Homemade Bug Repellent for Gnats Using Beer & Dish Soap

Instead of purchasing commercial bug repellent, make your own at home with ingredients that can be found in the home: beer and dish soap. Whether you are spraying your skin or setting a bug trap, both of these methods work to repel annoying gnats.

Beer Gnat Trap

1. Pour cheap beer into several small, plastic containers until each container is about halfway full.

2. Place the containers around the areas of your yard where gnats are present.

3. Let the beer traps sit. The bugs are attracted to the beer and will venture into the liquid, drowning themselves.

4. Direct someone to hold a large piece of cheesecloth over a bowl. Pour the beer--with dead gnats--over the cheesecloth to strain it.

5. Pour the strained beer back into the containers and repeat the process until the gnat population in your yard has diminished.

Dish Soap Bug Spray

1. Mix together equal parts of water, white distilled vinegar and dish soap. Stir lightly to prevent the dish soap from foaming.

2. Transfer the mixture into a spray bottle.

3. Spray the dish soap and vinegar mixture on your skin to repel bugs. This mixture will repel most types of bugs, including mosquitoes and gnats.