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Five Fantastic Non-Toxic Pest Remedies (GIVEAWAY!)
Blog Of The Week
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
by Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer, Healthy Child Healthy World
A couple of months ago, I was at a stoplight mindlessly watching the pedestrians cross the street, when a mouse poked it’s head out from the crack where the windshield wipers hide and then proceeded to run across my windshield. I desperately tried to contain my instinctual scream so that the pedestrians wouldn’t look over and see this crazy mama driving around with a mouse on her car.
Turns out, this little mouse had built a nest on top of our engine. My husband would take it out and it would just build another one. And, then it started chewing through wires and damaging the car. We needed to evict this vermin, and prevent others from coming back, but how? After a few calls, my husband found our answer - fox urine. It’s not ideal for all situations (because it really smells), but it worked for us. We just put it under the car and it tricked the mice into thinking a predator lived there.
While fox urine in the wild can harbor dangerous bacteria, the stuff you buy is not only all-natural, it’s non-toxic and safe for use around humans, pets, and plants. That’s the kind of solution this mama likes.
We asked other non-toxic mamas how they’ve dealt with pest problems and here is a little round-up of their fantastic tips. Be sure to click-through each link to read the additional advice they share in their blogs!
I’m a self-proclaimed bug lover. Although, I have to preface that by admitting that as much as I love them, I’m also afraid of them. I’ve been known to let out a scream or two when I see them (especially a giant spider). However, after the scream I always do my best to compose myself and return the little creatures to their natural habitat without harm.
When they come into my home, uninvited, they officially become pests. I don’t want them around. Thankfully there are green alternatives out there for pest control.
Mice
1. Prevention - Keep your home clean. Be sure that food is in proper storage containers and crumbs are wiped up after a meal. Make sure your home is sealed properly-although mice can enter through a very small opening.
2. Non-toxic remedies
- Peppermint is a natural mouse deterrent. Place in the area you want to keep mice free and the scent will send them away.
- Dip cotton balls in peppermint oil and spread around effected area. Mice are repelled by the smell.
- There are also plenty of cruelty free mouse traps on the market that capture the mouse and allow you to set it free outside.
Ants
1. Prevention - Avoid leaving food on the counter at night. Keep counters and tables free from crumbs.
2. Non-toxic remedies
- I’ve used cinnamon in the past and if you can tolerate the mess it works.
- Coffee grounds are another way to combat ants both in and out of the home (your garden).
- Lemon Juice mixed with water in a spray bottle works well against ants. Spray on the surface you are concerned with.
- Vinegar. My all time favorite solution for so many things is also an effective any repellant.
It seems as though the cold weather is driving all of the bugs to find warmth in our house. We are currently battling ants, fruit flies, stinkbugs and these little black beetles. Of course, using conventional insecticides is not an answer in our home.
Over the years, I have accumulated some tried and true methods for dealing with bugs or pests naturally and without toxic sprays:
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are by far the most persistent pest I have encountered. Fortunately, I have a friend to thank for a miraculous fruit fly trap. Get a small cup. Fill it with a small amount of red wine. Add a few drops of dish soap. Set it next to the source of your fruit fly problem. Problem solved! The fruit flies will be gone by the next morning. I set out a new cup every time I start to see them again.
Moths
As you pull out your winter sweaters, you may discover that they are full of holes. Moths and carpet beetles love to munch on clothes that are packed away in dark areas. The easiest solution is to store your clothing and bedding in airtight containers. You can also used cedar block or chips or lavender to keep moths away and keep your clothes smelling sweet. Visit MarthaStewart.com for instructions on making your own cedar and lavender sachets.
Ground Beetles
Those little black beetles that are invading my home are called ground beetles. They are most active at night and most likely to come into houses during the fall when temperatures are dropping. You will see them mostly during the evening but during the day they tend to hide under rugs and furniture. While annoying, these pests cannot survive or reproduce indoors. The best way to deal with them is to vacuum or pick them up and throw them back outside. Also, caulking any gaps around doors and windows will help keep them from coming in (and weather-proof your home).
[Editor’s Note: Betsy begins her post with a true story about her recurrent bug sitings. In the interest of space, we’re only re-posting the final paragraph, but be sure to visit her blog for the entire, gripping account.]
Let's say...you are sitting in the dark on the sofa with your husband watching a little TV after the kids have gone to bed, it's a little bit cool in the house, so you pull a down blanket out of the bin in the corner next to the sofa (where you cleverly stash blankets for just this kind of occasion). You put the blanket over your lap, and then see a black something scurry across the tan blanket in your peripheral vision. Well, heck, you're sitting in the dark so you are not sure what you saw, but with an equal mixture of fear and curiosity, you shift the blanket for a second look, and sure enough, there's a cockroach (on your lap). But you don't move fast enough to kill it (because you are kind of in shock), so now it's under your sofa or in a crack in your wall.
At this point, what should you do?
A. Have a nervous breakdown.
B. Move out of the house. You're just renting, after all.
C. Call and book Terminix immediately.
D. Go to Home Depot and buy an arsenal of pesticides and begin fumigating and spraying your home immediately.
E. Go to Home Depot, buy traps for the inside, and a spray that claims to be eco-friendly for the outside, and thank your lucky stars that Home Depot sells something that doesn't have a skull and crossbones on it.
As you may have surmised by now, this is the true story of what happened to me earlier this year. This was after the ants, after the fruit flies, and after a lice scare. Oh, yes, we also had mice in our garage at one point. Sometimes I think of this past year as the year of the pestilences.
And I chose option E. And you know why? Because as much as I am freaked out by cockroaches, I am freaked out even more by pesticides. The supposedly eco-friendly spray I bought (Eco-Smart) is indeed, as far as I can tell, safe and non-toxic (both active and inactive ingredients are disclosed; active ingredients are plant oils). The label says that it is safe to use indoors around food, kids and pets (any conventional pesticide is not allowed to use the word "safe" on the label at all). I still chose to use it only outside, and only when my kids wouldn't be out there playing for at least half a day. And we put lots of traps inside, out of reach from little hands. And you know what? It worked. After a few weeks, no more cockroach sightings. I think I've seen one or two cockroaches around the perimeter of my house, and one or two inside my house in the last many months.
My advice to all of you: be proactive. As soon as you see pests, do something. If we had acted the first time we saw a cockroach, we probably could have just used traps and that's it. And I never would have had to experience that episode where a cockroach crawled across my lap late at night in the dark.
Thanks for the great advice, mamas! How about you, dear reader, what are your tips?
We also have a GIVEAWAY!(CLOSED)
Congratulations to Anne Lehnick who says, "We have an insane number of roly polies. We learned that they have to have moisture to survive. If you bury a dish or cup so that the top is level with the soil, then fill it with beer (just buy the cheap stuff - and recycle your cans!!!), they will go to the moisture. Some will fall in and perish, but most others will just be lined up atop one another around the edge. You can rehome them or do with them as you like by scooping them up with your shovel. And the beer will last several days as long as you clean the victims out each day." Thanks everyone for your submissions!
Answer the question above by Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 11:59pm PST for a chance to win a 'Healthy Soil Recipe Kit' from Arbico Organics, which includes beneficial microbes, enzymes that help increase soil absorption, and organic nutrients, all designed to create healthier plants and gardens that are less prone to disease and pest infestations. Total Value: $56
For 33 years, Arbico Organics has provided eco-friendly gardening supplies and biological pest control alternatives so you don’t have to use harmful chemicals like synthetic pesticides around your home, garden, lawn and pets. Our extensive line of products includes beneficial insects and nematodes, fertilizers, weed, disease, critter controls and pet care for a worry-free, organic environment. Visit their website for more information.
For an extra chance to win, sign up for the Healthy Child newsletter and leave a comment saying you did so! We will pick a winner and announce it here on Wednesday, November 23, 2011.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.
Eligibility Statement: Contest open to U.S. residents. Employees of Arbico Organics and Healthy Child Healthy World and their families are not eligible. Entry into the contest is premised on the leaving of a comment and eligibility is not conditioned on the payment of consideration.
Legal Disclaimer: Arbico Organics is a Trusted Partner of Healthy Child Healthy World, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals. Trusted Partners are companies that offer superior products that meet Healthy Child Healthy World's high Quality Standards, demonstrate a long-term commitment to their mission by joining their Trusted Partnership program, and contribute financially to the organization.
Photo credit masterbutler / CC BY 2.0
Posted by Alyn on 11/20/2011 at 02:20 PM
I love diatomaceous earth in the garden to keep the slugs from destroying plants. A sprinkling of sulphur around the perimeter of the house keeps snakes away from garden beds where you might be working.
Posted by cathy on 11/20/2011 at 01:52 PM
email subscriber to the newsletter
Posted by cathy on 11/20/2011 at 01:40 PM
I’m a huge fan of vinegar. I use it for everything! Ants, spiders, messes, the works!
Posted by Deb on 11/20/2011 at 12:45 PM
Our organic market sells Orange Guard products and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! We did use the EcoSmart for a while but our home smelled strongly of root beer for the longest time until the fumes dissipated; I teach music lessons at home and this really wasn’t the most pleasant way to greet my students as they came in. LOL The Orange Guard smells .... like oranges. Lovely.
We use it for the little black ants that find their way into our house no matter how clean we keep the floors and counters; this past summer they came in through the front door and made a trail 10 feet to the pantry, where my husband keeps the honey he uses to make mead. :-( Orange Guard followed by caulking has kept the little guys out of that entrance at least since then.
BTW, for emergency “caulking” of tiny holes, such as those at the baseboard inside the house, a bead of white glue works great. :-) I call it “poor man’s caulk” and have also used it to fill in holes in our impossibly wobbly hardwood floors.
Posted by Aileen on 11/20/2011 at 11:21 AM
When I saw cockroaches at night in my chicken coop, I freaked! Because I didn’t want chemicals around our otherwise organically grown hens, I did some research and found food grade diatomaceous earth. It is the fossilized remains of ancient algae in a powdered form. I spread it around and even into the chicken’s food (helps with any internal parasites) and no more cockroaches!
Posted by Carla Reed on 11/20/2011 at 08:03 AM
I will also go with option E : )
BUT, is it gross that roaches that really scare me all that much? We have a cat so most of the roaches we find are usually mutilated. My son LOVES bugs (all animals actually) so when we do find a live roach he forces me to take it outside alive. If it was up to me he would pick it up with his fingers and place it in my hand wearing a huge smile (ummmm….this has happened before). Yup, he’s fearless. I think I got a future Jeff Corwin on my hands ; )
Posted by Jesus D on 11/19/2011 at 07:31 PM
My tip would be that of using grapefruit juice also as a spray for ants mixed with water, half and half. :)
Posted by B Fisher on 11/19/2011 at 07:45 AM
any suggestion for infestation of crickets??
Posted by Vickie on 11/19/2011 at 06:46 AM
I would first have freaked out and then refused to sit on the couch for the rest of the night! The Very Next Day I would run out and buy a multitude of traps and put them all around the house for about a month.
Posted by l bryant on 11/19/2011 at 05:43 AM
steel wool and spray foam. Seal all pipes and openings. The easiest way to determine this is go poutside after dark and use a flashlight on all areas where pipes, doors, windows anything enters the house. have someone inside tho watch for light and mark the site with painters tape. Go back and seal all of these spots.
Posted by Jamie V on 11/18/2011 at 09:21 PM
I had a terrible problem with ants this summer. A combination of Borax and honey took a couple weeks, but finally took care of the nest. Before next summer, I will be caulking our door frame to prevent them from getting inside again.
For fruit flies, I always make an equal mixture of vinegar and water and a few drops of dish soap. I make a cone out of paper (or a coffee filter) with a little hole in the bottom so the flies go in and can’t get out. We have this problem frequently with our container for our worm scraps.
Posted by Christa on 11/18/2011 at 08:35 PM
For mice, we found that human hair works! We had learned that sprinkling human hair in our garden would deter rabbits, which worked so well, we decided to try it for mice too. We live in an old, old house that is impossible to completely seal. We have sprinkled a small amount of hair clippings under the sinks around the pipes, and also around the hot water heater pipes & have not seen a mouse or any traces of one, in several years. We even sprinkled the clippings after I cut my husband’s & son’s hair out in my husband’s shop, where there was traces of lots of mice, and they are now gone there too. I loved reading the tips above! Great ideas! We have used grape juice instead of wine for fruit flies, and that works as well. I enjoy the Healthy Child newsletter.
Posted by Anne Lehnick on 11/18/2011 at 08:20 PM
I am a newsletter subscriber
Posted by Anne Lehnick on 11/18/2011 at 08:20 PM
We have an insane number of roly polies. We learned that they have to have moisture to survive. If you bury a dish or cup so that the top is level with the soil, then fill it with beer (just buy the cheap stuff - and recycle your cans!!!), they will go to the moisture. Some will fall in and perish, but most others will just be lined up atop one another around the edge. You can rehome them or do with them as you like by scooping them up with your shovel. And the beer will last several days as long as you clean the victims out each day.
Posted by James on 11/18/2011 at 06:52 PM
Some very nice tips and tricks. I would add pest prevention to the list. There are many things that can be done to keep pests out of the house (the mouse on the engine may be a different story). In general, a good inspection of the exterior of the home, followed by caulking and sealing where needed, and then doing the same on the inside will pretty much eliminate pest entry. Most people don’t do a truly complete job of this because they don’t know all the potential pest entry points, but it can be done with marvelous effect.
Posted by Dani on 11/18/2011 at 05:55 PM
We use the fruit of the osage orange tree to keep spiders away. The fruits are usually free and they look interesting when they are placed on a bookcase. The whole time they are sitting around looking great they are keeping the spiders out of your house.
Posted by Jen on 11/18/2011 at 03:01 PM
We noticed an enormous amount of ants coming out along the base of our house where the cement meets the stucco. My dad, who worked for the school district for years, said they always had to use non-toxic treatments and suggested ground cinnamon (not really a mess because it will just blow away or get washed away) or a line of dish soap along the ant trail. They both work fantastically!
Treating ants inside is tricky with the cinnamon (liquid soap is just too messy!) but if you can do it, it works! And it smells good, too!
We have also used cayenne pepper to keep rodents out of the garden. Just sprinkled it on top of the soil around the base of the plants.
Posted by katrina on 11/18/2011 at 02:33 PM
Wonderful, wonderful natural tips…next time we get a mouse I’ll definitely be trying the peppermint (instead of my husband unhooking the oven and taking it outside to help the mouse within to decide to leave). We live in the rocky mountains and have had more problems with deer in our garden than other traditional pests. Sprinkling Cayenne pepper and garlic cloves around our plants really helped.
Posted by Julie M. on 11/18/2011 at 02:14 PM
I am already a subscriber to your newsletter.
Posted by Julie M. on 11/18/2011 at 02:14 PM
My advice is to put dirty clothes & food away & not to leave them laying around. My mother always told me this attracts bugs. I have taken great care in my home to do this & we are very fortunate that this has worked for us.
Posted by Elizabeth on 11/18/2011 at 01:57 PM
Sticky pads. You put them anywhere (behind furniture, along the walls) and they catch spiders, crickets, mice and all insects. They also let you know what you have crawling around your house. They are natural and safe!
Posted by Paula on 11/18/2011 at 01:20 PM
I lived in New Haven several years ago, where cockroaches are everywhere. Here are the things I learned: 1. Always involve the neighbors in pest eradication plans. Otherwise pests run from one home to the other and back again. 2. Never step on a cockroach. If it’s a female, you might track her eggs everywhere you go. You might want to leave your shoes outside on a mat, to avoid the risk of bringing critters in with you. 3. Keep your house very clean, and NEVER leave food out or dirty dishes in the sink. 4. Borax kills all sorts of bugs. If you sprinkle it around the perimeter of your home, and in corners, not only will you destroy ants, but you’ll end the cockroach invasions, too. 5. Sticky traps are awesome! You can actually see your plan working, and identify invaders. 6. If you’re visiting someplace that is not so clean, do NOT put your coat or pocketbook on a floor or kitchen table, lest you end up with hitch-hiking roaches.
Posted by danielle d. on 11/18/2011 at 12:30 PM
During the summer, we’ve had fruit flies in our kitchen. I think they’re attracted by the smell of rotting fruit - like bananas. So, to get rid of them, I take a disposable container & put some apple cider vinegar and honey in it. This attracts the fruit flies to go in the container. And then they can’t get out because the top is covered with a piece of foil or plastic wrap (with a few small holes poked so the flies can get in).
Posted by Suzanne Holt on 11/17/2011 at 08:27 AM
Oh my goodness, I would have just freaked if I saw a cockroach crawl across the blanket or mouse run across the windshield. YIKES!!! I have heard the cedar chips work for mice too. Apparently they don’t like the smell and it helps keep them away. In any case, lots of great tips! Especially as the season for household critters arrives!
Suzanne
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Posted by Emily on 11/21/2011 at 08:32 AM
I joined HCHW and would like a chance to win!