Did you know that liquid dish soap kills many bugs - on contact? It kills ants, fleas, roaches, spiders, mites, fruit flies, aphids etc.
It is a non-toxic bug killer that you can use inside and outside your house.
HOW TO USE
Take an empty spray bottle and fill it half full of water. (Soft water works better, i.e bottled or distilled water).
Pour in 1/2 ounce of mild dish soap. Any dish soap works. I have found that Ivory or Dawn dish soaps without degreasers works best. Gently swirl the water in the bottle to mix the water and dish soap and then fill the spray bottle with more water.
That's all you need! You are ready to go bug hunting.
For about 10 cents worth of dish soap and a clean recycled spray bottle (that would have ended up in your garbage), you have a non-toxic bug spray.
I'll tell you a story about my dish soap bug spray.
One day I was working in my home office and I heard a loud scream coming from my wife in the family room. I thought someone was breaking in my house! I ran into the family room to see what was happening. I said "What's going on"? She pointed to the wall and there was a huge spider on the wall. It was almost as big as a tarantula!
She said "Go grab something and kill it, or go get the Raid and spray it"!!
I didn't want to use Raid because it is toxic, and I didn't want to smash it with a rolled up newspaper because I didn't want to clean spider guts off the wall.
I had used my dish soap solution to kill ants before, so I decided to try it on this huge spider.
I cautiously approached the spider and kept my distance, in the fear that I would spray it and it would jump off the wall and bite me on my face!
I gave it a couple healthy sprays and it just fell off the wall, and with a loud thud when it hit the floor, it just laid there, dead as a door nail!
I have a tile floor in my family room so I stepped on it just to make sure that it met its demise, but I am pretty sure it was dead already. (I wasn't brave enough to try to pick it up with a paper towel, again fearing that it would jump up and bite me on my face!)
So, the next time you want to eliminate a bug problem, this is a great way to do it. It is a cheap and eco-friendly solution.
Note: If you use it outside be careful to not spray it into the wind. Dish soap is a eye irritant.
Image Sources:
Dawn Dish Soap:
https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Ultra-Dishwashing-Liquid-Original/dp/B001XQ7LOS?th=1
Spray Bottle:
http://www.containerstore.com/s/laundry/ironing/32-oz.-clear-spray-bottle-by-casabella/12d?productId=10006426
Assorted Bugs:
http://www.bugsnbees.com/Assorted-Big-Vinyl-Bugs-pk-12.html