Green Pest Control

Those pesky, little critters! They drive you mad trying to get rid of them. You frown upon using commercial type products and want to find a better, more natural solution. Here are some top critters that take up residence in your home and how to get rid of them.

• Ants. These are the most common insect to invade your household, especially when the weather starts to warm up. They want in. Keep them away by using these simple ingredients, dry peppermint, borax, paprika, cinnamon, or red chili powder. The ants will turn away from this and march right back outside where they belong. Crush up one of these ingredients and sprinkle near ant entrances.

• Flies. Citrus skins will keep these guys away. Crush up the skin of a citrus fruit and fill up a bowlful of them. For a fruit fly, trap them. Take a soda bottle, the liter size, and fill it almost to the top, minus about 6 inches. Put a banana peel inside the bottle. The banana peel will attract the fruit fly and they will drown in there.

• Cockroaches. These creatures are a big problem down South. Bay leaves that are crushed and sprinkled around will repel them. Crushed garlic will also work on this.

• Moths. Wash any article of clothing including linens before you pack them away. Pack them in a tightly sealed bag.
• Spiders. These nasty things are a little bit tougher to get rid of the natural way. Try crushing and sprinkling either baking soda, Borax, or eucalyptus leaves around any openings. The good thing about spiders is that even though they are creepy, they eat other bugs.

• Silverfish. Silverfish hate cloves. Try putting those down around where they are most prone to be. This would be any damp area. These little buggers can live up to a year without food and love the paste that adheres to your wallpaper.

• Fleas. Keep your house well vacuumed, your floors clean, and your animals washed. Keep on the lookout for flea larvae and remove them when you see them.

• Asian beetles, more commonly known as ladybugs. They do not like the smell of lemon. Spray the ladybugs with a lemon scented spray. You can also try burning candles that smell like lemon. The last choice would be to vacuum them up and dispose of them.

Prevention is the best way to go before any of these bugs invade your household. Be sure that all doors and windows have screens on them and make use of them. Keep the garbage covered and promptly remove when full. Do not leave food out in the open for long periods of time. Be sure and seal off all entryways so that bugs cannot get in. Keep your house clean and wipe up any spills immediately. Cover any pet dishes that may attract bugs. By keeping things clean we can decrease these annoying insects from entering our homes in the first place.