Summer is here, and with summer comes my least favorite group of creatures--bugs.
There's a long list of critters that I hate, hate, hate! Spiders, centipedes, cockroaches, flies, ants--I can tolerate them outside, but when they get inside my house, I am not a happy Mrs. Scrimp.
Unfortunately, ants and flies have both arrived in our house--mainly in the kitchen. Our kitchen has a door that leads into the back steps and then right out into the driveway, so it's not really a surprise, but it definitely is an annoyance.
The problem is, I refuse to even let chemical insectisides into my house. So, what's to be done? Well, I did some poking around online and have some ideas.
Natural Insect Pest Control informs me that ants hate cucumbers. Who knew that laying cucumber slices down on my counter could potentially repel ants? Crushed mint leaves or crushed cloves were also recommended.
Flies also apparently dislike cloves and mint (as well as bay and eucalyptus). The website recommends making a sachet of these out of cheesecloth and hanging it in windows and doors.
Apartment Therapy's article on Household Pest Control also suggests cucumbers and mint for ants and flies respectively. They also recommend powdered garlic and/or pepper sprinkled around the house as an all-purpose bug repellent.
I think that, based on what I currently have in my house, I'm going to give the bay and cloves a shot. I've got some fresh bay sitting in my fridge that I haven't been using and I think it'll look really pretty hanging in the window.
There's something so Medieval (in a good way!) about the idea of hanging fresh herbs all through the house to achieve a result other than mere decoration. I'm going to give it a try today and update y'all as soon as I know how it works.
Cinnamon works on ants , as well, we've had some good luck with that over here.
ReplyDeleteTo keep away mosquitoes, Dan's dad mixes water with some cider vinegar and says it works like a charm.
Turns out that we were out of cloves, so I used bay, sage, and cinnamon. Seems to be working alright, although not 100% efficacious after 6 hours.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to use garlic water on the garden and it worked really really well, but may not work really well if you don't enjoy the smell of day old garlic :-(
ReplyDeleteGo for natural if you don’t like chemicals. Choose plants, like oregano, thyme, and chrysanthemums, that act as natural repellents to multiple types of insects. Having a Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant which preys on insects, might also help with your insect woes. Jeffrey @ BugManiacs.com
ReplyDeleteI can tolerate bugs and critters as longs as they don't decide to live in my home. I know they're part of the nature's balance, and for that I think that's where they belong – in nature, and not inside my house or in my office. Hopefully, you were able find a repellent treatment that will work for you.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Boddie @ Liberty Pest