Natural Ways to Control Pests Inside Your Home
By James Jacobs
Originally published October 12, 2015
It’s not uncommon to occasionally end up with a pest problem in your home. And the truth is, pests can be a nightmare in your home. Having ants or any other type of pest marching freely on your floors or kitchen counter may not be the most pleasant situation. However, below you’ll find some natural ways to get rid of common pests in your home with items you’ll most likely have available.
Mint for the Ants
Ants don’t like mint. As such, you can drop a few tea bags of mint near those areas in your home where the ants just love parading! Ensure that different areas in your home are kept clean, most especially the kitchen. Besides mint, you can also sprinkle some cucumber peels in the areas of attraction and spray soapy water on them to keep them away.
Tannic acid for the Dust Mites
You can sprinkle tannic acid in dust problem areas to help neutralize the allergens in dust mites and animal dander. Since dust mites can be found anywhere in the home, regular cleaning or vacuuming should be done. You should clean or vacuum beds, furniture, stuffed animals or book shelves. Last but not least, steer clear of humidifiers since they help attract dust mites-they have a special love for humidity and warmth.
Catnip for the mosquitoes
Catnip does help repel mosquitoes, so you need to plant some in your garden. If catnip is not your thing, you can also plant citronella grass, lemon balm, marigolds or rosemary. Besides plants, you need to remove any standing water sources by your home. You also need to ensure that you shut your doors in the early morning or early evening hours to help block their entrance to your home.
Sweet Basil for the flies
You can repel flies and mosquitoes with sweet basil. Other herbs that can repel flies include bay leave, crushed mint, eucalyptus and cloves. You can plant sachets of these around your home.
Peppermint for the spiders
Spiders have a special dislike for peppermint so keep a spray bottle handy. Other repellants include a mixture of vinegar and coconut oil, a mixture of citrus such as lime, lemon, wild orange and tangerine.
Diatomaceous earth for cockroaches
Having a clean home should keep away cockroaches among other pests. Sprinkle Diatomaceous earth in areas that attract cockroaches in your home. Keep water away during this time as they will be actively looking for it. The tiny particles from the Diatomaceous earth should kill most roaches within two weeks or within 48 hours. You can also repel roaches with catnip, a spray of soapy water, garlic and bay leaves. In addition, sprinkle some boric acid on top of kitchen cabinets and keep the acid away from pets and children. You can also trap roaches by soaking bread in beer and placing it in an empty can then storing the can in the area where most roaches tend to appear.
Citrus for the fleas
In case you have pets, fleas are inevitable. Citrus are a natural flea repellant to use in your home. You can soak a sliced piece of lemon in a cup of boiling water, let it soak for the night and proceed to sponge the mixture on your dog in order to kill the fleas .However, you should not apply citrus oil on cats. Bathing your pets frequently will also help eliminate or reduce fleas. In addition, sprinkle diatomaceous earth on your dog or in places where fleas are most present.
Credits
Wikipedia – List of Pest Repelling Plants
EarthEasy – Natural Garden Pest Control
Pest Control Plus – Pest Control Articles
James Jacobs
NOTE from Angel4light:
I don’t know about you but fruit flies drive me bonkers every summer. We are farmers and love our fresh produce, but unfortunately when the tomatoes are riping on the shelf they tend to bring in these nagging pest. Fruit also brings them around, especially if they are in the ripe stage.
Many people would resort to chemical sprays, which are a big NO NO in our home. My sister told me about something she tried and Bingo, it works like a charm.
Pour about 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar in a small dish that will be up and away from getting bumped or knocked over by pets or little ones. In this dish pour in a tiny amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid.
Check the body count daily. Note: It will gross you out. Repeat this process as often as needed and don’t be fooled that they are totally gone as it takes 8 to 10 days for their eggs to hatch and the problem will repeat itself.
When the solution seems to be getting thick, I have added just a small amount of water to extend it for another day or two. Especially if I were short on time but want to keep my kitchen and home nat free.
In the meantime:
- Clean your drains, sinks and counters with rubbing alcohol.
- Follow up with a pipe flush using baking soda and white vinegar.
- Make sure there isn’t any standing water or fruits that will draw in these pest, because they multiply like mosquitoes and spread germs.
- Burn some incense if you like, the fruit fly needs fresh air and smoke of any kind kills them.
I hope these tips and tricks help you maintain your sanity when bugs want to claim your home.
Whatever you do, try to go natural. The chemicals that are on the market are lethal to bugs but also to you, your pets and your loved ones.
We will talk about your cleaning goods in a future post.
Stay safe and Chemical Free!
Namaste’
Angel 4 Light 