This paper towel trick is a real hit online. While it won’t get rid of all the mosquitoes in your garden, it works surprisingly well indoors (especially in the kitchen and around houseplants).

The secret is that paper towel serves as an ideal carrier of scents that either irresistibly attract insects (trap) or strongly repel them (repellent).

Here’s how to turn paper towel into an effective weapon against annoying insects:

Fruit fly trick: A clever trap
Fruit flies love moisture and the smell of fermenting fruit. Instead of buying expensive traps, make this simple trap yourself:

You’ll need: A mason jar, apple cider vinegar (or a slice of banana/wine), a drop of dish soap, and a piece of paper towel.
… Here’s how: Pour some apple cider vinegar into a mason jar and add a drop of dish soap (it lowers the surface tension of the water, causing the flies to drown). Roll a paper towel into a tight cone with a small hole at the end. Place the cone in the jar so that the tip is pointing down (the tip should not touch the water). Secure the towel to the rim of the jar with a rubber band.

Why it works: The paper towel absorbs the vinegar smell and acts as a funnel. Flies are attracted to the scent through the small hole, but the textured paper towel makes it difficult for them to get back out.

Mosquito and Fly Repellent Tricks: Homemade Repellent
Mosquitoes and small black flies in flower pots (flytraps) don’t like certain strong smells. A paper towel is ideal because it can absorb and evaporate essential oils much longer than a regular surface.

What you’ll need: A roll of paper towels and an essential oil (clove, lemongrass, eucalyptus, or peppermint work best).

How to: Put 5–10 drops of your chosen essential oil on several pieces of paper towel. Place these towels in strategic locations: by an open window, on patio doors, or directly on the soil in flower pots where flies breed.

Why it works: The intense scent of the porous paper reliably disorients mosquitoes and causes them to avoid the area. In the case of houseflies in flower pots, a cloth placed on the soil prevents the females from laying more eggs in the damp soil.

💡 A final tip for gardeners: If you are bothered by houseflies flying out of overly damp flower pots, let the soil dry out and then place a dry paper towel sprinkled with ground cinnamon on top. Cinnamon is a natural fungicide; it destroys the mold that the fly larvae feed on, and the cloth mechanically prevents them from climbing out.