A little bit ago we talked about how to keep rats out of your garage. But rats are not the only pests that love to hang out in garages. At my house we have lots of bugs. Wasps, spiders, flies, you name it we’ve got it! Usually I’d be excited about having such variety in life, but when it’s bugs we are talking about I’m not as excited. Luckily I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to keep bugs out of my garage. It must be your lucky day too reader because I’m about to share them with you!
The best way to get rid of bugs, is to deter them completely! Its just like a stain; you don’t have to worry about it until it’s there and really difficult to get rid of! So of course keeping bugs away is usually the better option.
- Plant some plants!
This may seem odd at first but not only can it be effective, it’s fun and plants are so pretty! Some plants that deter insects like wasps and spider are Mint, Basil, geranium, and citronella! All of those plants need a fair amount of sun but they work wonders! I like to plant them right in front of my garage.
- Keep trash bins as far away from the garage as possible.
This one is a little harder for me to achieve since my garage faces the alley and there isn’t much space to store my trash and yard waste bin. But if at all possible move your bins away from the front of your garage. Trash can attract flies and wasps. Keeping your bins on the side of the garage or better yet, way on the other end of the home will do an even better job!
Since I’m unable to keep my trash bins away, I usually give them a quick spray down with the hose after they are emptied. It only takes me a few minutes and it keeps flies away!
- Use color!
You know those blue light fly traps? Well it turns out that they are super effective! Yellow light can help to deter flies because they hate the color yellow, but they LOVE blue. So if you hung a blue light trap far away from the garage then the flies will be attracted to the light and away from the garage.
to deter bees and wasps, you can use the color red! Wasps can’t see the color red, so if you have red trim around your garage door it can help to keep wasps away.
- Bug spray.
This one can be kind of controversial because bug spray can be full of harmful chemicals. But you can make a natural spray out of water, alcohol, and herbs or essential oils of mint, eucalyptus, and rosemary, also if you have essential oils of the plants listed in step one you can add those for extra protection. Respray pretty often if you go the natural route.
- Keep your Garage Clean
I know, I mentioned this in the post about rats, but it’s worth mentioning again. Keeping your garage clear of unsealed food, and clean from extra dirt and clutter will work to keep bugs away. Especially spiders love dark, dusty corners. If your garage is kept clean bugs will stay away!