Orange oil and white vinegar for pests??

[kimntep]

I've been using solution of orange oil, white vinegar, and water for cleaning and since vinegar is a natural disinfectant, I started spraying down all the coop's surfaces with it as well as all of the supports around the yard and outdoor roosts. I know it has helped the overall smell of the place, but I believe the insect population is down and I watched it kill a black widow spider. Am I imagining things???? Does everyone already know about this???

 

[smilingcat]

I've use hot vinegar spray to kill weeds. You spray during the heat of the day and when the sun is out. I also use vinegar to clean around the house.

But this is something new.

Thanks!

 

[BigRooNTN]

Can't hurt anything to give it a try. Sounds like a good formula.

 

[speckledhen]

I use Orange Guard in the coops when we do a complete clean out, a citrus based natural pesticide sold by ACE Hardware. Smells wonderful, safe for the birds, even kills termites on contact (don't ask).

 

[kimntep]

I use Orange Guard in the coops when we do a complete clean out, a citrus based natural pesticide sold by ACE Hardware. Smells wonderful, safe for the birds, even kills termites on contact (don't ask).

I use that, too, and I love it! The only problem I have is that the sprayer heads consistently leak, so I have to transfer it to a different bottle. I'm trying to go more natural and the orange oil/vinegar/water solution cleans almost anything. I only found out by accident that the bugs don't seem to care for it. Win/win!

 

[Caribear]

Yeah, the orange oil does something to their exoskeletons and kills them. Also works on ants and wasps. We make our own orange vinegar by saving our orange peels, putting them in a quart canning jar, covering it with vinegar, and letting it sit for at least a week. The oil soaks out of the citrus and voila, natural orange cleaner! It works with all citrus peels.

 

[Daisy8s]

I have been using plain old Dawn dish soap in water to kill the hoards of box elder bugs that live in my yard. It seems to work well on the younger bugs but not the older ones. I read that the dish soap washes away a protective waxy coating on their exoskeleton so they cannot exchange oxygen through it. They die almost immediately.

I wonder if something similar is happening with the orange oil? I'd like to have something stronger since my current solution doesn't seem to work well on the adult box elder bugs.

 

[BigRooNTN]

I have been using plain old Dawn dish soap in water to kill the hoards of box elder bugs that live in my yard. It seems to work well on the younger bugs but not the older ones. I read that the dish soap washes away a protective waxy coating on their exoskeleton so they cannot exchange oxygen through it. They die almost immediately.

I wonder if something similar is happening with the orange oil? I'd like to have something stronger since my current solution doesn't seem to work well on the adult box elder bugs.

I have always been told that the Dawn detergent you are using has some Borax in it and that is what in in most bug/insect killers if I am not MISTAKEN. Although I could be.