It concerns me to see posts about killing insects and animals when it is just as effective and less poisonous to repel or prevent infestation.
Roaches love the glues in the box tops and bottoms. Keep boxed open items like pasta, bisquick, etc. in jars. They also love the glues in shelf paper. Use something else on shelves. Catch them and take them to a warm compost pile outside. You can re-train the whole colony to move outside where they can live completely invisibly to you.
Flies won't keep buzzing into a house that has tansy planted by doors and windows. Bunches of dried tansy work almost as well, but not quite. Keep screens in good working order. Use a butterfly net to catch them and take them outside when they do get in. Keep your trash cans clean so maggots don't appear and turn into more flies.
Bedbugs hate thyme. Sprinkle the bed with it, spread it around the edges of the bedroom; open the windows, close the door and wait until morning. Vacuum and they are gone.
Fleas can be kept away with pennyroyal oil. It's a strong mint and dangerous to pregnant women. A drop behind the pet's neck and under the neck as well as at the base of the tail will keep fleas away. Also add nutritional yeast to their food, a spoon a day, sprinkled on, and a pill of garlc (cut a small pill shape from a slice of garlic clove) will keep ticks and fleas from staying and biting.
Editor's Note: Garlic should only be given to dogs, it can be harmful to cats.
Mosquitos won't bite someone who takes a B-complex vitamin daily. If you are camping, you may need to take extra. It turns pee yellow, so don't panic! Garlic works too but not garlic pills. They are useless.
Keep weevils out of food by storing flours and such in jars.
Ants can be kept out easily by seeing where they are getting in and using petroleum jelly as a barrier they won't cross. Also, washing their paths with soapy water keeps them from instintcively using it again. You can also try cayenne pepper as a boundary but you might have to refresh it until they are re-trained.
Pennyroyal also keeps termites from eating your house, by treating the possibly infected area with the oil. Use cedar bark for mulch around the house if you don't want to attract more termites. They won't eat the cedar, but will infest other bark mulches.
Keep clutter down and store things in plastic bags, like linens and luggage (if it doesn't seal well).
There are lots of chemical free alternatives to pesticides and traps. We often think "Thou shalt not kill" is a good value, but we rarely remember that doesn't end with "except for bugs and enemies..."
For cryin' out loud people. We are talking about bugs in the house here! Bugs cause millions upon millions of dollars a year in damages to homes in the US each year. Taking a chance on your health is beyond anything. The emergency room deals with home bug bites, illnesses from bites to children, adults and animals all of the time. Bugs do not belong in your home, they belong OUTDOORS! It is not natural to have any bug living in your home...you don't know what they carry. These critters are around your food supplies, your clothes and bedding and all of your space. Do whatever you can to rid your home of insects, it is unnatural for them to be inside your home and a real hazard to your health.
RE: Repel or Prevent Pest Infestations Without Killing
By Michael (Guest Post)
Thanks for the interesting and good info. People should not kill indiscriminately, but "Thou shalt not kill" is actually "thou shalt not murder" (murder is planned -- see Strong's concordance). Some have learned to talk with the animals/creatures and get them to leave -- I have done so once or twice, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. Best.
I personally am not in favor of dosing our animals with "home remedies". I'm of the opinion that the less we humans do, the better , in most cases. A good flea comb is my weapon of choice when it comes to flea control. Hardwood or linoleum floors and a powerful vacuum are my second best weapons.
For garden pest control, we're planning to try Garlic Barrier this year. Anyone else tried this product? I'd really like to hear how it's worked for others.
What good ideas! I cannot wait to try some. I like to find organic ways to kill insects in my garden so I know where you are coming from. I also will try to use the flea idea, that is always a problem when you have animals. Thank you for posting such interesting problem solutions.
RE: Repel or Prevent Pest Infestations Without Killing
By (Guest Post)
You can get pennyroyal oil from most health food stores it costs around $5-$7 for a 1 ounce bottle but is worth it. Also if you plan to use it on your dog(s) DO NOT put on full strength it can kill them!!! Dilute it in a spray bottle 1 oz pennyroyal oil to 18 oz of water, the pet as well as his bedding and other suroundings canbe sprayed.
During recent construction of our home a few squirrels got into the house. They are living in the spaces between the walls & ceilings on our ground levels. They seem to like insulation as we keep finding pieces around. We DO NOT want to call an exterminator as that would mean killing them & we would like to avoid that. What are our options? Thank you
Do you live in the city or in the country? Killing insects is fine. If they are in my home they are fair game. The only insect that I do not usually kill in the house is a spider. They will get deposited outside (even in the dead of winter!!!).
Everyone I know would think that I went crazy if they saw me in my home, catching a fly with a butterfly net, in order to put the fly outside. And tansy is a weed and I do not like weeds in my yard.
RE: Repel or Prevent Pest Infestations Without Killing
By Me (Guest Post)
Thanks for such good info. I'm also disturbed by how people want to instantly kill anything that gets in the house or on the property. The whole world is not just about humans.
Thank you, I will be trying some of your tips. I also don't believe in killing bugs. I have a spider that lives on my kitchen window sill, he is harmless and never comes out of the safety of his corner. He only hurts flys that get in his web which is fine by me. I have 3 grown children and 2 grand babies, I taught my children to "set free" spiders and critters that get in the house. Through the years we have caught some interesting things. Sometimes we would keep them for a day or two in a cage or jar to watch and learn about them. Some even went to show and tell at school. I don't think the golden rule, "do on to others as you would have them do on to you" was intended for fellow humans only.
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