7 natural ways to keep your home insect free
If you want to keep insects out of your home this summer but are unsure or unwilling to use chemical insecticides, don’t panic.
There are plenty of non-toxic repellents that can be made using only natural things you can find in your home already or through a trip to the local garden centre.
Read on to learn more about the soapy, fruity, or plant based methods you can use to tackle ants, wasps, and flying insects.
Please note that the methods mentioned below are designed to help a pest free property protected from future insect infestations, NOT to deal with an active infestation. If you have seen, or have reason to believe that there is, a well established pest problem in your home, don’t hesitate to contact a local BPCA professional pest control company such as http://harveyenviro.co.uk/. Professional pest controllers have extensive experience in identifying and eliminating a wide variety of different insect pests using insecticides, habitat modification, heat treatments, fumigation and more.
7 natural insect repellents
Chemical based insect repellents can be incredibly effective in the right hands, but their toxic ingredients can also pose a threat to humans and pets if not used appropriately. Many people looking to pest proof their home would rather not take this risk and instead look for natural alternatives that insects detest but are harmless for both their families and their furry friends.
1) Citrus spray
Spiders are a common fear of many, but you might find these 8 legged friends a bit less scary once you realise that they are as scared of lemons as you are of them.
Wiping your surfaces with a mixture of citrus and water will help to keep spiders at bay. In order to spread the scent effectively but your mixture into a spray bottle or place lemon peels in and around plants in your home and garden.
2) Vinegar
Vinegar is just as effective as citrus when it comes to repelling creepy-crawlys in particular ants who despise the scent. If you have seen evidence of ant activity in your home or garden, mix water and vinegar together and spread it in the effected areas. This will hopefully disrupt the ants pheromone trails that they leave to help other colony members navigate and reduce the risk of the pests returning to your property any time soon.
3) Fake Wasp nests
When looking for a prime location to build their nests, one of the biggest things that wasps will look out for is other wasp nests, and will avoid the area if one is detected. This highly territorial behaviour can be used to your advantage this summer, by installing your very own fake nest. Realistic replicas of wasp nests can be purchased online, and wasps are extremely unlikely to build anywhere in close proximity.
4) Spread coffee grounds
Who doesn’t love to wake up and smell the coffee? Mosquitoes, that’s who. In fact, whilst many of us can’t function without the scent and taste of a strong expresso to wake us up each morning, mosquitoes find it completely repugnant and there is even some research to suggest that the grounds of coffee can actually kill mosquito larvae.
Rather than simply chucking out your used coffee grounds tomorrow morning, consider spreading them in damp areas of your garden to build up the strength of your mosquito protection.
5) Plant fresh basil
There are a number of common herbs that can be used to keep pests at bay but none are more effective than basil. Having basil plants growing in your home will not only take you cooking and salad making skills to the next level but will also create a powerful deterrent against insects, especially flying pests such as flies and mosquitoes.
6) Mint/peppermint
Mint is another plant that has multiple uses around the home, with its insect repelling capabilities adding yet another layer to an already highly adaptable plant. You could make a mint spray with dried leaves and water and use it in the same manner as the citrus or vinegar sprays mentioned above, peppermint is particularly effective for spider prevention, or hang some leaves in a small bag inside your wardrobe to ward off clothes moths.
7) Garlic
Garlic has an acquired taste and scent that most humans find appealing, but is detested by many bugs. You can create an extremely effective bug spray by crushing garlic, straining it, and mixing it in a spray bottle with water, but you need to be careful not to make the garlic overpowering or you will be left with a pretty pungent scent wafting around inside your home for several days. This may be a bit much, even for the most avid of garlic connoisseurs.
