15 Essential Pantry Items to Repel Kitchen Pests

When you wander leisurely into your kitchen in hopes of a midnight snack, what you are hoping to see is a candy bar that you had forgotten about — not a trail of hairy bugs hurriedly diving for cover behind the cookie jar. Beyond other rooms of the house, the kitchen can work as a prime magnet for all manners of pests, flies, and critters. But the thought of blasting chemical-laden sprays on eating areas can often seem less than appetizing.

This is where natural remedies come in as a non-toxic, chemical-free solution for keeping pests away. The good news? Many of these agents are already camped out in your kitchen pantry. From everyday spices like cinnamon sticks and black pepper to onions and lemons, you will find a vast horde of household staples ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on rooting out roaches, flies, ants, and other pests from your kitchen.

While many kitchen ingredients do offer repellent properties, it helps to note that certain deep-rooted infestations may require the intervention of an exterminator. As a rule of thumb, it helps to ensure that you are wiping down countertops thoroughly each night and taking care of any spills as they occur to keep your kitchen from appearing as an appetizing food source for hungry pests.

Breakfast might feel incomplete without a quick sprinkle of cinnamon on your morning toast, but not all the pests in your kitchen may agree. Beyond adding spice to everyday dishes — and serving as the delightful secret for elevating tomato sauce — cinnamon can also work as a handy pest repellent in a pinch. The woody scent of cinnamon stems from its aromatic compound called eugenol. This makes cinnamon an effective weapon for targeting the nervous system of insects. Certain bugs may die from suffocation by this scent, while others may find it a deterrent and simply find another kitchen to belly around.

For making the most of cinnamon as a pest repellent, you’ll find a host of choices. A couple of cinnamon sticks placed strategically in your fruit bowl will drive ants and fruits flies away, and push them to find another location for their water cooler conversations. Cinnamon sticks can also be placed in the likely locations that pests are using for entering the house, such as windows and doorways — remember to routinely opt for a fresh stick once the aroma dies away.

By some reports, the average coffee consumption clocks in at two cups per day — which means that there are plenty of coffee grounds waiting to find a creative second lease of life. While you may not be able to use the dregs for brewing yourself a second cup of joe, there are several better destinations for your coffee grounds than the landfill, from improving your compost to dislodging stubborn stains from kitchenware.

If you have been looking to keep ants away from your edibles, coffee grounds can again serve as a worthy ally. According to research by the Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, coffee extracts can cause high mortality in certain species of household ants. Mosquitoes aren’t crazy about the smell of coffee either as it has been proven to affect the survival of their larvae.

For using coffee as an insect repellent, you’ll want to first dry the used grounds from your coffeemaker in a plate lined with aluminium foil. Using a few drops of lighter fluid, gently light the coffee grounds on fire and position the scent strategically on cabinets and tabletops as an incense for keeping bugs away.

Garlic breath may not be welcome on date night, and not all insects are crazy about the scent either. Beyond keeping vampires away — sorry, Team Edward — garlic can also keep mosquitoes from viewing your pantry as a free-for-all banquet.

When the sulfur compounds contained in garlic are released into the bloodstream, they can stay in place for hours and even overnight, in some cases. Mosquitoes aren’t big on the pungent sulfur emitted by garlic either, and you’ll want to use this knowledge to get the upper hand on these pesky flies. Joe Conlon, technical advisor at the American Mosquito Control Association, told ABC News, “If you take garlic and squeeze it on your skin, that portion of your skin will be repellent to mosquitoes for about 20-40 minutes.”

Looking for a handier way to keep mosquitoes at bay? The same principle can be applied for whipping up your own garlic spray. Simply boil a few cloves of garlic in water and pour the concentration in a spray bottle to be spritzed in nooks, crannies, and other popular mosquito hangouts in your kitchen.

Despite being the subject of much debate, it is undeniable that bay leaves can be as important for adding flavor as that all-essential pinch of salt. The champion of the dried herb rack, bay leaves strike a worthy match with slow-cooked dishes, such as duck confit. But their work doesn’t end there — dried bay leaves can also keep roaches and ants at bay.

The same aromatic compounds that dial up the flavor of a dish can also serve as a deterrent for common household pests. Bay leaves possess eucalyptol, an essential oil with a camphor-like odor that can keep flies from getting up close and personal with an unattended bowl of food left accidentally on the kitchen counter.

For inviting this herb into your arsenal of natural pest repellents, you will want to place whole bay leaves in common storage areas in the pantry where rice, flour, and spices are kept. Crushed bay leaves can also be effective for ant control when placed in common areas where ants are clustered.

It can be tricky to pinpoint when exactly fruit flies began invading your kitchen. Did they hitch a ride home in your grocery bag or did they happen to chance upon some overripe fruit in the trash can? Either way, once you spot them, there is no unseeing them — buzzing around every spare morsel in the hopes of scoring their next meal.

The trick here is to invite fruit flies for a feast and ensure that they can’t leave once they are added to the guestlist. Start by pouring half an inch of apple cider vinegar in a bowl and infuse it with a drop of dish soap. The latter will break the surface of the apple cider vinegar and cause fruit flies to sink deeper when they land on it. Then, you can cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and poke holes that are just large enough for fruit flies to make their way in. Once done, this trap can be placed in common hotspots, such as near the garbage bin. The strong smell of the apple cider vinegar will invite fruit flies to the party, while the dish soap will ensure that they can’t leave the contraption.

This spicy pepper can bring in a touch of heat in unexpected places, from your go-to mug of hot chocolate to pie crusts. But you can also count on cayenne as a reliable ally in your quest to keep ants out of your pantry.

The bread and butter of ants, literally, comes from forming a scent trail that other ants can follow in the quest for the next free meal. The pungent aroma of cayenne can disrupt this scent trail and discourage ants from flocking together on every unattended crumb in the kitchen.

The easiest way to use cayenne in your ant-repellent kit is to toss some pepper and water in a spray bottle. Take this newly weaponised spice spray to common access points to the pantry, such as windows and doorways. Cayenne pepper can also be dusted directly onto ant trails to break the chain as well as any anthills you may discover in hidden nooks and crevices.

Not all insect repellents involve blood and gore. Some simply rely on the power of physics to drive pests out of the house and keep them gone. Case in point: cornstarch that turns into a cement-like texture when wet and makes for a handy way to deal with significant swathes of ants at a time.

For devising your ant trap, you will want to start by dusting cornstarch in common areas where you have spotted ant trails. Next, spritz some water to turn the cornstarch into a concrete-like texture to trap ants in their tracks. While this method does come with the additional chore of cleaning up the cornstarch graves left behind by the little critters, it makes for a non-toxic tool for getting ants out of the pantry.

What do sauces, salad dressings, and marinades have in common? They can all benefit from a quick splash of vinegar. Beyond its versatility in the culinary world, vinegar is also an efficient cleaning agent in the kitchen — use yours as a deodorizer or for giving glass surfaces a thorough wipedown. Or perhaps you are looking to break the labyrinthine queues of ants in the kitchen? Vinegar is only too happy to help.

White vinegar, a household staple in every pantry, has a distinctive acidic odor that ants cannot stand. By interfering with the scent trails that ants use to communicate, it becomes harder for ants to detect the presence of other ants. While vinegar may not kill ants altogether, it can help deter them from their tracks.

If your goal is to prevent ants from entering the house while leaving them unharmed, a vinegar solution will do the trick. Simply mix equal parts of vinegar and water and wipe down tabletops, counters, and other surfaces where ants like to travel. Even after the solution has dried, ants can detect the smell and will be potentially deterred from travelling the same path.

Cooking and cleaning? All in a day’s work for baking soda. This pantry staple likes to routinely go above and beyond the call of duty and now lays claim to a versatile array of uses — shoe deodorizer, teeth whitener, and carpet stain remover. Struggling to keep ants from sneaking morsels out of the kitchen? Baking soda can help here, too.

So, what makes ants and baking soda sworn enemies? The consumption of baking soda can create an internal chemical reaction in ants that produces carbon dioxide gas. While it can serve as an effective home remedy, you won’t necessarily find colonies of ants lining up to consume baking soda. The key here is to trick ants into consuming baking soda by sweetening the deal with some powdered sugar.

Simply mix one tablespoon of baking soda and powdered sugar. Then, sprinkle the mixture in common areas where ants are clustered. When consumed, the baking soda can take some time to get ingested by the ants’ digestive system but it will prove to be fatal, making it an effective tool for ridding your kitchen of even the most stubborn ants.

If you have spotted one cockroach scurrying around in the kitchen, it is hard to shake off the feeling that there are dozens more camped out in shadowy crevices under cabinets. Becoming more diligent about cleaning up after every meal and depriving roaches of their food sources may prove to be a deterrent. But if you are looking for a non-toxic method of killing these invaders, you will want to reach for the nearest onion in your pantry.

Similar to the baking soda and powdered sugar devised for ants, onions can also be used for a DIY trap. Simply chop an onion and mix it with one spoon of baking soda, ensuring even distribution. Once done, place this mixture in areas where you have detected roaches. When consumed, the baking soda will cause a build-up of gases, leading to their inevitable demise.

It pays to note that this onion-and-baking soda contraption may not just be fatal for roaches — it can also be toxic for household pets, such as cats and dogs, if consumed in large quantities. If you are sharing your living space with any furry friends, ensure that this DIY remedy is placed out of their reach.

Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? The debate may be raging on the internet — for the record, cucumber is botanically categorized as a fruit —but what you will want to know is the handy role that it can play in ridding your kitchen of uninvited pests.

These verdant slices may make for a welcome addition in refreshing summer drinks, but flies are less than fond of cucumber because of the chemicals it contains, namely cucurbitacins. This smell signals that there is no nutritional value to be derived from the food and flies generally tend to look elsewhere.

The concentration of cucurbitacins is significantly higher in the peel of the cucumber, but slices can also be kept in the usual hotspots frequented by flies in the pantry. As a special bonus, you will find that little crawlers, like ants, are also temporarily deterred by the presence of cucumbers as it kills the fungi that they are drawn towards.

Tired of finding a scuttling trail of ants every time you turn around in the kitchen? You will want to dip into your spice rack for a remedy. Much like cayenne, black pepper also makes for a proven solution for keeping an ant infestation from taking root. According to research by Texas A&M University, a mixture of black pepper and water can be effective for exterminating ants within an hour.

The method used by the researchers was to mix black pepper and bottled water. When devising your own, it is helpful to mix one spoon of black pepper in a cup of water and keep the concoction overnight. The next morning, you will want to strain out the ground pepper and use the spray on any ant trails you have spotted in the kitchen. It can also be used to deter fresh ants from entering the house when sprayed on windowsills and other entry points. Looking to skip the fuss? Ground black pepper can also be sprinkled directly onto any ant hills or queues you come across in your kitchen.

The quest for natural fly repellents will bring you to two indispensable staples of every pantry: lemons and cloves. While this duo may not appear to share much in common at first glance, they are united in their quest to keep flies from buzzing around your precious culinary goods.

The tangy smell of lemon has an acidic undertone that flies cannot stand, while clove brings its own distinctive aroma to the table. Together, this duet works on repelling flies away and serves as a non-toxic alternative to chemical-laden bug sprays.

To get started, you will slice a lemon in half. Next, you will plunge six to ten individual pieces of clove into the fleshy side of the lemon. Once done, this repellent can be placed on countertops, cabinets or windowsills to keep flies away. It helps to note that the aroma can weaken over the course of a few days and need to be replaced with a fresh clove-studded lemon.

Despite being synonymous with pesto, basil has so much more to offer beyond the world of pasta dressings and sauces. (Although if you are whipping up your own, you may want to consider an unexpected addition that is a game-changer: capers!)

Citronella may do a remarkable job at keeping mosquitoes away, but basil also makes for a handy herb to keep within reach when you are waging war against mosquitoes clustered around any stagnant water, such as leaky pipes under the sink. If you have ever cooked with fresh basil leaves, you may have noticed the minty, clove-like smells that it emits. As luck would have it, mosquitoes do not care much for this scent. The spicy aroma emitted by basil disables their sensors, which pushes mosquitoes to fly away for recovering their abilities. While all varieties of basil are known to push mosquitoes away, the stronger aroma of lemon basil is your best bet for effective results.

So, how can you use basil to your advantage? Planting basil in your kitchen is the quickest route to ensuring round-the-clock protection. But in a pinch, basil leaves can also be placed in boiling water for half an hour. The resulting concoction can be poured into a spray bottle and applied on areas that need protection.

Equally loved by the worlds of food and beverage alike, mint makes for a handy finishing touch for a wide array of cocktails, salads, and stir-frys. However, houseflies, fleas, and mosquitoes are not exactly a fan since it serves as a biocidal agent. This occurs because menthol, the primary active compound in mint, is useful for controlling the production of mosquito larvae.

For capitalizing on its fly repellent properties, you will want to add mint leaves to your shopping list for your next grocery run. Crushed leaves can be kept in a jar around the common areas that mosquitoes and flies use for sneaking into your house. As a bonus, the minty aroma will also work as an effective deodorizer for pungent smells in the kitchen, such as garlic.