Natural Ways to Get Rid of Indoor Pests

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that this is the 4th warmest winter ever recorded in the United States. Due to this unusual weather, fewer bugs were exposed to frost. This means that we’ll be seeing more critters out and about this coming summer. Here are a few tricks to get rid of indoor pests.

Protecting your garden from pests is important, but it’s only the beginning. Experts predict that we’ll be seeing more bugs within our homes as well.

Listed below are some natural solutions to get rid of indoor pests

1. Ants. Get rid of ants in two steps. First, find their entry point into your home and use vinegar and water to clean the surrounding area to keep them from coming back. Secondly, sprinkle the area with substances that they hate like black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, or paprika. They also hate lemon juice and baby powder.
2. Cockroaches. There are many methods of getting rid of roaches. Placing whole or ground bay leaves around your house discourages them from coming in. For homemade roach bait mix equal parts baking soda and sugar. The roaches eat the sugar, but the baking soda gives them gas and kills them.
3. Fleas. Have fleas infested your home? Sprinkling ground rosemary around your home may do the trick. And to make sure that your carpets are flea-free sprinkle salt on the area to kill flea eggs. After 24 hours, vacuum your carpets.
4. Flies. The secret to repelling flies from your home is purchasing whole clove sticks, inserting them in oranges or apples, and placing them around your house (especially in your kitchen). You can also make your own fly-killing spray with dish soap, water, and clove oil.
5. Mosquitoes. For mosquitoes try lighting citronella candles in various rooms. If you’re going to work outside in your garden make your own mosquito repellent with just vanilla extract and water.
6. Spiders. If you’re looking to eliminate spiders consider placing eucalyptus leaves in areas where you commonly find them (corners, dark closets, etc…). You can make a spider-killing spray with lavender oil or cinnamon oil.