Unwanted critters can take joy away from your garden and home. These household remedies can help solve your pest problem. Use these ideas to keep your house and yard free of unwanted guests.
Garlic-Mint Spray
Using a mixture of mint leaves and garlic cloves blended in a food processor with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a drop of dishwasher liquid help deter outside pests. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it sit overnight and then strain it into a spray bottle. Your greens will continue to grow without harmful pests getting in the way after you use this spray.
Ground Coffee
Critters do not enjoy coffee as much as the rest of us do. It can be lethal for ants, which is why they avoid it. Recycle coffee grounds throughout your home wherever you think bugs are coming in from.
Borax and Sugar
Another way to combat an ant invasion is by using Borax and sugar. Use one cup of warm water with half a cup of sugar and two tablespoons of Borax, and place the mixture in the middle of the ants’ line.
Oil Repellent
Mix either eucalyptus, clove, lavender, rosemary, or peppermint oil in a spray bottle with water and mist your bed. Let the spray dry before getting into bed. Dust mites hate these scents and will stay away from them. You could also add basil and lemongrass to this mixture to repel fleas and lice as well.
Hot Pepper Spray
To keep garden pests at bay, use a hot pepper spray. Mix a gallon of water and three tablespoons of hot pepper flakes and simmer the ingredients for 15 minutes. Let it stand for a day before straining. You can add a few drops of dish soap as well to help the solution stick to your plants.
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
Use a bottle with a shaker or funnel top to trap fruit flies in. First, fill the bottom with apple cider vinegar and place it near your fruit.
Deer Repellent
Even though deer are much cuter than most bugs, they can be a nuisance if they are always in your garden. To keep them away, mix a solution that is comprised of 20% eggs with 80% water in a blender. Put it in a spray bottle and spray the leaves of your trees and plants. The egg mixture can clog the spray, so be sure to clean the tip a few times.
Tin Foil Bananas
To rid your garden of aphids, put a chopped up banana peel under the soil line around your plant stems. It deters critters while also adding nutrients to your soil. Placing tin foil around the base of plants will prevent aphids from staying on the underside of your leaves. The sun will reflect off of the tin foil and onto the bottom of the leaves, making it inhabitable for aphids. Be careful with this trick though as too much light can scorch leaves.
If your pest problem has grown too big for natural remedies to be effective, call Contact Pest Control. Our fully licensed and insured technicians can come in unmarked vehicles to take care of your infestation discreetly and efficiently.