Keep Bugs Away From Your Picnic With A Sprinkle Of This Spice Cabinet Staple

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We all have visions of a serene, sun-kissed setting when planning a picnic. The food will be fresh and delicious, the basket organized and tidy, and the foliage will dance around the blanket in the breeze as we enjoy our hard-earned meal. But what we tend to forget about is the fact that picnics are usually held outdoors, where there is adverse weather, rocky terrain — and lots of bugs. Luckily, there is one cabinet staple that can help deter pests while you enjoy your picnic: Cinnamon.

The world has started to recognize cinnamon as a natural pesticide in recent years, after the spice emerged as a more environmentally friendly alternative to chemical deterrents. The power lies in cinnamaldehyde, a natural compound that gets in the way of the communication systems of some bugs. In gardens, this prevents pests from reproducing, but it can also deter them from a food source, like a perfect picnic.

One of the insects that cinnamaldehyde repels is ants, which makes it especially useful for eating outdoors. It has even been shown to deter squirrels, mice, mosquitoes, and fruit flies, as well as pesky wasps, but you do need to use it the right way.

Cinnamon powder will do, but concentrated essential oils seem to work better.  You can buy cinnamon oil online and from specialty health stores. It's even available from Amazon. To use it at your next picnic, just dot some of the oil around your blanket or mix it with water in a spray bottle and mist the area. 

If you can only get your hands on the powder, just sprinkle a little on any part of the ground where you see bugs or right on the blanket if you don't care about short-term stains. You can also try mixing cinnamon essential oils and water in the spray bottle. 

There are a lot of applications for cinnamon in the garden, as pests hate the sweet pantry staple, and it is also a natural way to keep mice away. However, if you're in a pinch and can't find any cinnamon, here are some other common pantry staples that will keep pests away. You may end up throwing a lot of those chemical pesticides away.