What Insects Does Cinnamon Repel? Find Out Now

Do you know what insects does cinnamon repel? You’d be surprised that a piece of spice that is common in no so many homes repels so many pests.

In this guide you’ll find out a list of 10 insects and bugs, many of which are pests, that cinnamon repels.

10 Insects That Cinnamon Repel For Sure!

Cinnamon is effective in repelling –

1. Ants
2. Mosquitoes 
3. Wasps
4. Earwigs
5. Bedbugs
6. Silverfish
7. Spiders
8. Flies 
9. Fruit Flies
10. Mice

Cinnamon acts as a good repellent for the above insects. Still, it’s not a permanent solution to your home’s insect problems. Using cinnamon is an excellent stop-gap solution to repel these insects. But it’s not a long-term solution to your home’s insect infestation. 

You can use cinnamon in two forms to repel insects – cinnamon powder and cinnamon essential oils. 

Let’s get into how you can use cinnamon oil and cinnamon powder to repel insects. 

Does Cinnamon Keep Ants Away?

Yes, cinnamon repel ants. And when you keep it near the ant’s hiding places, cinnamon keep ants away.

Ants hate cinnamon and cinnamon powder is an excellent ant repellent. If you see ants crawling on your floor often, then sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the floor.

Moments later, the ants will be gone. 

Don’t add any sugar with cinnamon powder. Else it’ll have a reverse effect of attracting the ants. 

You can also keep cinnamon sticks where you’ve observed a line of ants crawling. That is a typical commuting route for the ants.

Cinnamon essential oil works better than cinnamon sticks because the essential oil is a pure extract.

All you need to do is mix a few drops of cinnamon essential oil with water and spray it on places where you see ants. To add more punch to the mixture, add a few drops of dish washing soap.

Does Cinnamon repel bed bugs?

Yes, cinnamon repel bed bugs. You can use cinnamon essential oil to repel bed bugs.

Mix five to seven drops of cinnamon essential oil with water. Put the mixture in a sprayer and shake it well for 10-15 seconds.

Then spray the mixture on your bedsheets and bed covers at least 2-3 hours before bed. 

You’ll certainly lesser bed bug activities than earlier. But, it doesn’t kill bed bugs.

Bed bugs are difficult pests to kill, and it’s always advisable to hire a pest controller to get rid of bed bugs infestation. 

Keep in mind that there are a lot of cheap and fake essential oils available in the market. Always buy cold-pressed cinnamon essential oil like this one. 

If you’re into essential oils, always buy the cold-pressed ones.

Cold-pressed essential oils are of top quality, and they’re pure herbal extracts. If you buy any other type of essential oils (the ones that are not cold-pressed), it will fail to deter bugs and insects.

Does Cinnamon repel spiders?

Yes, cinnamon repel spiders. You can use cinnamon powder and a spray of Cinnamon essential oil mixed with water to repel spiders.

Sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the nooks and corners of your home to deter spider from making webs. 

You can also spray a mixture of cold-pressed cinnamon oil and water on the ceiling or attic to deter the spiders. 

But spiders can hide in other places of your home once they detect smell of cinnamon in one area.

Does Cinnamon repel mosquitoes?

Yes, cinnamon does repel mosquitoes. Cinnamon is also useful in killing mosquito eggs. 

In a recent study, it’s found that cinnamon powder kills mosquito larva too. 

Water gathered in trash cans, rotting wood logs, and discarded tires are breeding places of mosquitoes. So, if you have a pothole of water around your home, sprinkle some cinnamon powder to kill the mosquito larva. 

To repel adult mosquitoes, light up the citronella candle with the cinnamon sticks wrapped around the candle. Make sure the flame of the candle doesn’t burn the cinnamon sticks. Fumes from the candle and the aroma of the cinnamon stick will repel the adult mosquitoes. 

Does Cinnamon repel flies and fruit flies?

Yes, cinnamon repel flies and fruit flies, both. The cinnamon spray works best to deter flies from cinnamon powder. 

For making a cinnamon spray, mix the cold-pressed cinnamon essential oil with water and spray it in your home. 

Cinnamon essential oil is toxic to both flies and fruit flies. Both tend to avoid it as a means of survival. Here’s a scientific study that proved how cinnamon oils repel both flies and fruit flies. 

Does Cinnamon repel mice?

Yes, cinnamon repel mice.

Mice hate the pungent aroma of cinnamon. You can keep cinnamon sticks in your wardrobe, closets, cabinets, below your furniture, where mice can hide. 

The longer you keep the cinnamon sticks, the better. The cinnamon spray is not as effective as cinnamon sticks to repel mice because once the spray dries up, the mice come back again. 

Does Cinnamon repel wasps?

Yes, cinnamon repel wasps. The best way to deter wasps is by spraying a mixture of cold condensed cinnamon essential oil and distilled water. 

You can spray this mixture on your plants to deter the wasps. Cold condensed cinnamon essential oil contains eugenol that wasps dislike. So, if you sprinkle it on the areas where wasps frequently visit, it will deter them. 

Does Cinnamon repel earwigs?

Yes, cinnamon repel earwigs. 

Again, the cinnamon essential oil is more effective against earwigs than cinnamon powder or sticks. Use a spray of cinnamon essential oil mixed with water to deter the earwigs. 

To add a little more punch to your spray, you can also add eucalyptus essential with the spray. 

Both cinnamon and eucalyptus are natural earwig repellent. 

Does Cinnamon repel cockroaches?

No, cinnamon doesn’t repel cockroaches. 

But there’re are other essential oils or spices that can work against cockroaches. You can use bay leaves, garlic, and catnip to reduce some amount of cockroach activity in your home. 

But roaches are tough nuts. There are a few proven home remedies to kill cockroaches. You can check it out here in our post. 

Does Cinnamon repel silverfish?

Yes, cinnamon does repel silverfish. Along with cinnamon, cold condensed lavender essential oils and peppermint essential oils are also good silverfish deterrents.

The spray form of cinnamon cold condensed essential oil works better than the powdered cinnamon or cinnamon sticks for silverfish.

You can also add cloves essential oil to the mixture of cinnamon essential oil and water to make it more repelling to silverfish. 

Conclusion

Cinnamon’s strong aroma and eugenol content act as a great repellent for many insects and bugs. 

But keep in mind that cinnamon powder, sticks, or essentials are just deterrents. Cinnamon can keep these creepers and crawlers away for a while. But Cinnamon doesn’t kill them. 

Cinnamon can’t replace any full-fledged expert pest control measures that an experienced pest control specialist can provide. 

Cinnamon or any other kind of spices and essential oils doesn’t work on termites. Termites are little tough pests to get rid of.

Here’s the list of 10 bugs again that cinnamon repels –

1. Ants
2. Mosquitoes 
3. Wasps
4. Earwigs
5. Bedbugs
6. Silverfish
7. Spiders
8. Flies 
9. Fruit Flies
10. Mice