Home Remedies for Pest Control

NATURAL BORN PEST KILLERS Home Remedies for Pest Control
Natural Not everybody likes cucumbers. You may be interested to learn
that ants hate cucumbers, especially cucumber peels. You'll especially
appreciate that fact if you want to get rid of them. Just spread some
cucumber peels - the more bitter, the better - where ants enter your
home and they should get the message. Consider cucumber the
"anti-welcome" mat for ants.Cucumbers are one example of natural pest
control. It's using natural and generally non-toxic ingredients to
repel or get rid of bugs including ants, wasps, mites, moths, flies
and other insects.People are slicing up cucumbers instead of spraying
Bug-Be-Gone because they don't want toxic chemicals in their homes or
in their garden sheds. There is growing evidence that synthetic
pesticides pose a health risk to humans and animals.For those willing
to invest some time and effort at crafting their own remedies, we've
gone on to list a variety of remedies to help you battle pests on the
home front and in your garden.Barriers act like barbed wire to keep
crawling pests, such as ants, out. These include garlic - grind it up
with water and apply - cayenne pepper, cinnamon, powdered charcoal,
bone meal, talcum powder or chalk. Keep in mind that different pests
have different aversions, so you'll have to see what substance works
best with the ones trying to sneak into your home.Another way to think
of barriers is to grow certain plants around the periphery of your
home. They not only look nice, but will also deter pests. Plants known
to repel ants and aphids include: spearmint, peppermint and
pennyroyal.You can use the same trick for fly control. Just substitute
the above plants with mint and basil which repel flies, but smell good
to humans.Boiling water is excellent for ant control or if you see
where they are creeping into your house, squeeze some lemon into the
hole or crack.Barriers also work for snails. They dislike sand, lime,
copper or ashes, so use these borders to keep snails away.Baking soda
and powdered sugar mixed in equal parts is a good roach killer. Just
spread around the area where you see roaches and soon you won't see
them anymore. (Boric Acid, while slightly more toxic, is naturally
occurring and is another way to get rid of them.)Here's a really
sneaky way to get rid of fire ants. (All's fair in love and the war
against insect pests.) The only way to get rid of an infestation is to
assassinate the queen. Wait until a dry spell is about to end.
Sprinkle instant grits on the fire ant hill. The workers will carry
the grits to the queen for her royal meal. She'll eat the grits and
when it rains, she'll drink. And that's what will kill her. The grits
will expand in her stomach and she'll "bloat" to death. Once she's out
of the way, the leaderless ants will die off. (This suggestion came
courtesy of the Tightwad Gazette II book.)Cloves smell better than
moth balls and are a natural deterrent against winged pests. You can
also create a water trap by filling a small basin with water and
leaving a night light suspended over it. Moths will be attracted to
the light and will end up crashing and burning and falling into the
water. Add a little dish soap to break the surface tension of the
water.Corn Gluten Meal may not sound very appetizing, but it's a
natural, preemptive strike against weeds. Apply it early in the spring
before weeds sprout. Corn gluten meal is a byproduct of the corn
milling process and is a natural fertilizer.Diatomaceous earth is made
up of the fossilized remains of diatoms, single-cell organisms. The
glass-like nature of diatomaceous earth makes it one of the oldest
forms of insecticide. The sharp surfaces cut through the insect
cuticle and the insect dies of dehydration. Diatomaceous earth kills
earwigs, ants and box elder bugs. Since it's non-discriminate when it
kills, be sure to only apply it just to the ground surface where you
think insects are overstaying their welcome.Grind rosemary leaves into
a fine dust and sprinkle it onto your pet or its bedding to ward off
fleas.Ivory liquid dishwashing detergent can act as a natural
insecticide. Dilute with water until it is a 1 or 2 percent solution
and then spray on plants.Need neem oil? Neem oil - made from guess
what? - neem seeds, prevents fungus growth, and repels and kills
insects, including mites. While it fights many scourges, it's nontoxic
to birds, mammals and most beneficial insects. One word of caution -
it can sometime affect bees so use it as a spot treatment to minimize
contact. Neem oil is usually sold in a concentrated form, to which you
add water.Fruit flies are wine connoisseurs. Okay, maybe they are not
wine snobs, but they have been known to quaff a few drops here or
there. They particularly like Chardonnay or so we hear. Use that
knowledge to your advantage: fill up a saucer of some cheap white wine
and add a little detergent to it. Leave it around for the flies to sip
and die on. This solution brings knew meaning to the expression "rot
gut."A natural fly catcher related to wine is to put something sickly
sweet like mango peels in the bottom of narrow-necked wine bottles.
The flies can fly in, but can't fly out.You can even make your own fly
paper. Boil water, sugar and corn syrup together. Spread the
extra-sticky mixture on brown paper grocery bags and voila you have
your own fly paper which will trap flies.For mosquito control the aged
old custom of burning citronella candles will help repel the pesky
critters.To get rid of slugs and snails, invert a flower pot near a
shady plant. Use a stick to prop up the flower pot or place on
irregular ground - whatever will give enough of an entrance way for
slugs and snails. They will crawl under the rim to avoid the heat.
Check the flower pot at the end of the day and remove the slugs and
snails.Vinegar is a great herbicide. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar
- white is best since it won't stain, you certainly don't want to use
expensive, aged Balsamic vinegar on weeds - and spray the vinegar on
your unwelcome flora on your porch, patio or back yard. It's one of
the few things that will work against noxious weeds such as Canadian
Thistle. All vinegars are diluted, so try and buy the highest
concentration you can at the supermarket.Using organic lawn
fertilizers will not only keep it green, it will make it healthy and
more equipped to defend itself against weeds and pests. Organic
fertilizers, such as bat guano, grass clippings, alfalfa meal, fish
emulsion and worm castings, work well.While natural pest control
products are a step up from most commercial insecticides, you should
still be restrained about using them. Don't just leap at something
that cures the symptom - look for the underlying or root cause and
seek a solution for that problem. Overuse can end up creating new
problems - getting rid of one pest in exchange for another.That said,
natural pest control can be a great non-toxic solution to keeping your
garden and home pest free.