5 Natural Bug Repellents

With one week left until Memorial Day, the weather's finally become consistently warm, folks are opening up their windows, doors, and pools and letting the fresh air into their homes. With that nice air also comes those pesky bugs. You could go out, buy a can of Raid and spray those harmful chemicals around your home. You could bust out your trusty fly swatter and take care of those buzzing bothers.

We've found some solutions that work better for a few reasons. First of all, they're all natural solutions. Second, they're typically found in your pantry or refrigerator. And third, rather than just killing the bugs once they're in or around your home, they repel them to begin with, creating an overall bug free zone. (Okay, fourth, the bugs get to live. Embrace your inner monk.)

• Essential Oils: Using essential oils such as lemon, orange, clove, peppermint, and mint around the home will deter most bugs as they are turned off by strong odors.

• Garlic and Pepper Powder: Most bugs avoid both garlic and pepper; therefore, sprinkling the powder around the key areas in the home helps keep the bugs at bay.

• Cucumber Slices and Ants: As summer approaches, ants flock to kitchens on the hunt for food crumbs. Ants are appalled by cucumbers; therefore, the cucumber slices work best when placed near cracks or other areas where ants may enter the home.

•Crushed Mint and Flies: Small packets of crushed mint helps to repel flies.

•Lemon Peels and Moths: We love the fresh, citrus smell of lemons and prefer it to using cedar blocks in the closet to keep moths from destroying our clothes.

Still longing to swat some flies? Fjorn has a Flyswatter that only temporarily paralyzes your bugs so you can move them outside. How friendly.