• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Vinegar for Entomophobia

Darwin

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
So, I have a flea infestation but managed to “escape” to another apartment for a few days until the pest control company fixes the problem. Once I realized I had a flea issue, I panicked and couldn’t sleep for 2 days. Even after escaping, I am still frightened lest a few of those fleas hitchhike on my body or clothes and infest the apartment I’m currently staying at (that’s not crazy, though. I read that a female lays up to 50 eggs after 1 meal!) They can get overwhelmingly too many in days!

So, I think I might have entomophobia because I have a history of such exaggerated responses to insects and even germs. I have researched a lot about fleas, and many websites wrote about how effective vinegar can be at repelling fleas (and, apparently, insects, in general).
Has any of you tried it? Because, if it actually is effective, I will be spraying myself everyday.

P.S: I am asking about using it for humans, not pets.
 
Interesting idea...but then in my own case the smell of vinegar itself it quite repulsive to me. I can barely tolerate it in glass cleaners, though it is certainly versatile in any number of uses. I used to love the fact that acetic acid can take out stubborn water stains on glass- especially automobiles.

A cure worse than the disease. Yet in my apartment, arachnids and insects aren't wanted. If I see them, I get rid of them. Period. Do I have a real "phobia" over such things? Hmmmm. Not really sure. They probably get lost in my OCD in a quest to keep a very clean house in general. :oops:

Makes me wonder though, if using products like Pine-Sol have any effect on wandering insects?
 
Last edited:
We have 4 dogs, and although we keep them pretty well protected with monthly flea/tick pills, they can and do still bring them in occasionally (along with ticks). They hitch a ride in on the dogs, drop off and look for an alternative: me. Never the wife for some reason. :D

Anyway, all I do for fleas is if if I get a bite wash all the linens and vacuum the floor. That is bedding, dog blanks, sofa covers, mats, piles of laundry, clothes lying out, etc. Sometimes it takes two cycles of cleaning everything but it has worked eventually.
 
Interesting idea...but then in my own case the smell of vinegar itself it quite repulsive to me. I can barely tolerate it in glass cleaners, though it is certainly versatile in any number of uses. I used to love the fact that acetic acid can take out stubborn water stains on glass- especially automobiles.

A cure worse than the disease. Yet in my apartment, arachnids and insects aren't wanted. If I see them, I get rid of them. Period.

Do I have a real "phobia" over such things? Hmmmm. Not really sure. They probably get lost in my OCD in a quest to keep a very clean house in general. :oops:

I think I’m ok with the smell of vinegar, so there isn’t any problem using it. There are alternatives: apple cider vinegar, essential oils, and some commercial products.
 
Not that I know of, although it's acidic which might freak out the fleas, I don't know if will kill them. Spraying vinegar on yourself will damage your skin and crack it, and after awhile it burns and makes you very uncomfortable. I use vinegar for cleaning, and I wear gloves when I use it.

I'd suggest that you wash all your clothes and sheets in hot water with detergent, that can be washed in hot water. Use a clothes dryer for the clothing and bedsheets afterwards as well.

Take a shower or bath and wash your hair several times and use conditioner. That should take care of any fleas. If it's pets that have brought in the fleas, make sure to treat the pets for fleas. If the fleas were already there, the pest control company should take care of the rest.

I've had two or three flea infestations when I lived in city apartments. Brought in when I used to run a dog sitting service. They were quickly eradicated with sprays and bombs and careful use of pesticides.
 
I think I’m ok with the smell of vinegar, so there isn’t any problem using it. There are alternatives: apple cider vinegar, essential oils, and some commercial products.

I keep a bottle of distilled white vinegar in the house...mostly for those occasional stubborn water spots. Once in a while I'll cut a bottle of Windex with vinegar.

Still hate the smell though. :oops:

But if it can "bug" humans so much, one can only wonder what it would do to fleas. :cool:
 
Not that I know of, although it's acidic which might freak out the fleas, I don't know if will kill them. Spraying vinegar on yourself will damage your skin and crack it, and after awhile it burns and makes you very uncomfortable. I use vinegar for cleaning, and I wear gloves when I use it.

I'd suggest that you wash all your clothes and sheets in hot water with detergent, that can be washed in hot water. Use a clothes dryer for the clothing and bedsheets afterwards as well.

Take a shower or bath and wash your hair several times and use conditioner. That should take care of any fleas. If it's pets that have brought in the fleas, make sure to treat the pets for fleas. If the fleas were already there, the pest control company should take care of the rest.

I've had two or three flea infestations when I lived in city apartments. Brought in when I used to run a dog sitting service. They were quickly eradicated with sprays and bombs and careful use of pesticides.


I did some of that, but they didn’t work, supposedly, because it is a huge infestation. That’s why I will get a professional’s help. But my question was about vinegar for preventing any future bites. I know it doesn’t kill fleas. They just repel them and other insects, too. So, as someone with entomophobia, repellants which would repel most or all insects away from my skin are what I am looking for to prevent any unnecessary bites. I am kind of planning on a bite-free future. Is that possible? I hope so.

Thanks for the info about how harmful vinegar can be. I read that it should be diluted with water to, I assume, make it safer for the skin? I will do a research about that before using it again.
 
My friend went thru this in her apartment. She sprinkled something on her rug then vacuumed daily. She washed items too. I think it was something from the pet store in powder form that she sprinkled on rug. Heat kills them too. She had her rug treated professionally.
 
My friend went thru this in her apartment. She sprinkled something on her rug then vacuumed daily. She washed items too. I think it was something from the pet store in powder form that she sprinkled on rug. Heat kills them too. She had her rug treated professionally.

I tried vacuuming, but only did it twice. It’s very exhausting. I had to vacuum carpets, furniture and under the furniture. It takes me more than an hour to finish vacuuming one room. That’s why I called a pest control company (and also because of my phobia).
 
My friend was tired of it too. But she continued after her rugs were done professionaly and then the problem cleared up.
 
Last edited:
my question was about vinegar for preventing any future bites. I know it doesn’t kill fleas. They just repel them and other insects, too. So, as someone with entomophobia, repellants which would repel most or all insects away from my skin are what I am looking for to prevent any unnecessary bites. I am kind of planning on a bite-free future. Is that possible? I hope so.

Thanks for the info about how harmful vinegar can be. I read that it should be diluted with water to, I assume, make it safer for the skin? I will do a research about that before using it again.

A bite free future is possible. Yet you would have to avoid going outdoors in summer during certain times of the year, and near certain bodies of water. Keeping all areas covered that might be bitten. I've been out in black fly season in northern canada and you cover every area of your exposed body with clothing, tape the sleeves and pant legs, spray home-made bug repellant, cover your face and neck with netting. It's no fun.

You could use citronella, candles, soap and lotion, even washing your hair in it. There are other lesser known methods. Such as:

Essential Oils That Repel Insects:
  • Mosquitoes: Citronella, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, basil, clove, thyme, lemongrass, geranium, and lavender;
  • Fleas: Cedarwood, citronella, eucalyptus, tea tree, lemongrass, lavender, orange, and pine;
  • Ticks: Rose geranium, juniper, rosewood, thyme, grapefruit, and oregano.
Personally I've used oregano, eucalyptus, even vicks vapo rub to repel mosquitoes. So some of those might work for you.

Homemade bug repellant: Homemade Bug Spray Recipes That Work | Wellness Mama
Note: the above link also includes a vinegar based bug spray.
 
I misread the title as "emetophobia" and thought vinegar was some kind of quack treatment, although I can't imagine why, although drinking it would force you to deal with the phobia in a hurry.:coldsweat:

I did use apple cider vinegar one time to trap and kill fruit flies. I put the vinegar in small plastic cups with plastic wrap with holes in the middle stretched over them. The flies would be attracted to the vinegar, fall in through the holes, be trapped inside and drown or the acid would kill them. Not a pleasant way to go, but whether or not they suffered is debatable.:innocent:
 
Thai food has delicious lemon grass, maybe l could eat bowls of that then go outside. Lol.
 
Have you tried sprinkling borax on the carpet and vaccuming it up?

Also peppermint essential oil and geranium essential oil kill pests. Just the smell of it. I don't know how it works, but I've gotten rid of multiple infestations from ants to mice using essential oils.
 
Have you tried sprinkling borax on the carpet and vaccuming it up?

Also peppermint essential oil and geranium essential oil kill pests. Just the smell of it. I don't know how it works, but I've gotten rid of multiple infestations from ants to mice using essential oils.

I tried vacuuming, washing carpets and insecticides. The reason why they didn’t work was probably that the infestation is extensive. I think, fleas infest all the rooms. I might use essential oils on my skin to prevent insects from biting me, but I don’t think I can deal with the infestation. That’s why I preferred calling a company to fix the problem for me.
 
I tried vacuuming, washing carpets and insecticides. The reason why they didn’t work was probably that the infestation is extensive. I think, fleas infest all the rooms. I might use essential oils on my skin to prevent insects from biting me, but I don’t think I can deal with the infestation. That’s why I preferred calling a company to fix the problem for me.

I hear that! Some critters are just too nasty!

Years back, I lived in a beautiful 6th floor penthouse downtown. Floor to ceiling windows, corner unit, building only 4 years old. A couple days in to the lease, I discovered roaches!!!! EEEEEK!!! I didn't even know what they looked like before that, but as soon as I spotted them, I knew!

I had the manager send in exterminators. You know that!
 
This may seem strange, but sprinkle salt everywhere - fleas hate the stuff, and it actually does deal with the problem. Leave for two days and then vacuum.
 
This may seem strange, but sprinkle salt everywhere - fleas hate the stuff, and it actually does deal with the problem. Leave for two days and then vacuum.
I heard about salt, but I don’t think I can vacuum daily. Anyway, a pest control company came, and I’ve not seen a single flea for more than a week now, but I read that some of the eggs that might have survived may develop into adults in 7-14 days after treatment, so I still take precautions to prevent possible bites (by wearing long sleeve-clothes and spraying vinegar on my body). I have also put flea traps in many rooms; if I caught any of them, I would call the company again to eradicate the rest of them.
 

New Threads

Top Bottom