Do you have any undesirable pests that frequent your home around this time of the year? I live by wetlands so we have to be careful or ants and mice will make homes in our lovely home. But I found some old fashioned methods that work great instead of the nasty chemicals. I am all about more natural methods.
Getting Rid of Ants:
To deter ants, make sure your kitchen shelves are wiped down well, free from food remains, Wash the shelves with salt and water. Mint tea, citrus juice, salt, ground cinnamon, and boric acid are all good for repelling ants. Sprinkle salt in their paths. Or make a mixture of 2/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup of white vinegar, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of dish soap. Apply where ants are marching. To destroy an ant nest, mix 1 part of confectioners sugar with 1 parkt of laundry borax. Sprinkle the mixture over a piece of wood near the nest. The sugar will attract the ants, and the borax will poison them.
Mice Control:
Stop up any openings to the house or garage with steel wool. Mice will not chew through it. Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper around entry holes. Pests don't care for the smell of it. Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simple sprinkle "pure" peppermint extract on the items in the garage of shed that you don't want mice in or on.
Natural Mosquito Repellent:
Dab lavender oil on your pulse points: it repels insects. Splashing plain rubbing alcohol on yourself and allowing it to dry will deter mosquitos from biting you.
I pray you never get these but yes some tenants left us with these
Rats:
Mix equal amounts of powder cement and flour. Set next to pan of water. Keep away from pets !
Cockroach Chasers:
Mix 4 tablespoons of borax or boric acid, 2 tablespoons of flour, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. Set out in open containers in the kitchen away from children and pets. For a simpler solution, sprinkle borax in cockroach paths. The roachs will preen themselfs and they will ingest any boric acid that is sticking to them. The boric acid poisons them and scratches and damages their exoskeletons. Boric acid will not harm people or pets unless they ingest a great deal of it. For further prevention in the kitchen, you may find it helpful to mop the floor and wipe down the walls with a solution of water and borax.
I don't, but that is some good tips. We get boxed elders in the fall and I hate those damn things.
We had a tick infestation a few years ago and the exterminator told us to use borax to clean everything. We sprinkled it on the carpet and mopped with it.
It did seem to help get rid of the ticks.
Thanks for the tips, definitely have to try the mosquito repellant...I hate the smell of "OFF". We get big, ugly cockroaches, ants and pesky mosquitoes. Have any natural stuff for spiders? They're not doing a very good job of catching and eating the very insects that decides to take refuge, in my home. lol
Thank you...I've seen a few ants around here, then I deep cleaned...But I'll keep the list for future reference...
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- black.eyeliner
on Jul. 8, 2012 at 12:15 AM