Updated

While we're spending as much time as we can outside this summer, the bugs are making themselves comfortable inside. Nothing is worse than getting bitten by a mosquito in your sleep, or waking up to fruit flies all over your kitchen. (Yuck!) Here are five kid and pet-friendly ways to keep your home pest-free this summer.

  • Get rid of standing water. Mosquitoes and gnats are attracted to stagnant water, so make sure to get rid of anything that could invite them to harvest. This includes garbage, damp recyclables and glasses of liquid. 
  • Spray white vinegar around door and window frames. Ants don’t like the smell of vinegar and avoid it at all costs. 
  • Put out a small dish of white wine. There’s nothing worse than fruit flies hovering around your countertops all summer! Fruit flies, however, love the sweetness of wine, and will quickly dive in for a taste (and stay there indefinitely). 
  • Hang chalk in your closet. Chalk will help to dry out your closet and keep moths away. 
  • Peel a vegetable. Before you throw those cucumber peels away, save some and keep them on your kitchen counter, or even on the side of your bathtub. Roaches hate them!