Clever Ways to Get Rid of Pesky Insects at Home

Clever Ways to Get Rid of Pesky Insects at Home

Multiple studies have shown how insecticides, a specific type of pesticide, can cause us harm. Unicef’s discussion paper on the effects of pesticide on children mentioned that high accidental or occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with the development of cancer, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. This makes it all the more important for us to rely less on these insecticides and instead use natural solutions. Here some of the creative ways you can get rid of the common insects you can find at home.

Ants

While a single ant or two doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem, a colony can be a homeowner’s nightmare. This is especially true if we’re talking about fire ants, which bite humans, or worse, carpenters ants, which damage building materials. Thanks to citrusy fruits such as lemons and oranges, you can easily get rid of ants by placing peels in places where you think ants may enter. The list of remedies by NDTV Food also suggests using a combination of lemon juice and water to wash your floors to keep ants away.

Houseflies

Houseflies can cause a number of diseases such as food poisoning, tuberculosis and cholera, among others. An easy-to-follow guide from Healthline notes that a mixture of vinegar and dish soap can easily help trap these pesky insects. In a tall glass, mix an inch of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of soap then cover the glass with plastic and secure it with a rubber band. Proceed to poke holes on the plastic covering the top — make sure the holes are big enough for flies to fit through. The flies will fly through the holes to get to the vinegar, but the soap will keep them from reaching the vinegar and flying out of the glass.

Wasps

Keeping wasps at bay is fairly straightforward and simple: you just have to make sure that you manage how you store your sweets. A practical guide by HomeServe on dealing with wasps in your home recommends easy solutions such as using tight-fitting lids for food, removing leftover scraps from your kitchen sink, and clearing fallen fruit in your garden. It is worth noting that eliminating wasps naturally will always be the best option since wasps killed from brute force release pheromones that act as signals to their nearby “allies” to speed to their location to help, potentially bringing you under attack from a swarm.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are one of the nastiest insects you don’t want crawling or flying around your home. A simple guide from Organic Lesson suggests that a few tablespoons of boric acid mixed with either peanut butter, flour and olive oil or sliced banana, can be used as an inexpensive bait for cockroaches. Just remember to use boric acid sparingly because it can be hazardous to humans when ingested in significant amounts.

Fleas

Fleas are extremely tiny and their eggs are even tinier. But, as tiny as they may seem, they can introduce serious health threats such as Cat-Scratch Disease, Typhus and Flea Tapeworm. A guide by House Wife How-Tos outlines that a simple concoction of one cup of water, one cup of white vinegar, a quarter of a cup of table salt and five drops of rosemary and lavender essential oils could effectively get rid of fleas. Just remember to keep your pet confined when using this spray and never use it on pet bedding.

Sometimes even with how much we clean our homes, we can still see annoying insects, which is why it is important to familiarize ourselves with natural ways on how to naturally keep insects away. For more tips on preventive maintenance that you can do around your home, do visit our post ‘What Preventative Maintenance Can the Average Homeowner Do?’

Author: Niana Payne