Banish spiders and fruit flies from your home with six natural ingredients

A cleaning influencer has shared her top tips on how you can make sure to keep spiders away from your home without using harsh chemicals.

As spring has finally sprung, you are most likely starting to find that spiders and other kinds of bugs are finding their way into your home.

To help keep the creepy crawlies at a bay, cleaning influencer Georgia, known on TikTok as ‘Clean with Georgia’, has shared her top tips on how to prevent spiders and bugs from entering your home without having to use any chemical-based bug repellants.

“If you hate spiders and bugs in your home, then this video is for you,” she said before jumping into her list of six ways to prevent spiders from entering your home.

1. Peppermint spray

“This spray is only made up of two ingredients, so it’s definitely worth trying,” she said.

Into an empty spray bottle, add half a cup of water before dripping in 15-20 drops of peppermint oil. Shake the bottle way before spraying around your doors and windows or anywhere else where spiders like to be.

Since spiders have a strong sense of smell, the strong aroma of peppermint will make them avoid entering your home if you spray it around any entrances.

2. Cinnamon sticks

“The second hack, place some cinnamon sticks near entry points,” Georgia said, explaining it works in a similar way to the peppermint oil. “It’s a hot spice and they do not like it. This also deters ants as well, so it’s a great little hack.”

3. Mop with peppermint

To really enhance the scent of peppermint in your home, Georgia also recommends adding a few drops of peppermint to your mop when cleaning your floors.

“Put some peppermint oil in a mop, therefore deterring any creepy crawlies and giving your floor a clean,” she said.

4. Peppermint dusting

Continuing with the peppermint theme, Georgia recommends cleaning up any cobweb areas of your home with a duster that has some peppermint oil on it, to prevent the spiders from coming back.

5. Fruit fly catcher

As for preventing fruit flies, Georgia said: “I can’t say I remember the last time I had fruit flies in my house, and that’s because I use apple cider vinegar and a dishsoap solution.”

To make this, pour a bit of apple cider vinegar into a glass or small plate and add a few drops of dish soap. This will attract the fruit flies and prevent them from reproducing.

“Give it a little mix and it should help any fruit fly problems you have,” she said as she placed hers by a fruit bowl.

6. Clean your bin with peppermint

For her final tip, Georgia urged people to clean their indoor bins more often before spraying the peppermint and water solution on it.

“Because spiders love a damp environment, make sure to rub peppermint oil on your bin,” she explained, as she was seen spraying her bin with the solution before wiping off any excess.