Rubbing alcohol is useful for so many things. Of course, it has been responsible for saving countless lives around the world. Before that, people just YOLO’d their surgeries and hoped their bodies would fight off the bacteria and fungi that were trying to kill us.
Whether you’re looking to remove ink stains, remove stickers, clean jewelry, or even defrost your windshield, deodorize your shoes or make ice packs, you can do it all with good old-fashioned rubbing alcohol.
But did you know you can also use this item to keep bugs out of your home? Nashville-based TikTok user Sam SardinaSamsardina), shared in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on the popular social media app, that his life had “changed” after discovering a use for the compound.
How to kill bugs with rubbing alcohol?
She starts the clip by holding a bottle of Equate 91% isopropyl alcohol with a spray bottle attached to it towards the camera, before explaining a PSA on getting rid of bugs on the internet.
“I have a life hack that has literally changed my life and I want to share it with you all. If you have mosquitoes, fruit flies, flies or any kind of bug in your house or apartment or whatever, this will be your new best friend. The alcohol was, I think, $3 at Walmart. The top part is from an old empty spray bottle. It fits perfectly,” she says, pretending to squirt the alcohol at an imaginary bug, then pantomiming gun sounds. “On contact, the mosquito…dies…the fly…dies…dead.”
Sardina adds that due to the nature of the alcohol, the compound doesn’t stay in the home for long and won’t irritate the person spraying it to get rid of flying bugs in the house. “And the best part is, because it’s alcohol, it evaporates quickly. There’s no need to wipe it off, it’s hygienic. I literally… I can’t imagine living without it,” she says at the end of the video.
Several other people in the comments section of Sardina’s video seemed to praise her love for the rubbing alcohol bug repellent, like this one who wrote, “That’s my weapon of choice. Nice to meet you soldier.”
Someone else found a different spray to kill bugs: “That’s so clever. I used to use cheap hairspray to stick them in the air.”
Another person suggested a modification to Sardina’s methodology that not only kills the bugs but also prevents others from replacing them once they’ve fallen: “Add a few drops of peppermint oil and you’ll keep any bugs away from you in the future.”
However, some people have pointed out that rubbing alcohol can ruin the finish on certain fixtures in the home, so Sardina and anyone who wants to follow her suggestions should exercise caution.
But another TikTok user offered a simple solution to this problem: dilute a bottle of rubbing alcohol with water, and they say the alcohol doesn’t need to be concentrated to kill the pests. “This is what I do! If you dilute it to 50% with water you can spray it directly on your plants and kill the pests without damaging them,” they wrote.
According to this app user, they also enjoy using rubbing alcohol on the armpits of their shirts to keep them smelling fresh: “I wear it and it’s great for spraying the armpits of shirts (or on myself) to get rid of odors. A real summer companion.”
Green Pest Solution Rubbing alcohol is effective at killing bugs and destroying any eggs they may have laid, but in the case of bed bugs (if you are unfortunate enough to encounter these pests), it probably won’t be enough to get rid of the problem, he writes: “Rubbing alcohol will kill bed bugs and their eggs, but it will not cure an infestation. Rubbing alcohol dissolves and kills the bug cells and dries out and destroys the eggs.”
Another online source states that some types of bugs are more likely to die than others when exposed to rubbing alcohol. I love those leaves She shared that anyone wanting to protect their plants from pests needs to use the correct dilution rate when spraying their beloved chlorotic friends. “Before you start using rubbing alcohol to get rid of plant pests, it’s important to make sure you’re getting the right product and using it at the right dilution rate so your plants can withstand the treatment. Next, we’ll show you what to look for to get the right type of alcohol, dilution and application rates for different plant pests, and how to keep your plants safe and get rid of only the pests.”
Samsardina I am an exterminator #insect #Fruit fly #Fly #mosquito ♬ Please Please Please – Sabrina Carpenter
If you’ve ever looked into this Florida man’s effective methods for getting rid of mosquitoes, then this methodology may be familiar to you. This gentleman-like YouTuber Turn a box fan around and attach a board to the front of the fan (exhaust side) with a zip tie so the bugs are sucked in from the back (intake side). After trapping the bugs on the board, put a solution of isopropyl alcohol mixed with water in a spray bottle and spray the bugs, which will kill them.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sardina through the TikTok comments for more information.
Jack Alban
Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot, covering trending human interest/social media stories and real people’s reactions to them. He always strives to create not-so-ordinary viral posts by incorporating evidence-based research, current events, and facts relevant to these stories.
