When I first moved into my grandmother’s old cottage, I pictured lazy weekends, fresh lemonade on the porch, and the sweet scent of jasmine wafting through open windows. What I didn’t anticipate were the uninvited guests that arrived each evening as the sun set—flies darting through every crack, mosquitoes circling for midnight feasts, and the occasional cockroach skittering across the kitchen floor like it owned the place.
I tried everything to reclaim my space. Store-bought sprays, plug-in repellents, sticky traps, even those high-pitched electronic devices that promised to “scare bugs away.” But the result? A trash bin filled with empty bottles, headaches from harsh chemical smells, and the nagging feeling that the pests were laughing at me from behind the walls.
One particularly frustrating night, after a mosquito evaded both my hands and a rolled-up magazine, I sat on the edge of my bed and whispered, “There has to be a better way.”
And there was. It started with a dusty old notebook I found tucked away in the back of my grandmother’s pantry—its pages yellowed with time, filled with handwritten recipes and remedies she’d gathered over the years. One page was labeled: “For Flies, Roaches, and Bloodsucking Menaces.” That definitely caught my attention.
The recipe was simple—ingredients I already had in my kitchen: sugar, yeast, water, bay leaves, cloves, shampoo, and a 2-liter plastic bottle. No toxic chemicals, no warning labels, just everyday household items and a bit of clever know-how. I decided to give it a try.
That afternoon, I followed the instructions. First, I cut the top off a plastic bottle and inverted it like a funnel. In a small bowl, I mixed five tablespoons of sugar with a tablespoon of yeast, then poured in a cup of warm water. The yeast began to activate, bubbling slightly, releasing a sweet, earthy scent. I poured the mixture into the bottom of the bottle, then taped the inverted top back on, creating a trap. Flies and mosquitoes would be drawn in by the smell, and once they flew in, they couldn’t escape. Then, I made the spray. I steeped 15 bay leaves and 10 cloves in boiling water, letting it cool before straining the mixture. I added half a cup of regular shampoo—nothing fancy, just the kind I used to wash my hair—and poured it into a spray bottle. The scent of the bay leaves and cloves was surprisingly pleasant, a warm herbal fragrance that was far from the overpowering chemical smell I had grown used to. I sprayed it along the windowsills, under the sink, behind the fridge, and near the doorframes—everywhere the bugs liked to appear.
That night, something incredible happened. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t hear the familiar whine of a mosquito near my ear. There were no bugs to swat at during dinner, and when I turned on the kitchen light for a midnight snack, not a single roach scurried for cover. The trap by the back door had already captured several flies, and the house smelled pleasantly herbal, like a cozy retreat.
Over the next few days, the transformation continued. The traps kept catching flies and gnats, and the natural spray created an invisible barrier that the bugs seemed to avoid. Best of all, I didn’t have to worry about my dog, Pepper, sniffing around and ingesting something toxic.
Word quickly spread to my neighbors. When I shared the recipe with Mrs. Albright next door, she called me the next morning in disbelief—she had eaten dinner without swatting at bugs or waving a dish towel around. Soon, more neighbors began mixing up their own batches of bay leaf spray and cutting the tops off soda bottles. We even joked about starting a “Bug-Free Club” with homemade remedies and potluck dinners under string lights that were no longer under attack by mosquitoes.
It’s been over a year now, and I still use those same natural methods. I keep the traps by the doors and windows, refresh the spray every few days, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing I’m protecting my home without relying on harsh chemicals. Sometimes, it’s the old-fashioned remedies—the handwritten notes and kitchen concoctions—that work best.
So, if you’re battling unwelcome pests, why not give this a try? It could turn your home into a sanctuary—and maybe even spark a movement in your own neighborhood, one bay leaf at a time.
