Fighting Bugs and Pests at Home the Natural Way
Bug and pest home infestation is possible and can be inevitable especially when not addressed immediately. Your go-to method would probably be the can of bug spray or pest repellent. Bugs and pests surely won’t last a minute or two after you spritz them with bug spray. While these bug sprays are effective and can outright do the job, they are not as safe to use as you think.
You might have children at home or immunocompromised persons whose health can be negatively affected when exposed to the harsh chemicals found in bug sprays. Chemicals can also be damaging to the lungs when inhaled. So, while bug sprays make the job easy, using it might not always be a good idea.
There’s some good news though especially to those who are wary about their health. There are a number of natural ways to fight bugs and pests at home safely without being exposed to harsh chemicals. Here are some ways that you can do to keep your homes bugs and pests free, naturally.
1. Store leftover food and drinks in air-tight containers
Bugs and pests are drawn to food and water or any other drinks. Keeping them accessible to bugs is like an open invitation. Expect a line of ants marching towards the subject or flies circling the leftover foods if they are not stored properly. Keep the kitchen clean and dry and keep bugs and pests away by storing your leftover food and drinks in air-tight containers.
2. Throw the garbage out regularly
Much like leftover food and drinks, the garbage is also an open invitation to bugs and pests. If you have food scraps in your kitchen garbage or soiled tissue papers in your bathroom trash bins, it is best to throw them out often. This will reduce the window of opportunity for bugs and pests to thrive in them.
3. Plant herbs near the entrances to your home
There are herbs such as mint, lemongrass, citronella and other citrus scented that can repel bugs and pests. The strong herb scent can be too much for these pests that they will have to look for other places to build their colony in. Herbs are easy to grow so you can plant them in a garden box outside your doors or a plant pot and grow them inside.
4. Wipe down surfaces with white vinegar
White vinegar may seem to be just a very common cooking ingredient but it also works wonders in cleaning. You have to note that when bugs, say ants for example, leave a scent trail for other ants to follow. So, even if you have taken out the subject of the ants’ parade, there is still that trail left for other ants. The white vinegar is seen as the perfect solution to wipe out the scent trail. Just remember though that not all surfaces can take the acidity of the white vinegar.
5. Rub lemon peels in problem areas
Bugs and pests do not like the citrus and refreshing scent, thus, lemon peels can be an effective natural pest repellent. They can repel bugs like mosquitoes, spiders and ants. You can rub some in your doorway, windows, counters and other surfaces especially the entryways for bugs.
6. Sprinkle cinnamon in problem areas
Another natural ingredient that is known to repel pests is cinnamon. You can use cinnamon in your entryways to keep bugs from entering your home. It has been observed that pests, particularly ants do not cross a cinnamon line. Much like white vinegar, you can also sprinkle cinnamon in counters or other surfaces to cover the scent trail left by a previous parade of ants.
7. Use essential oils such as eucalyptus and peppermint
Like how herbs work, essential oils also repel pests because of their strong scent. The eucalyptus oil repels mosquitoes and flies. Peppermint oil repels spiders. You can spray the essential oils solution in problem areas or where these bugs frequent. You can also use an aromatherapy gadget to spread the scent around. But it you don’t have one you can apply the oil in a small cloth and place the cloth in problem areas.
8. Remove standing water
Standing water draws mosquitoes to make it their breeding area. You might have items in your backyard that collect water such as birdbath, a small pond, containers, gutters and others. As part of keeping your surroundings clean, you empty these items of water to keep mosquitoes from breeding in them. If you need to collect water, be sure to cover your bins.
9. Use a garlic bug spray
Garlic is a known natural bug repellent. You can make your own bug repellent solution by mixing one part of garlic juice with 4 to 5 parts of water in a spray bottle. You can spray it on your body as it repels bugs effectively for up to 6 hours. You can also soak cloth in the said mixture and hang them in areas where bugs are frequently seen.
10. Sprinkle coffee grounds
We all love the smell of used coffee grounds as it smells of morning. But the smell has been a deterrent to bugs especially flies and mosquitoes. There are studies too that say coffee grounds can also kill mosquito larvae. So, you can sprinkle these used coffee grounds in your backyard and in areas where there are standing water. If you don’t use that much coffee in your home, you can try asking your friendly neighborhood coffee shop what they do with their used coffee grounds. You can ask for some if they just throw them away.
Keeping It Clean
There could be more natural options than what were discussed – natural repellents, natural solutions to keep bugs away. But nothing compares to the all-natural and all-effective way of repelling bugs and pests. There is no rocket science behind it that you must learn – keep your homes clean.