It's not necessary or a must to kill pest. You can control or detour pest without having to send them to their graves. It's true that we have been conditioned to kill deadly or disturbing pest in our environment however, we don't have to because most pest will usually scare away from a predator unless in the case of snakes whereby they have the capacity to bite and infect us with deadly venom poison. Am not saying don't run for safety, am just saying you don't have to kill pest unless you absolutely have to for your safety. There are many ways to get rid of pest without causing harm to them or yourself, plus you can repel them from returning after an invasion. Briefly i will give you some tips that will help you get rid of pest without the use of toxic products that will kill pest and possibly poison you & your environment.
- First Warning: Organic compost for organic farming will attract pest, so exercise caution. Food or garbage in the yard provides all you can eat buffet for pest, so therefore the first thing I would do will is clean out the home and surroundings. Get rid of food laying around and take the garbage out.
- Cut overgrown grass.
- Second make sure your home is free of stagnant water, if you live close to a lake, ponds, river please plant & use herbs like a fence, this will repel pest from entering your home. Remove water sitting in pots. Pest goes where there's water and dirt especially wildlife such as frogs, snakes.
- Move anything that will leave a hiding space for pest, like rock piles, shrubs with lots of leaves, fallen log that has enough space for a mice to crawl in, even flat logged wood/iron/plastics sometimes have pest like cockroach, spider, ants etc hiding underneath; you usually won't notice this until you lift the log.
- Get rid of holes in the yard e.g. holes in the fence, holes in the house, deep holes in trees, Pipes like PVC pipes with holes.
- Make sure there are no tree branches directly touching your house, sometimes this gives climbing pest an incentive or a way to get into your home through the roofs, walls etc.
PEST & SOLUTIONS
Baking soda repels insects-Sprinkled around the exterior entrances and foundations of homes, helps to repel ants and other insects from crawling in, as it is irritating to their chitinous exoskeletons and they avoid it.
Cockroaches is an indoor pest: Love to breathe on dirty spots like garbage and stagnant dirt dish water so remove it. Leave lemongrass, bay leaf herb etc in corners and cupboards to repel them. Spray food grade DE dust or Boric acid to stop them from coming into your home. Boric acid is effective but it will kill them so I rather pick it up with a pest trapper and put it outside, that is realistic if it's just one cockroach but when you have many of them in your home in your home you have got a problem- best solution is close holes in the house, remove food laying around, remove dirty dishes, clean out and move furniture around.
Ants: Spray vinegar around the walls or corners where the ants crawl up or pour it on ant hole or around it. You can also use Tansy herb, fever few herb, southern wood, penny royal herb to repel them. Remove sugar attracting food. Salt is the best repellent for ants, slugs.
Moth: Tansy herb, Mint herb, wormwood herb (caution: make sure your pet doesn't ingest wormwood, it's can be fatal), lavender herb, Penny royal herb will repel moth
Beatles: Sweet Woodrow herb
Electric Fly swatter: Fly swatter works good but it kills the fly and it's too much work chasing the fly around just to trap and kill it with a swatter. i would use it if you have major fly invasion in your home but usually this is not the case; if it is spray herb oil to repel them and then open up your doors so they can fly out, once they out, you then close your doors and windows. You can also tie a bag of fresh water at your door- this repels them from flying in like magic but I can't say why. Orange herb oil works well as well.
Fruit flies: Fruit flies are attracted to fruits and decaying vegetables so don't sit open juices or ripe fruits out.
Fleas, Lice and Ticks: Use Diameacetous dust also known as DE dust, Lavender, lemongrass, penny royal (exercise caution with penny royal herb because it is toxic and fatal, if your pets ingest the herb)
Mosquitoes: Use Rosemary herb, mint herb, neem pest repellent oil, Lavender herb to repel them.
Mites: Diameacteous earth, garlic, chives, onions works well.
Slugs and snails are usually harmless, they won't hurt so please don't kill them. if you dislike them please use a toxic free repellent herb
Crickets: It upsets me to see people kill such harmless insect, yes they can be annoying but you don't have to kill them. Don't kill fire flies either. You can use lemon herb or pill fresh lemon bark to repel them.
Rodents such as mice: Use Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Bay leaf to detour them or buy get a cat friend but please do not exploit your cats to trap rats, they do it naturally but make sure the rats are not poisoned- if a rat or a Bug is poisoned or sprayed and your cat eat it, then they too will be poisoned and could die from it.
Bed Bugs: I have tried Food grade Diameacetous Dust (DE dust) and it works the best. Food grade DE dust is safe for people and animals.
Bees & other Wasps: Orange oil, citronella grass, lemongrass will repel them. Exercise caution when getting rid of a wasp nest, make sure to wear protective clothing and mask because their bites is very painful and if you are allergic it could turn to a fatal condition. If you are not experienced at doing this please call an organic pest control team.
Snakes: oh this is my biggest phobia but I don't advice you kill them instead take precautions to completely avoid them all; poisonous or not. Snakes love garden ponds, stagnant water log with shallow edge or rocks. They will hide in tall bushes/grasses so cut tall grass around your home. Remove all sunny dark areas in your garden or plant a snake repellent herb around your home. Remove shrubs surrounded with leaves, bush piles, fallen logs, and dry stacked rock piles makes a great hide spot for snakes and scorpions. Snakes will hide away from predators in cool dark places; also because snakes are cold-blooded they like to hide in dark corner and sun bath. Close dark holes like PVC pipe holes, fences with holes, under trailers holes etc. Believe me snakes loves shallow fences with holes- don’t sit on an open rock or over fences with holes.
If you encounter a big snake or multiple snakes in your home call an organic pest control team that will use eco-friendly products and services to help you and stay far from the area until this problem is solved.
Other solutions: African bitter cola, garlic, Mothballs (don't inhale mothballs made of sulfur or naphthalene because it can be toxic but it is effective for repelling snakes).
Note: To close holes in your home; shine a bright light into the area then go outside to see if the light reflects from any opening- if you can see the light through any hole, common sense you've got a hole to close.
Wall algae: Your best solution will be dry up all humid/steam or water area and then use hydrogen peroxide on that area.
Baking soda repels insects-Sprinkled around the exterior entrances and foundations of homes, helps to repel ants and other insects from crawling in, as it is irritating to their chitinous exoskeletons and they avoid it.
Cockroaches is an indoor pest: Love to breathe on dirty spots like garbage and stagnant dirt dish water so remove it. Leave lemongrass, bay leaf herb etc in corners and cupboards to repel them. Spray food grade DE dust or Boric acid to stop them from coming into your home. Boric acid is effective but it will kill them so I rather pick it up with a pest trapper and put it outside, that is realistic if it's just one cockroach but when you have many of them in your home in your home you have got a problem- best solution is close holes in the house, remove food laying around, remove dirty dishes, clean out and move furniture around.
Ants: Spray vinegar around the walls or corners where the ants crawl up or pour it on ant hole or around it. You can also use Tansy herb, fever few herb, southern wood, penny royal herb to repel them. Remove sugar attracting food. Salt is the best repellent for ants, slugs.
Moth: Tansy herb, Mint herb, wormwood herb (caution: make sure your pet doesn't ingest wormwood, it's can be fatal), lavender herb, Penny royal herb will repel moth
Beatles: Sweet Woodrow herb
Electric Fly swatter: Fly swatter works good but it kills the fly and it's too much work chasing the fly around just to trap and kill it with a swatter. i would use it if you have major fly invasion in your home but usually this is not the case; if it is spray herb oil to repel them and then open up your doors so they can fly out, once they out, you then close your doors and windows. You can also tie a bag of fresh water at your door- this repels them from flying in like magic but I can't say why. Orange herb oil works well as well.
Fruit flies: Fruit flies are attracted to fruits and decaying vegetables so don't sit open juices or ripe fruits out.
Fleas, Lice and Ticks: Use Diameacetous dust also known as DE dust, Lavender, lemongrass, penny royal (exercise caution with penny royal herb because it is toxic and fatal, if your pets ingest the herb)
Mosquitoes: Use Rosemary herb, mint herb, neem pest repellent oil, Lavender herb to repel them.
Mites: Diameacteous earth, garlic, chives, onions works well.
Slugs and snails are usually harmless, they won't hurt so please don't kill them. if you dislike them please use a toxic free repellent herb
Crickets: It upsets me to see people kill such harmless insect, yes they can be annoying but you don't have to kill them. Don't kill fire flies either. You can use lemon herb or pill fresh lemon bark to repel them.
Rodents such as mice: Use Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Bay leaf to detour them or buy get a cat friend but please do not exploit your cats to trap rats, they do it naturally but make sure the rats are not poisoned- if a rat or a Bug is poisoned or sprayed and your cat eat it, then they too will be poisoned and could die from it.
Bed Bugs: I have tried Food grade Diameacetous Dust (DE dust) and it works the best. Food grade DE dust is safe for people and animals.
Bees & other Wasps: Orange oil, citronella grass, lemongrass will repel them. Exercise caution when getting rid of a wasp nest, make sure to wear protective clothing and mask because their bites is very painful and if you are allergic it could turn to a fatal condition. If you are not experienced at doing this please call an organic pest control team.
Snakes: oh this is my biggest phobia but I don't advice you kill them instead take precautions to completely avoid them all; poisonous or not. Snakes love garden ponds, stagnant water log with shallow edge or rocks. They will hide in tall bushes/grasses so cut tall grass around your home. Remove all sunny dark areas in your garden or plant a snake repellent herb around your home. Remove shrubs surrounded with leaves, bush piles, fallen logs, and dry stacked rock piles makes a great hide spot for snakes and scorpions. Snakes will hide away from predators in cool dark places; also because snakes are cold-blooded they like to hide in dark corner and sun bath. Close dark holes like PVC pipe holes, fences with holes, under trailers holes etc. Believe me snakes loves shallow fences with holes- don’t sit on an open rock or over fences with holes.
If you encounter a big snake or multiple snakes in your home call an organic pest control team that will use eco-friendly products and services to help you and stay far from the area until this problem is solved.
Other solutions: African bitter cola, garlic, Mothballs (don't inhale mothballs made of sulfur or naphthalene because it can be toxic but it is effective for repelling snakes).
Note: To close holes in your home; shine a bright light into the area then go outside to see if the light reflects from any opening- if you can see the light through any hole, common sense you've got a hole to close.
Wall algae: Your best solution will be dry up all humid/steam or water area and then use hydrogen peroxide on that area.
Raccoons: It's strange for me to say this but am going to say it anyway. Raccoons are intelligent, they exhibit a kind of funny behavior (like hiding behind trees, as though they are playing hide and seek with humans like squirrels but won't throw nuts at you because to them humans are their predators, so they're really trying to avoid you). Raccoons are not a harmful pest like some environmentalist or pest exterminator portray. They are like bigger rats; you don't need to kill them. They are not physically harmful to humans; they will draw to your home if you have food outside like cats and dogs. Their claws and teeth are not cute, can be vicious like any other wild life but they're instinct is not built to attack you unless you mess with them. Am not saying play with them because they're just wild rodents and do carry infectious diseases same like any wild animal. Raccoons are omnivore which means they will eat plants and animals. If you have a phobia for them or dislike them in any kind of way, please remove all food garbage or any kind of organic food that will attract them. Remove cat food from your surrounding, they love cat food and will compete (not fight but make funny crawling noises) with the cats/kittens for their food. (Do Not Play With Raccoons, you can observe them but do not mistake it for a cute furry pet)
Throwing rocks/stones at pest may detour them or make them more aggressive or even hurt them, I wouldn't recommend it
finally, please find other solution, don't kill these creatures. They sometimes help keep our environment in check; for example, a cat will eat rats, bugs and sometimes detour small snakes; a snake will eat rodents.
Throwing rocks/stones at pest may detour them or make them more aggressive or even hurt them, I wouldn't recommend it
finally, please find other solution, don't kill these creatures. They sometimes help keep our environment in check; for example, a cat will eat rats, bugs and sometimes detour small snakes; a snake will eat rodents.
Author: Onyinye A
1 comments :
Thanks for this very helpful post. It's a good thing that you shared something like keeping a healthy environment.
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