most alien-looking insects, and their appearance makes it difficult to tell if they are coming or going. They have long antennae and wiggle when they move, giving them an extra creep factor.

While they don’t bite or spread disease, they multiply quickly, leading to an infestation. These insects like to hang out in damp areas and especially enjoy eating grains, starches, sugar, and other kitchen pantry food items.

Therefore, it’s essential to use a silverfish killer to eliminate them from your home. While it’s not difficult to keep silverfish out of your food as long as you store dried fruits, rice, and flour in airtight containers, this doesn’t keep them out of your kitchen.

However, there are ways to trap or repel these bugs and kill them using diatomaceous earth, boric acid, and baking soda.

Oust the Invisible Enemy with a DIY Spider Mite Spray

If you enjoy growing plants and herbs in your kitchen, there is a good chance you have spider mites. These bugs are so tiny that they are barely visible and easy to miss after plucking some basil leaves off your windowsill plant to add to your marinara sauce.

Spider mites are not known for transmitting disease, but that doesn’t mean you want them infesting your kitchen herb garden.

Luckily these itty-bitty insects are effortless to kill and control using a spider mite spray while utilizing preventative measures to keep them away.

Many insects cannot stand the smell of certain essential oils, and spider mites are no exception.

Making a homemade spray with rosemary or neem oil to kill roaches is simple and kills them on contact. Rubbing alcohol is another great solution for eliminating these bugs, as well as a mixture of dish soap and water. Use any of these solutions for getting rid of food mites in the kitchen or for moths in the pantry.

Give Spiders the Boot While Refreshing Your Kitchen

There is nothing more frightening than spotting a jumping spider on the kitchen counter while cutting veggies for a salad. By the time you react and grab a paper towel, the spider leaps out of reach and disappears from sight.

While not technically an insect, these eight-legged creepy-crawlies are one of the most feared in the bug world.

The first thought that comes to mind when killing them is a large shoe, but making an essential oil spider repellent that also works to get rid of crickets inside keeps them out of your home in the first place.

There are thousands upon thousands of spider species, and they range in size, shape, and color. Since they hide in hard-to-reach places, they are often hard to kill.

But, these predators have a weakness; they hate the smell of essential oils, especially peppermint, and they avoid areas treated with these scents and look for better hunting grounds.

Deep-cleaning your kitchen and pantry are the only sure-fire ways of getting rid of rice weevils, as they have already contaminated your food when you find them. Adding bay leaves to the pantry is a great way to keep weevils away and they deter other pests, too.

Kitchen-bugs are not only nasty and gross, but they spread germs and bacteria around the area where you prepare and eat food.

Oftentimes, you are not even aware that you have an infestation, so it’s essential to take the right measures to eliminate them from your home. Luckily, there are many different ways to get rid of these pests, whether they are ants, silverfish, or fruit flies.

Not only do everyday household items such as apple cider vinegar, essential oil, and bay leaves kill these pests, but they keep them from returning, giving you peace of mind while you prepare and cook your favorite snacks and meals.

Getting rid of bugs in the kitchen is not a difficult task once you know how to kill and repel them, so why not share our kitchen-bug exterminating solutions and guide with your circle of friends and family on Facebook and Pinterest?