Cinnamon Oil to The Rescue!

Once upon a time, at our old house, we would get ants fairly often.  They'd show up in the kitchen or the bathroom a couple times a year.

A friend of mine told me to sprinkle cinnamon around, because they hate it.
I was skeptical.  That made no sense to me at all, but she swore it worked.
So I thought "What do I have to lose?"  And covered my counters with it.
They also seemed to be coming from under the counter, so I made a paste and smeared it around the spot.
And what do you know!?  It worked!  I couldn't believe it!  They were gone in less than an hour (probably faster, I really wasn't looking).

As long as the cinnamon was around, the ants were not!  

Only there was a problem: my counters looked disgusting, and were not really functional for food prep, etc. 

But I didn't care, I didn't have ants.  (I hate ants!)  

Well, recently I was clued into the same magical properties found in a less messy option. 

Cinnamon Essential Oil!  

How ingenious!  All of the scent, none of the mess!  

Just wipe it over your affected areas.  You can dilute a few drops in some water.  Or you might even try it in some vinegar, which also is good for cleaning and is supposed to help remove ants as well.  Sponge down your counters or mop your floors with it.  

Right now I've been using the oil to keep these teeny tiny bugs (they are so small I can't tell if they are gnats or ants) at bay that keep trying to gather near my sink. They do go away as soon as I wipe that spot down.

I also just learned that cinnamon oil can be very effective in combating mosquitoes!  This is music to my ears, as I hate mosquitoes even more than I hate ants.  (I haven't tried this yet, so I can't attest to its effectiveness, but I plan to for sure!)  

To control mosquito populations:

If you have a problem with mosquitoes on your property, you can drop some of the oil in stagnant water near your home and the population of mosquitoes will be controlled because cinnamon oil is very effective in killing mosquito larvae.  

To use as repellant:

You can place a few drops of the oil in your laundry wash load and the mosquitoes will not be able to get near you.  

Or, dilute it with water and spray it on your clothing or skin taking care to avoid the eye and mouth areas.  Just a few drops to a spray bottle of water will be enough.  You can also add a few drops of oil to sun screen so you'll only need to apply one lotion before going outdoors.  Do not use the oil full strength and first test a small area of your skin for adverse reactions, and test your clothing for staining.  

And a couple random fun uses for the oil:

You can also dab cinnamon oil on your light bulbs, and when you put the lights on, its sweet aromatic scent will fill your room.  

Put a couple drops on an unscented candle.  

Make home made air freshener by adding to water and spraying in a room.  

There are two types of Cinnamon Essential Oils:

Cinnamon Leaf

and

Cinnamon Bark 

(a.k.a. Cassia Bark)

 

Cinnamon Leaf oil has a spicy, warm, clove-like smell. 

Cinnamon Bark oil has more of the smell of the cinnamon spice. 

Either one works for both ants and mosquitoes,

but Cinnamon Bark Oil is known to be a harsher skin irritant than Cinnamon Leaf oil.  So it may be harder to use as mosquito repellant.  (Not sure.)  

Anyway, 

hope you find that fun and useful.  I do!  :)