Pests attack our homes and gardens out of the blue and cause damage to everything we hold dear. Gnaw marks on furniture and walls, droppings all over the house and unpleasant smells are only a few of the signs that your home has been infested. Treating the infestation is a lot more complicated than preventing it. This is because there are plenty of factors to consider during extermination and the chance of pests reappearing after some time is huge. Here are some actionable tips, which will help you keep pests away from your property in a natural way:
Natural Barriers and Repellents
The easiest way to keep pests at bay is to make your home undesirable to them. Using repellents and barriers will help with that. They can be physical or just odour barriers that act as a wall telling the pests they are not welcome.
For instance, you can protect some of your produce by planting it in raised beds. Build special containers on levels above the ground. You can get sterilised soil from your home improvement store and fill them in. Whatever you plant in there will stay away from worms and all kinds of ground bugs.
For other bugs, you can use various scents that act as deterrents. For instance, ants and aphids stay away from peppermint and spearmint scents. You can either spray your outdoor area with some essential oil diluted in water, or you can plant the actual plants that will provide you with long term protection. More aromatic plants that act as pest deterrents include garlic, lavender and savoury. If you plant them around your garden and keep them in pots around the house, you will avoid most flying pests, including mosquitoes.
Luring and Trapping
In some forms of pest control, like with rodent infestations, for instance, using traps is more than enough to deal with the problem. All traps use some kind of visual stimuli, food or pheromones to attract the pest to it and capture or kill it. However, in many cases of insect problems, trapping is only a part of the solution, and it should be used in combination with other pest repellent methods. For instance, insect traps can be used to control and monitor the population of the pest. Traps help you identify the type of insects, how many are there, in which areas do they emerge and other important information you can use later on to help you.
Organic Oils and Soaps
Insecticidal soaps and oils are considered to be the least toxic type of pesticide out there. They are very effective in killing soft-bodied insects, such as flies, aphids, spider mites and a lot more. You should use them to target the beginnings of an infestation when the pests are still young and susceptible. Dilute the product according to the instructions on the label. It needs to be applied directly onto the insect using a spray bottle. The natural acids inside it will eat through the insect and kill it within seconds.
Keep Your Home and Garden Areas Clutter-Free
Pests love to inhabit areas that look abandoned and poorly maintained. So, if you allow for your garden to overgrow and your home to fill with unnecessary items, you basically invite the creepy crawlies in. Make sure your garden is free of tall grass and fallen leaves. Trim all your trees and shrubs that stay too close to the house, because pests often use them to hide and get inside your house. If you store firewood, make sure it’s away from the house and lifted above the ground. Inspect the foundations of the house and make sure your crawl space is properly boarded, so nothing can use it to nest.
As for the house, it’s important to keep the less visited areas clutter-free, like the garage, attic or some closet space. We often use these areas as storage, and the lack of ventilation increases the humidity, which turns them into the perfect breeding spot for cockroaches, silverfish, rodents, and more.
Attract Beneficial Insects and Birds to Your Garden
The most natural way to remove pests from your garden is to find their natural predators and let nature run its course. For instance, insects like ladybugs feed on aphids, fleas and other insects that would normally destroy your plants. Woodpeckers feed on all kinds of worms and pests that damage your trees and shrubbery. You can attract beneficial insects to your garden by providing them with water, food and shelter. Since the different species have different requirements, you might have to consult with a pest controller or a wildlife specialist to find out how to approach your case.
Domestic Products Helping with Pest Control
The proper protection of your home is also important. Plenty of pests manage to penetrate your walls and nest inside your walls and under furniture. Before you start considering any drastic measures, like burning down your entire home, try these natural products which keep the pests outside:
- Boric acid. It can be used to get rid of all kinds of household pests, like ants, termites, spiders and cockroaches. You can sprinkle the acid around the potential entry points and it will act as a repellent, they won’t cross the acid and keep away from your home. Unless they find another unattended way to enter it.
- Chalk. It can be used in the same way. Draw with chalk under doors, near windows, around cracks and crevices or wherever you’ve seen ants come in.
- Talcum powder. It also acts as the perfect deterrent for most insects. Baby powder is also an acceptable alternative. They are also a lot safer for children and pets than chalk.
- Diatomaceous earth. This ingredient is often mentioned when it comes to DIY pest control london not only for ants but also for bed bugs, cockroaches, etc. It’s not very efficient when the infestation is big, but it’s a great preventative measure.
Other scents pests don’t like that can drive them away from your home are lemon, white vinegar, orange, cinnamon, peppermint, black pepper. You can use either one in the form of powder, or mixed with a little bit of water to spray the entry points of pests and keep them off your property.
