Pest-free, Naturally!

It's summertime, and most of us are dealing with summer critters. It's one thing to see them outside where they belong, but it's quite another to have them running rampant inside where they apparently think they belong. If they're inside and troublesome, then you have to figure out a way to get rid of them, and it would be nice to do so without poisoning the entire family in the process.

This article reveals nontoxic ways to get rid of pests safely. The methods utilize common household items and ingredients (well, maybe not the stale beer!) and are relatively cheap. The highlights of the article:

1. ANTS (thankfully, MOST of the ants here are currently content outside)

Vinegar, straight or diluted, to eliminate the trails

Cinnamon or black pepper, dusted on the ants' nests

Borax added to sugar, starting out with only a small amount of borax so the ants will take it back to their nests. Gradually increase ratio.

Baby powder or talcum powder, dusted on the ants/trails

Liquid soap diluted with water; can be used as spray outside

Bay leaves, cloves, or cayenne pepper, placed at entry point

Peppermint, sprayed around home's perimeter and at ants' entry point

2. FRUIT FLIES

Remove ripe fruit droppings and take out the trash so they can't lay eggs!

Apple cider vinegar, poured in a glass with a paper funnel to attract FF but prevent them from finding their way out

Cheap wine mixed with a bit of detergent in a glass.

Fly paper, which you can make by boiling water, sugar, and corn syrup together and spreading on paper bags.

Basil oil mixed with water; spray around kitchen.

Old hair dryer, used for sucking up (through the back). Oh boy.

3. WASPS

Soda bottle trap (neat idea!) - cut off top 1/3 of the bottle; invert top (going into remainder of bottle) and tape in place. Fill bottle part way with soda or fruit juice. Wasps go in and stay.

Remove nest (at night and carefully!!!). Read more for details.

4. SLUGS

Stale beer, grape juice, or a tea made from yeast, honey, and water, poured into small bowls and set around wherever they're being pests.

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Years ago, when we lived in an area with a flea problem (regardless of the type of flea collar the dogs wore), I mastered the art of flea-picking. Impressive, I know. I learned that if I squirted some Dawn dish detergent into a glass of water, fleas would sink to the bottom immediately. I mentioned that to our vet's receptionist not long ago, and she said they recommend bathing dogs with Dawn dishwashing detergent (I used the original blue liquid), letting the lather sit for a few minutes, then rinsing off. That helps gets rid of fleas already present; an application of Frontline Plus (what we use), etc., should help keep them off. This might work on ticks, too, but they're in a class by themselves. Blech.

Green, pest-free (wannabe, anyway) Penny

PS - If you know additional pest-control tactics, please share them!