How to keep bugs out of your kitchen

Fruit flies got you down? Do they come out at meal times? Do mosquitoes follow you inside? How rude. I’ve got a sneaky solution that these lil’ buggers will never see coming. Here’s some dish soap you never knew you needed. This dish soap recipe uses all-natural ingredients that naturally repel buggies. And all you have to do is what you usually do with dish soap! Wash your dishes with pride, sponge down those kitchen counters with confidence ⏤ I’ll show you how to keep bugs out of your kitchen. Easy peasy! And, if you need a more on-the-go solution, check out my bug repellent spray.

What you need

Shop the supplies

Dr. Bronners Sal Suds dish soap

All-natural, plant-based
Non-toxic
Gentle, yet effective
Highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way!

Lemongrass essential oil

Repels mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, fleas and flies
Contains citral and limonene which kill bacteria and fungi
Lovely citrus scent is a great deodorizer and air freshener

Distilled water

The best option for the cleanest dish soap possible
If you don’t have distilled water, filtered way is a close second
It doesn’t contain any of the nasties found in tap water that can promote bacteria growth

Foaming soap dispenser

Is the key to a proper foaming dish soap and the soap will not foam without one
You can re-use a foaming dispenser you already have, or purchase a new one (the one I use is linked above)
I love foaming soap since it uses a fraction of the amount of soap a typical soap dispenser, but if you don’t like saving money, feel free to use a regular soap dispenser instead 😉

How to make

Unscrew the cap on your soap dispenser and get ready to add:
1 tbsp of Sal Suds dish soap
Next, add 15 drops of Lemongrass essential oil
Finally, add 1 and 1/4 cup of distilled water making sure to leave room to screw the cap back on
Screw the cap back on and shake to combine
Done!

Ways to use

Do your dishes, clean the counters and do anything else you use dish soap for as you normally would!
That’s it! Creepy crawlers will stay away naturally if they know what’s good for them!
Enjoy less kitchen critters 🙌🏾
Now that you’ve learned how to keep bugs out of your kitchen, give them an extra bang with this DIY Fruit Fly trap and tell ’em LAurenrdaniels sent ‘cha!