Conventional pesticides today are filled with too many harsh chemicals, some of which are dangerous to health. Being exposed to these chemicals can have harmful long term effects on you and your family, which is why it’s always better to stick to natural alternatives. By using natural options, you can get rid of pests without comprising you and your families’ health.
- Herbs
You can also try checking out the best way to grow venus fly trap Not only are Rosemary and Basil delicious herbs, but they’re also effective at driving pests away the natural way. Rosemary is potent at repelling various types of insects, and it’s especially effective at repelling wasps. You can plant Rosemary’s yourself because it’s easy to grow. By planting Rosemary’s, it can also deter pests from coming to plants near it. Here’s where you can place or hang Rosemary around your home:
- Outdoors near areas where wasps may nest;
- Play areas;
- Garage entrance;
- Outdoor tool or supply shed.
Basil is effective at repelling those annoying flies at home because its smell is potent enough to repel them. A small pot of Basil can effectively keep them away. If you plant Basil in your garden, it can deter insects from coming near it and its nearby plants. Here are some areas we recommend you place your Basil:
- Windowsills, especially if you often keep your windows open;
- Kitchen counter;
- Patio table;
- Dining table if preferred.
- Citrus
Citrus isn’t just for your daily dose of vitamin C, but it can also serve as your daily insect repellant spray. In particular, Citrus fruits, especially lemon, are useful in repelling spiders because of their scent. Its scent irritates the senses of pests, which makes it an ideal alternative. You can make your DIY citrus spray at home by:
- Filling a spray bottle with water; and
- Adding several tablespoons of your citrus fruit, depending on how you want it to smell.
- In the alternative, you can also use citrus smelling essential oils.
Use your citrus spray on your doorways, as well as window sills, to keep bugs away from the area. If you have pets at home, citrus helps drive fleas away. You can also use citrus peeling in your garden. Instead of throwing your citrus peels immediately, consider scattering them around your yard or plants to keep spiders away.
- Vinegar
Salt and Vinegar isn’t just a delicious potato chip flavor, but an effective pest deterrent. Vinegar is excellent at doing a lot of things. It’s a perfect salad dressing, has several health benefits, great alternative to harsh cleaning materials, and it can also drive pests away. Insects do not like the smell of vinegar, and it’s especially effective at repelling ants. In a spray bottle, mix an equal part of water and vinegar. Spray this mixture in areas where you see ants starting to make a trail, to prevent them from continuing their path. It’s ideal for spraying this mixture in:
- Baseboards where there’s usually a small line gap;
- Door edges where ants often make holes;
- Door gaps which separate the outdoor from the indoors;
- Counters and cabinets, especially where you keep your sugar and sweet snacks.
- Spices
Spices don’t just give life and flavor to your food, but it can kill pests quickly. Salt is perfect at deterring fleas, especially if you have pets at home. You can observe that salt is good at sucking moisture out of meat, among other ingredients, and it can do the same for pests. It is a useful alternative at drying out and sucking the moisture out of fleas. You can choose to use unrefined, ground, or sea salt, among others, in the following way:
- Sprinkle salt on your carpet and leave it overnight. Dust or vacuum it away the next day.
- Leave a line of salt outside the door leading to the inside of your home.
You can also use Cinnamon to deter dust mites, especially if you have a carpeted floor or if you have a lot of couches. Almost every home has dust mites, hiding under couches or in the corners of your home. These dust mites are allergens and pose a risk to the health of the family, especially if not removed immediately. To prevent dust mites at home, you can mix an equal part of cinnamon bark oil and water. You can spray it at your:
- Living room carpets;
- Beddings and pillowcases;
- Under couches;
- Baseboards;
- Dark unreachable corners of your home.
- Coffee
If you’re a coffee-lover, then using coffee to drive away pests wouldn’t be a problem for you. You can now keep your home smelling like coffee while keeping it pest-free. Most importantly, this DIY comes free as you only need to use the leftovers of your brewed coffee to do the project. After brewing your coffee, use the grounds to make your DIY pest control by trying the following:
- Place coffee grounds on an aluminum or tin can, and burn it indoors or outdoors. It has an effect on repelling mosquitoes, which is perfect for outdoor use.
- Place it in aluminum foils and burn the same as you would when using an incense.
- Catnip
In as much as cats seem to love catnip, pests hate them. Research says that catnip has potent properties that are good at repelling mosquitoes, more than DEET which is a chemical used to repel mosquitoes. Catnips are easy to grow in your garden, or you can purchase it in oil form. You can make a combination of water and catnip oil, and spray it around the home.
If you have cats at home, then this DIY would be perfect for them. The plus side is you’re keeping them happy and entertained. On the downside, however, you’ll have cats rolling around your home from too much catnip.
Keeping pests away doesn’t mean you have to compromise you and your family’s health because of the chemicals found in most common pest control solutions. When you choose to do the alternative way of driving pests away, you’ll be saving on expenses, and you can always re-use most of the items you’d need.
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